The ADHD Training I Wish I'd Had as a Youth Worker
Sometimes an opportunity makes you stop and look back at your own journey.
This November, I've been invited to Slovenia to deliver training at Youth is (not) Madness, an annual conference on youth mental health hosted by Young Dragons. The conference brings together professionals working with young people to explore current issues in youth mental health, share practice and learn from one another.
I'll be delivering training on something that brings together two very important parts of my professional life:
ADHD and Youth Work.
As I started developing the training, I found myself thinking more and more about my own 20+ years working with young people.
And one thought kept coming back: I wish I'd known then what I know now about ADHD.
That eventually led to another thought ... ... If I'm bringing this learning to Youth Workers and other professionals at an international conference, why not share it with Youth Workers here in Ireland too?
And that is where Beyond Behaviour: Supporting Young People with ADHD Through Youth Work came from.
The Things I Understand Differently Now
When I look back at my years in Youth Work through the lens of what I now know about ADHD, there are situations I understand very differently.
- The young person who couldn't seem to sit through an activity.
- The teenager who agreed to do something and genuinely seemed to mean it but still didn't do it.
- The young person who could manage brilliantly one week and be completely overwhelmed the next.
- The one who had a huge reaction to something that seemed relatively small.
- The young person who constantly lost things, forgot things, interrupted, struggled with transitions or needed far more prompting than their peers.
- And sometimes the young person who appeared not to care at all.
As Youth Workers, we see behaviour.
But behaviour doesn't always tell us the whole story.
When we don't understand what might be happening underneath it, it's very easy to think:
- They're not listening.
- They're being difficult.
- They need to try harder.
- They're attention seeking.
- They know better.
One of the most valuable shifts in my own understanding of ADHD has been learning to ask a different question:
What's getting in the way?
ADHD Is About So Much More Than Attention
Before specialising in ADHD, I understood ADHD.
Or at least I thought I did. I knew about attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity.
What I didn't fully understand was the extent to which ADHD can affect executive functioning, emotional regulation, working memory, task initiation, planning and organisation, flexible thinking, impulse regulation and the regulation of attention itself.
And once we understand those things, some of the behaviours we encounter in Youth Work can begin to look different.
A young person refusing to join an activity might be overwhelmed.
Someone continually interrupting may be struggling to hold onto a thought while also regulating the impulse to say it.
The teenager who never brings back the consent form may have every intention of doing it but remembering it at the right moment, getting it to the right person and returning it again involves a surprising number of executive function steps.
The young person who becomes angry when it's time to leave may be struggling with the transition rather than deliberately creating a problem.
Understanding what is underneath behaviour doesn't mean there are no boundaries or expectations.
It gives us a better starting point from which to help.
Instead of only asking: “How do I stop this behaviour?”
we can also ask: “What is getting in the way for this young person and what might help?”
Youth Work Already Has So Much of What Young People with ADHD Need
There is another thing I've realised through bringing my ADHD and Youth Work experience together.
Good Youth Work already does so much that can support a young person with ADHD.
- We build relationships.
- We learn through doing.
- We use activities, games, movement and creativity.
- We work in groups.
- We give young people opportunities to make choices and have a voice.
- We help them discover their strengths.
- We create opportunities to belong.
- We allow young people to try, make mistakes and try again.
- We develop social, communication and life skills through real experiences rather than just talking about them.
And sometimes a Youth Worker can become one of the adults in a young person's life who sees beyond what they're struggling with and notices what they're actually good at.
We don't need Youth Workers to become ADHD clinicians or therapists.
But when we combine what Youth Work already does well with a better understanding of ADHD, we can become much more intentional about how we support the young person in front of us.
The Training I Wish I'd Had
That became the foundation for Beyond Behaviour: Supporting Young People with ADHD Through Youth Work.
I've built the programme around a simple progression:
RECOGNISE → RESPOND → BUILD → INCLUDE
First, understand what we might be seeing.
Then consider what's getting in the way and how we respond.
Then look at the skills we can help young people develop.
And finally, look beyond the young person and ask what we can change in our environments, expectations and practice.
It's essentially the ADHD understanding, practical tools and questions I wish I'd had in my own Youth Work toolkit years ago combined with many of the things I now know can help.
Beyond Behaviour: Supporting Young People with ADHD Through Youth Work
This October and November, I'll be delivering the programme as a four-part live online training series for Youth Workers and other professionals working directly with young people across Ireland.
13 October | RECOGNISE: Understanding ADHD Beyond the Behaviour
Moving beyond common ADHD stereotypes, exploring how ADHD can present differently in young people and developing an understanding of the ADHD brain.
20 October | RESPOND: What's Getting in the Way?
Recognising triggers, stressors and individual “buttons”; responding in the moment through connection, safety and regulation; and looking beyond the immediate situation to identify skills that may need support.
No session during October mid-term.
3 November | BUILD: Developing Skills Through Doing
Exploring practical games, activities and approaches that can be adapted for Youth Work settings, with a focus on developing executive-function, social and communication skills.
10 November | INCLUDE: Creating the Conditions to Thrive
Looking beyond individual interventions to consider what Youth Workers and youth services can offer young people with ADHD.
What can we change in our environment and practice to give the young person in front of us a better opportunity to participate and thrive?
Practical. Interactive. Grounded in Youth Work.
Four Tuesday mornings | 11:30am–1:00pm | Online via Zoom
The programme includes:
- 6 hours of live training
- Downloadable resources
- Practical worksheets for use in one-to-one work
- Games and activity ideas that can be adapted for group work
- Opportunities for discussion and reflection with other Youth Workers
Places will be limited to allow for interaction, discussion and questions.
Cost: €120 per person
Interested in joining us?
For further information or to book a place, email hello@empowermenthub.ie.
I'm looking forward to bringing this work to Slovenia in November.
But I'm equally excited to share what I now understand about ADHD, along with the practical tools I've learned along the way, with Youth Workers here in Ireland.
Youth Work has been a huge part of my life since I started my own journey as a Youth Worker in Waterford back in 1999. A long time ago but more than 20+ years later, I'm still passionate about the difference a good Youth Worker and good Youth Work can make in a young person's life.
Beyond Behaviour brings those two parts of my journey together: my years in Youth Work and what I now know and understand about ADHD.
Because when we understand what's happening beneath the behaviour, we have a much better chance of giving the young person in front of us what they actually need.