A more active parenting after attending Let’s Get Organized – Experiences of parents with ADHD

Abstract

Background Parenting demands a high degree of attention, planning, and problem-solving, including time management, demands that can be challenging for parents with ADHD. Let’s Get Organized (LGO) is an occupational therapy group intervention aiming at developing skills in time management, organisation and planning. There is a need to investigate if LGO may have an impact also on parenting.Aim To describe how parents with ADHD experienced the intervention, their time management strategies, parenting and family life after the occupational therapy group intervention LGO.Method Interviews were performed with 15 parents with ADHD, after completing LGO. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.Results The findings are described in one overarching main category, Active parenting and better relations within and outside the family through daily time management with three underlying generic categories: Let’s Get Organized facilitates empowerment in daily life; The individual and family – both facilitators of and obstacles to implementation of time management strategies; and A changed parenting and family life.Conclusions and significance Participants experienced a positive impact on time management skills after LGO, which generated more active parenting and better predictability in the whole family. LGO can be a valuable intervention for parents with ADHD.

Keywords

• Adult
• empowerment
• intervention
• occupational therapy
• parenting support
• time management