Pacing Your Work

Those with AD/HD are known for their impulsive actions and high energy. But there are also those who are excruciatingly slow for some tasks despite their hyperactivity in general. My son Josh, well-known to the homeschool groups I've spoken to, had no difficulty stretching a twenty minute math assignment to two hours. Even when he took a few college classes, one of his "two hour" finals took him over six hours, even in a quiet room with material he understood. He got a "B" in the class, but probably put in ten times the effort of the "A" students over the quarter. You can see why going to college full-time is out of the question for Josh. There aren't enough hours in the day for him to complete all the assignments at the rate he works. His work is of good quality but it takes him much longer to get results than his neurotypical peers. His keyboarding skills have also progressed, but not in a typical manner. After trying four or five different keyboarding programs, including one based on basketball, one on a favorite video game character, and one that is widely used to teach typing, Josh gave up and persisted with his hunt and peck method. He uses the index fingers on both hands, and his speed is not bad considering his unorthodox method. Since Josh is writing a science fiction novel, I asked him if he wanted to try some of the keyboarding programs again to help with his typing. His response was "I type at the speed I'm thinking, so what I do works just right for me." He has always had his own pace, and eventually gets done what he sets out to do. It doesn't match the pace that most others have, but it's a fit for how his brain works.