# how do i learn to concentrate in school



## battlecatsahead (Oct 27, 2020)

i have adhd and autism (not a very low level, so i can still function in a normal class, without people knowing i have autism, unless i tell them), and i am in sec 2 (in Canada) and lately i have not been able to concentrate on doing my school work, and my grades have been going downhill, and my parents are mad at me because of it, and i just want to get my grades back to the way they are, because up to now i am failing in everything except french, so if anyone has any tips for me i would greatly appreciate it


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## osirisjem (Oct 27, 2020)

Attention is like a muscle, you need to work it out to improve it.

Exercise and eating right helps too.

And less video games and screen time helps a lot.


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## battlecatsahead (Oct 27, 2020)

osirisjem said:


> Attention is like a muscle, you need to work it out to improve it.
> 
> Exercise and eating right helps too.
> 
> And less video games and screen time helps a lot.


yeah, my parents are now going to let me have less screen time, cuz they got a few emails from some of my teachers today and they were pretty pissed


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## Deleted member 512337 (Oct 27, 2020)

work in silence or else nothing is going to get done.
attend tutoring sessions with your teachers when needed.
work on a clear desk.
Be organized in your work and skip questions to do later on when your are done with easier ones.
get other stuff in life taken care of (Chores, Major School Projects, Health, etc)
pick a of day week where you do practically nothing. (Sunday for me)


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## osirisjem (Oct 27, 2020)

battlecatsahead said:


> yeah, my parents are now going to let me have less screen time, cuz they got a few emails from some of my teachers today and they were pretty pissed



always nice to hear people have good parents.

It's easier to not really care.


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## FAST6191 (Oct 27, 2020)

What a lovely combination of conditions.

If you have a medic you speak to about such things they should be able to offer some more tailored guidance here, as well as observe what you are doing and give corrections and suggestions based upon that. Don't know if you have in school assistance for it but they should also be able to offer something.

If school is boring it does not help, and schools rarely fail to be anything but boring in my experience.
I got around that one by setting some of my own goals. You still get to pass the tests as school but they do have other books and things you can learn off your own back.
If you have not found some interests yet then maybe get a few of those. You can also use them to reward yourself if you can't tie them into a lesson.

Burning off a bit of energy is not a bad plan. Whether you can pedal to school, go for a run/cycle/walk/swim/some kind of gym equipment/something beforehand or during is what you get to figure out. Bonus is exercise is good for a lot more than that.

Eat right. Many theories here but if you want to pack in the sugar cereal in favour of something better (granted most bread in North America also seems to have sugar) then go for it. This would also mean skipping the coffee, tea, fizzy drinks, energy drinks and whatnot at school -- adding stimulants on top of what you might already take is not such a great plan. Go with water if you can manage it, I don't know what Canada has for squash offhand but I did like crystal light when I was stateside last time as a substitute if the water was not something you like by itself.

The elastic band/hairband on the wrist that you stretch and snap yourself with is more of a centring technique but can do things for you if you find your mind wandering.

If you can figure out your distractions then you might work on those (for some this means a clear desk, others I have met with autism go completely the opposite way -- on desks and engineering/fiddling types then "those that are an absolute pigsty and those where nothing happens" is a common quote). Whether music, isolation headphones (or maybe earplugs) or skipping them entirely is a good plan will be on a case by case, not to mention you still have to listen at some point.
Fancy glasses is more for dyslexia but if you wanted to spray some sidewall safety glasses with something dark to cut down peripheral vision you might gain something, in addition to being teased so be aware of that one.

A routine can help, though such things are harder to establish.

As others mentioned concentration is a skill (as is taking exams and depending upon what flavour of autism you have you might be particularly good at a few of those). If you want to try to train your memory then that can be a shortcut to it/come as a happy accident



Also if you have never been taught microexpressions then maybe pick a few of those up and learn to watch for them during classes. That will definitely keep you focused on things. If your autism is the flavour that sees human interactions on the harder to understand side it might end up as a skill you can use rather than innate but still worth knowing


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## scubersteve (Nov 4, 2020)

amphetamines have helped a lot of my friends

vyvanse is a cool alternative if your doctor is iffy about prescribing adderall


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## KnightMars (Nov 4, 2020)

Please be passionate about learning new things. Study hard play harder!


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