Why Your ADHD Teen Lacks Motivation

This past week I’ve started doing discovery calls for my ADHD Teen Parenting Coaching program, and a lot of parents have told me that their kids struggle with motivation.

They’ll often talk about how it’s hard to get their child to do things until the last minute or even to do them at all.

This can make school and home life SO much harder.

If you’re the parent of a tween or teen with ADHD, it can be hard to sit back and watch as your tween faces the growing challenges of school.

What can often look like laziness on the outside is actually due to biological factors impacting their motivation.

The first step to supporting your tween or teen with ADHD is to understand why motivation is hard for them so that you can approach them with empathy.

1. Their brain processes rewards differently.

There’s been research that has found that individuals with ADHD have a dopamine reward pathway (which plays a role in motivation) that doesn’t work the same way as individuals with ADHD.

This makes it harder for individuals with ADHD to be motivated by things that don’t have an immediate payoff.

2. They need to feel in control and connected to be motivated.

Another study also found that individuals with ADHD especially need a few things to be more motivated to complete a task.

They need to feel autonomous (aka independent and like they have a choice), relatedness (connected to others), and competent (like they can actually reach a goal).

One of the things I talk about in my group program for tweens and teens is how to give them these feelings.

3. Rewards are not always as motivating for ADHDers

Rewards or incentives have been found to be one of the most effective strategies for kids with ADHD, and at the same time they’re not as rewarding for kids with ADHD as those without ADHD. 

4. More Support for Motivation

If you need more support for helping your tween or teen get motivated, I offer a live group coaching program for parents on strategies for how you can best support your tween or teen with ADHD.

The program’s waitlist will close on September 1st and the program will start in October of this year, the perfect time to get back into the swing of school. 

If you have any questions, let me know by sending me an email at carrie@drcarriejackson.com.