Learning to Learn: How to Move Past Resistance When Learning
Learning a new skill or strategy can be very challenging for many AuDHD individuals, especially during the process of unmasking! We may have arrived to adulthood without really knowing how to learn in a way that supports our success in trying out new hobbies, learning new strategies, etc.
Why do we struggle to “learn the thing”?
Perfectionist mentality - holding ourselves at the high expectation to understand immediately and be perfect at whatever we are trying to learn
Fear of making mistakes - anxiety surrounding the amount of time or trial-and-errors something may take to learn
Comparison to others - comparing individual learning style or timeframe to others and developing negative self talk
Overwhelmed by the big picture - one may be struggling with the executive functioning of breaking down learning the skill into smaller, more manageable steps towards the bigger goal or struggling to initiate the first step and gain inertia
Lack of dopamine - what we are trying to learn may simply be boring or uninteresting to our minds
Strategies to support learning
Consider the self imposed expectations… are these realistic? Remember, we learn through trial-and-error, messing up or “failures”, and experience. Give yourself grace.
Note negative self talk. We may internalize or mirror unrealistic expectations placed on us or modeled during childhood. It’s best to work with our brains rather than against it.
Break the large goal down into smaller, more achievable steps. Measure your progress against your recent past rather than against others’ journeys.
Make sure your nervous system is regulated! We cannot learn anything well if our emotional needs, sensory profile, or executive functioning is not being supported.
Consider adding movement when learning (i.e. walking while memorizing a poem or listening to an educational podcast, etc)
Consider your sensory or executive functioning strengths to support learning (i.e. singing information to store it into memory, rhythmic repetition, mnemonic devices, pattern recognition, visual supports, etc)
Gamification - this can be helpful, but is a skill to learn in order to learn. How can we add fun or some competition into learning?
Would body doubling or learning with another person help?
Can you incorporate a time constraint or reward element for additional motivation?
Make your learning goals follow the SMART framework
Specific: individualized to you (not based off others)
Measurable: objective ability to measure progress
Achievable: is it a realistic expectation at this time?
Relevant: based on your individual functional needs during the time of your life
Time Bound: have a foreseeable and reasonable ending to work towards
Resources:
Books Recommended:
Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most by Greg McKeon
The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy by Steph Jones
Contributors: Nik, Kaitlyn, Kathaniel