How Assistive Technology Can Help Children With ADHD

Promoting working memory with assistive technology

'Remember the milk' is a multiplatform app that helps you set and manage tasks across all your devices. This could be a handy tool to set work in school and remind your child of home-related tasks such as routines or homework.

'Chore Master' can help your child to keep their rooms clean and tidy. The game allows both parents and children to challenge each other to complete tasks to achieve points and win the game.

Improving attention with assistive technology

Children with ADHD can often be easily distracted or have trouble focusing. Again, there are many games and tools available on the market.

Bags and Buttons 2 – This platform supports children to develop their attention skills, while also being very entertaining. The game requires that children remain attentive to details before they can move on to the next level.

Visual timers are also a great tool to use both in school and within the home. They can help your child to stay focused for longer. Visual timers are available on devices but also as a stand-alone device.

Assistive technology to enabling creativity

Children with ADHD can be very smart and creative, and it is important as educators and caregivers that we allow children to learn and share information in a way that empowers their creativity. There are many different apps out there across all platforms that can help, such as:

• Mind node, which allows your child to make mind maps.
• Sketchbook
• Blender
• Canva

Assistive technology & sleep

The NHS states that children with ADHD can experience difficulties falling asleep, staying asleep and getting up the next morning. The quality of their sleep can be poor and can often be described as restless with an inability to “shut off”. Insufficient sleep can negatively impact learning, memory and general school performance. If you child struggles with sleep, it is important that you make their teachers aware so they can plan reasonable adjustments if needed, such as increased movement break to reduce sedentary behaviour and reduce fatigue.

There are a variety of apps available for both mobiles and tablets, such as:

Rise

This app is designed to help you understand your melatonin cycle. It provides a visual reminder of your melatonin levels, which helps you identify the most ideal time to go to bed, meaning you can get enough sleep so that you can focus, concentrate and feel better during the day.

Relax Melodies

An app which lets you choose from free guided meditations, sounds, music, and bedtime stories to create a personalised playlist to promote relaxation and a smoother bedtime routine.

432hz Solfeggio Music

A recent study has shown that people who listened to music at 432hz showed a significant improvement in sleep compared to those listening to regular 440hz music. There are various apps on the market both free and subscription-based, such as Soulful Sounds, Binaural Audio Studio, Better Sleep Meditation Music, you can also find hundreds of free videos on YouTube.

Getting additional support

If you do require more information on assistive technologies and how they can support your child both in school and in your home, please speak to the ADHD practitioners/coaches in their school. The ADHD Foundation Neurodiversity Charity also offers advice, resources and services for all individuals with ADHD.

Understanding ADHD Support Pack

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