Dr Harish Mahadevappa is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and has worked in the Colchester area for over a decade. His special interests are neurodevelopmental conditions (ASD and ADHD), anxiety disorders and tics.
ADHD can make staying focused on daily tasks difficult. This is because the brain doesn’t have a filter that allows you to tune out distractions like background noise. ADHD isn’t just about being unable to pay attention – the brain just can’t control where to focus in the same way that somebody without ADHD can. This means that it can be hard to keep your focus on activities when there is external noise, movement, or even when you are thinking about other things.
There’s nothing worse than being told to ‘just focus’ when you have ADHD. For many people, it’s not that simple, and can range from having trouble paying attention to small details, through to forgetting regular tasks such as paying bills.
Here are a few tips for helping concentration with ADHD throughout your day.
Sticking to a plan is a great way to save time, even if it’s to get a general sense of your priorities in the coming days or weeks. These plans need to be a regular part of your routine to assign deadlines, with the understanding that things change and priorities can shift. By setting aside some time to focus on your targets and how to achieve them, you can help to prevent your mind wandering and increase your productivity.
Deadlines can be really helpful for an ADHD brain, because they help you to remove competing activities from your mental ‘to do’ list, allowing you to focus on the task at hand. Don’t hold yourself accountable for every single task in life, as this can cause more stress than it alleviates! However, giving each of your goals a timescale can increase the likelihood that you’re able to get on with the task, rather than forgetting to do it, or starting it but not finishing it. For example, you could write down the following:
“I will call the dentist on Friday afternoon”
“I need to finish this piece of work by Thursday at 3pm”
“The dog needs to go to the groomer before the 31st August”
By setting yourself reminders for these tasks, you can make sure that you don’t let it slip.
Focusing doesn’t need to be punishing, and it can encourage healthy habits. Speak to a friend or family member to help if you need to prioritise your goals, and celebrate when you have achieved them. Don’t obsess over small details – perfection isn’t as important as your mental health, so make sure that you don’t hold yourself to impossible standards. Breaks between activities can help shift focus from one area to another and make sure that the time spent working on those activities is more productive. Doing some form of physical exercise daily even if it’s just a short walk will help you stay calm and relaxed and lead to a healthier lifestyle.
Not all distractions are bad! When you need to clear your head, put down the digital devices, and instead try taking a walk or doing something creative. You can make sure that you stick to your set break time by setting a timer, because it’s easy to get carried away. You can identify your ‘trigger points’ that cause a lack of motivation and create a structure that minimises these triggers. For example, you might find that you lose focus when you’re hungry or overwhelmed by lots of different tasks. When helping concentration with ADHD, try to work around your own flow rather than setting times for activities that will be difficult for you.
By following these tips, you can add some structure to your day and achieve your goals in a positive way. If you need further support with dealing with the way your ADHD manifests, please get in touch with our team.
My name is Dr Amin Band, and I am a Lead Neurodevelopmental Consultant. I joined Wellbeing in 2018. My job involves meeting children / young people and their families, assessing them, and answering their queries, making some contribution to making their lives better in some way. I enjoy working with the lovely team from the Wellbeing family and leading my teams. In my spare time, I like walking and cooking.
Favourite colour: Green
Favourite animal: Lamb
Favourite superhero: Hulk
ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a neurodevelopmental condition that can affect individuals of all ages. It affects people's behaviour in varying ways. Although the causes of ADHD are not fully understood, research suggests that genetic factors and altered brain development may play a role. Awareness of ADHD in society is growing all the time.
Symptoms of ADHD manifest differently in each child however, symptoms can include restlessness, fidgeting, impulsivity, finding it hard to focus and follow instructions, excessive talking, forgetfulness, difficulties with organisation, difficulties in planning and executing school work, difficulties with emotional regulation etc. These behaviours can impact a child’s academic progress, social interactions, and academic achievements, resulting in low self-esteem. Sometimes ADHD symptoms can be mistaken for wilful misbehaviour in children, which is not the case. At Provide Wellbeing, we help you to understand and develop strategies to manage your child's symptoms in line with their needs.
ADHD can present itself in many different ways and these signs may differ depending on the age of the person concerned. Some common behaviours and signs associated with ADHD include (but are not limited to):
This list should not be used to diagnose ADHD. However, this may help you to understand if an ADHD assessment will benefit your child.
A neurodevelopmental consultant carries out our ADHD assessments in an approachable way. The consultant will discuss your child's medical history, symptoms, and any background information that may impact the diagnosis. You can respond on your child's behalf, where required. As part of our assessment process, information will also be obtained from school (if your child attends an educational setting), to gather more information about their strengths and difficulties in this environment.
Our team will provide a thorough report as standard following an assessment. The report outlines support strategies, next steps, and complete details of what a diagnosis of ADHD means for you and your child. ADHD and its associated symptoms can be managed with educational support, advice, and medicine where needed.
At our ADHD diagnostic clinic, we will ensure that verbal and written advice about the different medication options and how they work, as per the NICE guidelines, is shared with you. After carefully considering this information and weighing up the possible benefits and side effects of medication, you may choose to trial medication. If you haven’t been referred via the NHS or Right to Choose, then as Provide Wellbeing is a private organisation, the prescriptions you are issued will need to be paid for when you take them to a pharmacy.
When starting on ADHD medication, regular monitoring of height, weight, blood pressure and heart rate is important. ADHD medication prescriptions are for ‘controlled drugs’, which means they require extra attention and cannot be issued as repeat prescriptions. It is recommended that reviews are generally conducted at three weeks, three months, and six months and, after that, every six months; however, the frequency can vary depending on individual circumstances.
Once a patient is clinically stable on their ADHD medication it is anticipated that the GP will take over the prescribing, Provide Wellbeing will support with this transfer, however, cannot guarantee that your GP will accept to take over issuing prescriptions.
To review the full Autism & ADHD Service pricing, please refer to our pricing webpage for further information.
ADHD assessment - £1,200
Follow up appointment - £400
We offer an ADHD assessment for your child and an optional follow-up appointment to review any outstanding questions about the diagnosis. Please note that before the appointment, you must provide background medical information and any other relevant details for the paediatrician to review ahead of the appointment.
For full details of our refund and cancellation policy please visit our Pricing & Payment Terms.
