How To Find Out If You Have Adhd Or Add

ADHD and exams don't always go well together because ADHD makes test taking hard. Improve your exams with test taking strategies for ADHD students. ADHD and exams are two things that shouldn't be together. Nevertheless, they do exist together, and quite likely they always will. Y'all don't have to love taking tests if you accept ADHD, merely yous also don't take to be stuck cursing tests, either. In that location are ways you can deal with tests, and take them well, despite ADHD.

Merely how does ADHD affect test taking? ADHD often causes test feet because of the things it does to your brain during a test. If you have ADHD, you might have experienced some of these issues when trying to have an exam:

Identifying key information
Organizing thoughts into linear arguments (for essays)
Poor time awareness so that y'all don't footstep yourself correct
Rushing and making careless mistakes
Memory retrieve problems (that mind-going-blank experience)
Distractibility
Following directions

Anxiety and poor testing performance come up from a lack of confidence in your ain ability to do well on a exam. People with ADHD often have a history of negative or disappointing test taking experiences, and this carries over into current situations.

Know this: ADHD doesn't have to do with intelligence. Poor testing performance is a reflection of ADHD, not of inability. Know this, too: you can acquire strategies to improve your performance on exams.

Examination Taking Strategies for ADHD Students

The following strategies are a sampling of things people with ADHD practise to improve their performance on exams.

There are things yous can exercise before the day of the test to improve your performance on your exam, such as

Study well in advance, for short bursts several sequent nights before the test rather than cramming for hours the nighttime before (How to Study When Y'all Have ADHD: 5 ADHD Studying Tips)
Exercise, ideally correct before the exam if that's at all possible
Eat well, putting nutrients into your trunk and keeping junk out
Drinkable enough of h2o
Visualize yourself staying calm and doing well on the test
Talk to your teacher to discover what textile volition exist on the test and to inquire questions you may have
Enquire for accommodations such as extra time, a different testing environment, the ability to take breaks, and more. (You might exist required to have a 504 program to receive accommodations.)

You can besides practice things during the test to help y'all manage the task of taking an examination.

Look at the entire text earlier beginning. Use a highlighter (or multiple highlighters of different colors) to emphasize directions, different sections, and keywords. Exactly what you lot highlight will depend on the actual test.
Carefully read the directions as you highlight them.
Separate your test into equal segments (with your highlighter), and apace estimate the amount of time you tin can spend on each section. Use a timer if information technology'south allowed, otherwise, pace yourself using the segments of color, making sure you're progressing through.
Wear earplugs if immune to block out noises.
Accept a focus object to look at as you lot recollect and to turn your attention to when you catch yourself wandering. This tin can be a small-scale object you identify on your desk, your pencil, your shoe—anything to draw your attention and help you concentrate.
Double check your answers when you finish to take hold of whatever careless mistakes.

Successful test taking with ADHD is largely near knowing what makes exams challenging for you and so developing strategies to recoup. Play around with the ideas higher up to see what works for you, and experiment with other strategies, besides (10 Steps for Student Success for Higher and Developed Students with ADHD). You'll build a repertoire of test-taking strategies for ADHD that work.

A final thought: Keep your perspective. To avoid panicking when that test is placed in front of yous, remind yourself that this is simply one exam. While important, it doesn't have the power to make or break the thou scheme of your life.

APA Reference
Peterson, T. (2021, Dec 20). ADHD and Exams: Test Taking Strategies for ADHD Students, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2022, April 17 from https://www.healthyplace.com/cocky-assist/adhd/adhd-and-exams-test-taking-strategies-for-adhd-students

Last Updated: January 2, 2022