There are no two ways about it. Taking notes is hard. It’s even more difficult when you have ADHD.

I recently had a conversation with my Grandson on taking notes. Here’s how it went.

Me: “I’ll help you take notes on this section in history. We will read the text and then go through it, picking out the important ideas.”

Grandson: “I only take two notes for each section.”

Me: “Well, we don’t know how many important things there are until we read it. Then we can go back and decide how many notes to take.”

Grandson: “Doesn’t matter. I only take two notes on each section. The rest takes too long.”

If you have a child or teenager who suffers from ADHD, then I’m sure that you have heard similar sentiments about notetaking. You probably have also seen the results of that thinking – sparse, illegible notes that do not adequately capture the necessary ideas and that might not even make any sense.

For a person with ADHD, one of the hardest parts of taking notes is the speed of processing that’s required to listen to or read material, process it, and then write about it. Most of these students are slow processors. So, of course notetaking presents problems.

What to do?

Since you have probably already tried some of the standard notetaking tips, I’ll start by listing some less conventional methods.

Notetaking Tips

Using visuals

This has got to be my new favorite. “Research continues to document advantages of the picture-superiority effect – the idea that we learn and retain more with images [than we do without them]. Of special importance for our purposes …[is] the drawing effect[1] – the idea that understanding, memory and recall are increased through the integration of semantic, visual and motor experience.”

Utilize ‘Visual Note-Taking’ with Graphic Organizers

• Graphic Organizers are visual methods of organizing the concepts while conveying complicated material in a more easily understood way. They keep the words but arrange the ideas on the page in a visual way so a better understanding of the relationships among concepts are able to be seen.
• Research has shown that when graphic organizers are used in a subject, student learning improves.[2]
• Newer research has focused on the power of these organizers used with students that have special needs and learning disabilities.[3]
• Flash cards and vocabulary charts with pictures are in this category as well as story boards. There are all kinds of organizers and they work with every subject. Many examples can be found on the internet.[4]
• Adding icons or pictures adds to engagement and retention.

 

Sketch Notes[5]

• It’s a form of visual writing. We listen, read or watch something, synthesize it and depict it with icons or pictures and labels. According to Carrie it connects the two sides of the brain, stimulating all pathways and helping retention improve. This dual-coding is similar to the drawing effect found with graphic organizers. If drawing is added along with the verbal and the visual, it allows us to access information three ways – in verbal, visual and motor systems.

 

Lesser Known Ways of Note-Taking[6]

The following ways that I found are meant to help your child or student actively think and engage with his or her assigned material. However, they may not give your child the total picture of the material and all the facts needed, and so should be supplemented with other strategies such as looking at the teacher’s or another child’s notes. Although it probably goes without say, students need to do the required reading to add more facts to their understanding.

• Ask Questions – If your child thinks in questions and is always asking them, have them write them down as they listen or read. Then later read to answer them.
• Make Connections – Some students are always making connections and are good at free association. So, in their notes they can connect what’s being read or said to other courses, books or movies. This could be paired later with sketch notes. For example, draw something from the movie and explain why with the facts.
• Form Concepts – Seeing the big picture quickly is a gift that some children have. Have them jot down the major concepts and read the book to fill in the details later.
• Restate the Details – Opposite of the “big picture” child, these children are good at seeing the trees in the forest. They’re the ones giving the examples and details. Have them record those details and pop in the headings later.
• Apply to Problems – Some students can relate material to real problems in the world or to events in their lives. They should register these problems in their notes. This later could also be paired with sketch notes. Draw their event and label and explain their reasoning.
• React Emotionally – Does the content generate feelings of wonder or anger or interest? Your child should write the feelings and give the whys later.

 

Quick Helps[7]

The Broil Method – This is a way to focus and record important material.

B – write anything the teacher writes on the board

R – write anything the teacher repeats

O – write anything the teacher says will be on the test

I – write anything the teacher says is important

L – write anything that is a list

• As you take notes circle any facts or ideas that are unclear or any vocabulary that you do not know. Look them up later.
• When reading from a book, record facts on sticky notes. You can later take them and stick them on another paper and use them for studying.
• Use technology to make your notes readable. Use programs like Dragon Naturally Speaking, Evernote or Mac Voice-to-text. These can help you to expand your notes without the extra writing.

 

Using the Notes[8]

• Review your notes later that day.
• Review your notes by reading them out loud. This helps retention by processing the information visually and verbally.
• To help organize and connect the information make a concept map or graphic organizer from the data. Write the main idea in the center of a paper. Draw lines that radiate from it . Record the details on these.

 

Types of Academic Notes[9]

• Cornell Notes – This kind of note taking helps in understanding important ideas. You need to divide the paper into 3 sections. There is a margin on the left about 2.5 inches from edge and a 2-inch margin from the bottom. The 6-inch section on the right is for taking notes. The left section is for the main headings or concept cues and the bottom is for a summary of it all.
• Mapping Method – This strategy helps visual learners connect and remember topics. Organize your map by topic and branch off by subtopics writing important points under each.

Topic

Subtopic                                  Subtopic

Details                                     Details

• Outlining – This method is the one everyone is more familiar with and it is good because it is easy to use it to make up questions when you study.
• Charting – This is a helpful way to take notes when there is a lot of information. Divide the paper into columns and head each column with a topic. Put your notes about each under the appropriate column.
• Sentence Method – This is simple and quick because you are just jotting down sentences or bullet points. Make a new sentence for each detail and don’t forget to make a heading for each topic.

Hopefully you will find one of these suggestions helpful for your child/student. The important thing to remember is to always clarify any point that they don’t understand and to check for missing information.

Notes

[1]Jeffrey D. Wammes, Melissa E. Meade and Myra A. Fernandes The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 2016

[2]Hall and Strangman 2002 CAST Publication https://www.northernhighlands.org/cms/lib5/nj01000179/centricity/domain/18/graphic_organizers_2008.pdf

[3]Dexter, Park, and Hughes2011 Learning Disabilities Research and Practice; and Douglas, Ayres, Langone and Bramlett 2011 Journal of Special Education Technology.

[4]http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/graphic/

[5]Carrie Baughcum My Pencil Made Me Do It!  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNJyuJl5LKk&feature=youtu.be

[6]Jonathan Mooney, 7 Tips for Taking Better Notes ADDitude https://www.additudemag.com/note-taking-tips-study-skills/

[7]Cynthia Efinger, Jill Murphy, High School Study Guide for Teens with ADHD ADDitude https://www.additudemag.com/slideshows/adhd-in-high-school/

[8]Susan Kruger,M.ED., Notes on Taking Notes, ADDitude https://www.additudemag.com/notes-on-taking-notes/

[9]How to Take Study Notes: 5 Effective Note Taking Methods Oxford Learning https://www.oxfordlearning.com/5-effective-note-taking-methods/