We’ll save you the trouble of wondering: Yes, people with attention-deficit/hyper-activity disorder (ADHD) have considered using planners, setting alarm clocks, and creating reminders on their phones. No, those suggestions aren’t helpful.
In fact, these are among the worst things you can say to someone with ADHD, which is characterized by symptoms like having a hard time paying attention, struggling with task initiation, and engaging in impulsive behavior. “It’s like, Wow, what a genius idea,” says Bailey Pilant, a licensed mental-health counselor in New York who specializes in ADHD. Yet people dispense these well-intentioned but unsolicited tips again and again—including telling Pilant she should try writing things down. “I can write it down, and I’m still not going to remember because you can bet I’m going to lose that paper,” she…
