Battle with Task Shifts? Employ ADHD-Friendly Methods for Maintaining Concentration

In the world of parenting and education, understanding the intricate workings of teen motivation is key to helping them succeed and make meaningful changes. Here's a breakdown of some essential principles that can help you navigate this challenging yet rewarding journey.

Firstly, it's crucial to remember that all human behaviour can be broken down into three components: antecedents, behaviours, and consequences. Antecedents refer to what's happening in the environment immediately before behaviour. Behaviours are what a teen says or does, while consequences refer to what happens immediately after or in response to the behaviour.

One of the most important aspects of understanding consequences is recognising that significant effort behaviours should be rewarded differently from low effort or routine tasks. This principle is fundamental in helping your teen succeed. For instance, accessing tangibles might include free time, video games, food, or money, while accessing attention often comes in the form of praise but doesn't always have to be positive in nature.

The unpredictability of consequences can lead to more variable behaviour, making it more engaging for learners, especially those with unique needs. Consequences delivered with immediacy tend to be more effective. However, it's essential to note that the longer you wait to provide a consequence, the less effective it will be at changing your teen's behaviour.

There are two categories of consequences: access to something desirable or escaping something undesirable. Accessing tangibles and attention are examples of the former, while escaping or avoiding a consequence may motivate a teen to engage in a behaviour. For example, behaviour that escapes or avoids something unpleasant can be observed in teens pushing vegetables around their plate or stalling at homework time.

Understanding the function of behaviour is critical in helping teens and young adults make meaningful changes and achieve goals. The four basic functions of behaviour are access to tangibles or activities, access to attention, access to automatic or "feel good" consequences, and escape or avoid a consequence. Accessing automatic or "feel good" consequences provides immediate consequences that make us feel better.

It's also crucial to understand individual differences in motivation, as not all teens are motivated in the same ways at the same time. Understanding the final reason why behaviour occurs is trying to avoid or escape something aversive in the environment.

Giving a teen access to additional control or the ability to make independent choices can go a long way to change behaviour. This principle is often overlooked but can be incredibly powerful. Understanding consequences is key to understanding why a teen engages in certain behaviours.

A preference assessment can be a valuable tool in understanding a teen's unique reinforcers. This can help you tailor rewards and consequences to suit their individual needs, making them more effective in motivating your teen.

Lastly, it's important to remember that many common ideas about teen motivation, such as character flaws, diagnostic labels, or imparting more knowledge, do not hold up to the science of behaviour change. Instead, by applying the principles of behaviour analysis, including the three-term contingency, and understanding the functions of behaviour, you can help your teen achieve more goals.

For more information about applying these principles to goal setting, consider a SMART Goal Setting Course. Additionally, a free downloadable PDF for the assessment of eleven areas of executive functioning is available, although the search results do not provide information about which institution published it.

Battle with Task Shifts? Employ ADHD-Friendly Methods for Maintaining Concentration