Why Positive Reinforcement is so Important for the ADHD Brain
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. People with ADHD often struggle with attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Because of the ways the ADHD brain is wired differently, positive reinforcement is a crucial aspect of managing the more challenging aspects of this disorder.
What Is Positive Reinforcement?
Firstly, it is essential to understand how positive reinforcement works. Positive reinforcement is a behavioral concept that involves rewarding desired behavior. The reward could be anything from praise to a high five to a tangible item, such as a sticker or a toy. The idea behind positive reinforcement is to increase the likelihood of the desired behavior happening again.
ADHD Brain Differences
For people with ADHD, positive reinforcement can be incredibly effective. ADHD brains are wired differently from neurotypical brains, which means that people with ADHD often struggle to regulate their behavior. Positive reinforcement can help to address this by providing a clear incentive for desirable behavior. Some of these key differences include:
- Increased impulsivity (speaking or acting without thinking it through)
- Poor working memory and easy distractibility (losing focus mid-task and having trouble jumping back in)
- Hyperactivity (including issues with self-regulation, lack of awareness of their body movements, and discomfort with extended periods of quiet)
Positive reinforcement can be a helpful tool for all of these areas to help individuals with ADHD process benefits to good behaviors, instead of always just having consequences for things that are much harder for their brains to regulate.
Research indicates that promises of rewards and negative punishments are both too abstract and not as effective for the ADHD brain. Their natural lack of executive function, logic, and forward thinking makes these consequences and incentives too ephemeral and not tangible enough to be motivating factors to change behavior.
(As a note, just because these things are naturally weaker in individuals with ADHD doesn’t mean you have to stay that way. Building brain skills is always possible—even with ADHD!)
Dopamine Release & the Power of a High Five
ADHD brains release less dopamine than their neurotypical counterparts. Dopamine is your brain’s “reward” signal that is released any time you accomplish something, feel proud of your accomplishments, or experience pleasure.
Click here to read more about the power of dopamine to improve focus, memory, and brain health.
Dopamine is your brain’s signal that “I want to do that again.” While some typical rewards or consequences may not feel like they’re effective for the ADHD brain, finding the thing that will cause this chemical’s release is so important!
Individuals with ADHD often crave this release of dopamine, but due to their cognitive differences, they go about it differently. Some helpful positive reinforcement strategies for individuals with ADHD could be:
- Something as simple as a high five for completing a task or maintaining focus (it can cause a surge of dopamine that will help regulate behavior and mindset)
- Rewarding with praise that is genuine and consistent (but not constant, otherwise it will lose its power)
- Keep it immediate (the ADHD brain will respond better to feedback when it comes immediately after the behavior)
- Pay close attention and nurture your child’s strengths (finding some good to praise and reinforce will help build self-esteem)
ADHD Brain Training at LearningRx
Building cognitive skills and enhancing thinking and learning skills in individuals with ADHD is so beneficial. Our unique approach helps learners succeed on their own terms. Clients with ADHD have improved their attention skills by an average of 3.2 years. Plus, they saw gains in self-esteem and interpersonal skills. We know that anyone can improve the way they think and learn!
