doodling

I would be interested in this answer also. MY NT daughter does this all the time in class. She says school is very boring and this helps her to stay engaged. She says she can listen better while doing this. She gets straight A’s in school so it is not hurting her at this point.

As an adult with “presenting ADHD symptoms” I can’t sit in a business meeting w/o doodling. It’s an etiquette no-no for an adult, but helps me sit through the meetings.

No formal research but years of observation have led me to believe that doodling helps kids (and me) to pay attention. If I can’t doodle, I begin to look around the room and get distracted or daydream when a speaker is speaking. If I doodle, I turn on my auditory input for the speaker but my “distractions” are very focused on my doodling.

Occasionally the right ADHD medicine may cause temporary changes in the doodling, that is, the doodles have a little more detail to them suggesting that the doodler is paying attention a little better.

That’s what the research reports that the ADHD meds can do for some people (not all). The ADHD meds do not work for everyone.

i have a child in my classroom whom i suspect has add/adhd he sure is quiet when he is drawing i have been taking away his paper and magic markers now i will let him be

I have a 14 year old daughter that was diagnosed with ADHD while in the first grade (9 yrs. ago) and LD when she was in the second grade. She as always doodled in school and it has been a problem with the teachers. In Middle School, her special ed teacher brought a folder to my attention, which was doodled all over. I gut reaction was, “I am in college and when I am listening to the instructor, I sometimes doodle. It doesn’t mean that I am not listening…it may mean that I am bored…it may mean that I don’t care what he/she is saying.” I guess what I am trying to say is, everyone doodles from time to time, even adults. So what, let the child doodle, as a matter of fact, why not use the doodling to the teachers advantage. Why explain to the child that if he/she finishes his/her work, then he/she may draw a picture of what ever he/she wants. Or perhaps the doodling can become part of the work. Please don’t stiffle the child’s creativeness, this is part of the child and as adults we may see it as being inattentive!

I have a 14 year old daughter that was diagnosed with ADHD while in the first grade (9 yrs. ago) and LD when she was in the second grade. She as always doodled in school and it has been a problem with the teachers. In Middle School, her special ed teacher brought a folder to my attention, which was doodled all over. My gut reaction was, “I am in college and when I am listening to the instructor, I sometimes doodle. It doesn’t mean that I am not listening…it may mean that I am bored…it may mean that I don’t care what he/she is saying.” I guess what I am trying to say is, everyone doodles from time to time, even adults. So what, let the child doodle, as a matter of fact, why not use the doodling to the teachers advantage. Why explain to the child that if he/she finishes his/her work, then he/she may draw a picture of what ever he/she wants. Or perhaps the doodling can become part of the work. Please don’t stiffle the child’s creativeness, this is part of the child and as adults we may see it as being inattentive!

Doodling is something I encouraged my students to do as a means of getting them to concentrate, much the same as occupational therapists have younger children use koosh balls or the equivalent as fidgeters for their hands. It provides a sensory motor outlet that provides a focal point, enabling the child to hyperfocus, and thus attend. I, too, as an adult with ADD, use this all the time. It has a basis in neurology, providing an outlet for the motor overflow . O.T.s also encourage children to use either candy to suck on, hard gum to chew, or something snappy, like pretzels, to eat, for the same reason. Many children with sensory difficulties have a sensory preference, and allowing them to engage in it will provide that calming, focusing sensation, much the same as doodling. Try it with homework.