For students with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), writing assignments can feel overwhelming, frustrating, and difficult to complete. These students have trouble staying focused, managing their time, organizing their thoughts, and maintaining the drive required to complete longer tasks. Studies have shown time and again that breaking longer, more complex assignments up into shorter, more manageable tasks can greatly benefit students who struggle with this learning difference.

Limiting Distractions: How the WritingKey Process Helps

One way the WritingKey process benefits students diagnosed with ADD/ADHD is that it limits the distractions that can hinder their progress on writing assignments. By breaking the process up into smaller tasks, students do not need to concentrate on any one aspect of the writing process for extended amounts of time. Students use the visual aids to brainstorm ideas, organize those ideas, write, and then edit. This approach makes the writing process seem less daunting and can quickly build confidence in students who would otherwise feel hopeless and lost in the face of writing assignments.

Short, Fast-Paced Lessons for Better Focus and Retention

Additionally, students with a diagnosis of ADD/ADHD will lose focus in the classroom when instructional periods go on for longer periods of time. This lack of focus leads to a lack of information retained. Students oftentimes will get home and not be able to remember how they were taught to best attack the assignment. The fast-paced, shorter lessons provided by the WritingKey program allow students to maintain focus throughout entire lessons, thus better-retaining the information being presented. Even the flow of instruction is broken up into shorter task-like lessons that allow students to maintain focus and better retain the information being presented.

Overcoming Frustration and Anxiety with WritingKey

Frustration and anxiety surrounding writing are problems that can plague the student diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. This inevitably leads to avoidance and procrastination. It is almost as if young people with this diagnosis sometimes believe that by avoiding a writing assignment, it will somehow disappear and never need to be completed. By introducing the WritingKey process, one they learn they can manage and find success with, students are more willing to take the first step in their writing assignments: actually beginning them.

How WritingKey Helps Students with ADHD

• Short, Manageable Lessons
  

  With the longest lesson being just over ten minutes, students do not have to sit through lengthy instruction. This format caters to shorter attention spans, ensuring crucial information is not missed.

• Structured, Step-by-Step Approach
  

  Each stage of the writing process is broken down into small, clearly defined tasks. This helps students focus on one step at a time and reduces overwhelm.

• Visual Aids and Clear Examples
  

  By providing visual supports for brainstorming, organizing, writing, and editing, students can better understand and remember each part of the process.

• Confidence-Building Techniques

  Because writing tasks are tackled in smaller increments, students see progress sooner. This sense of achievement can reduce anxiety and frustration, motivating them to continue.

• Encouragement to Begin
  

  The process reassures students that if they start writing, they will have tools to guide them. This structure helps them overcome the initial hurdle of getting started, a major obstacle for many with ADD/ADHD.

• Focus on Retention

  The short, targeted lessons reinforce information in a way that is easier for students with attention challenges to remember, reducing the likelihood of forgetting important strategies once they leave the classroom.