Fourth Gen M Newsletter High School Focus

Many teens with AD/HD are bright and creative. However AD/HD high school students are often frustrated, and less successful than they would like to be. Missing deadlines, leaving boring tasks half done or difficulty getting along with authority figures get in the way of academic success. When these same teens go on to higher education, or obtain a job, they are likely to encounter these same issues. While learning strategies to deal with these tendencies is an important part of being successful, it is just as important to ignite a desire within teens to shoot for a goal that is challenging, interesting and attainable. In order to develop the vision of what can be, and the motivation to attain it, teens need an understanding of their abilities, a realistic picture of what is possible, and a feeling of efficacy.

Therefore, it is essential for teens with AD/HD to begin career planning early in their lives - middle school is not too early, and senior year, while not ideal, is not too late.

In order for a teen to become a self-supporting young adult, who launches successfully into the world of work, he or she needs to carefully consider:

� His or her strengths

� His or her personal style and the type of people that s/he is likely to get along with

� Work environments and roles that play to the individual's strengths and interests.

Each teen needs to think about the kind of life that he or she wants to lead, the difference s/he wants to make in the world, and identify the possible scenarios of what could be given his/ her talents, skills, and interests. As a next step, each teen needs to learn about what it takes, or what other people have done, perhaps even finding and talking with others who are living the kind of life that s/he envisions. Lastly, a teen needs to consider what skills and knowledge s/he is willing to learn that will lead to school success and job satisfaction.

The trick here is to help teens learn to manage their time and activities in order to reach personal academic and vocational goals that have meaning and importance for them. It is so common for adults, who care about teens, to pressure students to meet external goals and standards that appear arbitrary or unimportant to the teens, themselves. This becomes a tug-of-war. The teens don't see the necessity of working hard for these external reasons; teens with AD/HD are further hindered by a propensity to procrastinate, "get stuck," get bored and/or argue with those in authority. For these teens, guidance can make a huge difference. Facilitating personal discovery about their talents and strengths, opportunities to reflect on their hopes and dreams, time to research the opportunities in the workplace are strategies that can reduce the intensity of the "struggle." The opportunity to participate in this discovery process can help students become internally motivated.

My teen coaching clients open up and tell me what interests them, what problems they have solved that energized them, and what topics capture their fancy. My clients are hungry for someone to help them identify what they are good at. After we identify skills and knowledge, we then look at where their particular skills and talents can be valuable in the workplace.

While career coaches and counselors are at an advantage because we are third parties with a singular focus, parents and others can provide valuable support in the career planning process.

There are several helpful hints and resources available to adults who want to help AD/HD teens do career exploration.

Helpful Hints for Parents and Other Interested Adults:

� Notice and nurture your teen's interests

o While a student may not be "living up to his/her potential" in the classroom, he/she may be playing basketball, tennis or a myriad of other sports. He or she may be interested in acting or medieval swordsmanship. If you see her/him fascinated by something help him/her learn more about it and/or get better at it.

� Notice and mention the things your teen does well.

o If your teen produces an interesting piece of art work or is a particularly engaging swim instructor or has a good eye for fashion, mention it. Be as specific as possible about what you like about his or her work or action.

o Don't overly praise teens with AD/HD for small victories that only highlight the fact that it took them longer than their peers.

� Help teens go to camp, get a summer or part-time job, participate in community service activities or obtain an internship.

o These activities help teens get exposure to more of what the world has to offer.

o Such experiences help teens to "try on different roles, responsibilities and environments."

� In order to help teens expand their perspective, ask questions such as,

o "What kind of life do you want to create for yourself?" While this may be too lofty for some teens, for others it will help them see that they can impact their own destiny.

o Another set of questions is, "What fascinates you? What do you like to learn and do?"

� This can be followed by a "show and tell." Spend time together reviewing subjects that the teen is interested in. Ask to see the samples of "work" (usually done outside of school during free time) and comment on the quality of the work.

� This may lead to a discussion regarding what you can do to help the teen learn more about this topic, field of study, or employment options in this field.