Here to explain the ADHD ability gap is Andrew Akre. Diagnosed in grade school, his experience offers him a unique view, which he uses to help his ADHD clients. As an ADHD Coach, he knows the difference between the pitfalls that come from unmanaged ADHD verses the successful outcomes that are possible through treatment.
His stories are great! He even describes the one, most important life-altering sentence he heard that forever transformed the way he thinks. Now, he’s connected the dreaming part of his brain to the planning part of his brain, and the conversation those two halves are having are creating endless possibilities!
Andrew’s Awesome Quote:
“The dreaming and planning parts of my brain started
to talk to each other, for the first time, and I learned
so much about myself and gained a lot of ability.”
The ADHD Ability Gap
The ADHD ability gap is the difference between where the person is now in their abilities and what you are asking of them. Unfortunately, many people misunderstand this gap. Rather than seeing the difference for what it is, they see it as a lack of motivation, a moral failing, or they simply underestimate the gap and tell the person to “try harder”.
The job of parents, teachers, and coaches is to bridge that gap with understanding. Andrew and I go over a few ways to do that.
First of all, put steps in place that are reachable. In addition, shift your language to emphasize effort and growth.
He details the benefits of having a growth mindset and the WOOP strategy!
And, that’s just during the first half of our time together. Andrew and I also delve into the topic of time-blindness, or as he says, time literacy.
~ Jennie
andrewakre.com:
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