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What is group work?
It’s almost impossible to go through life without being part of a team and work as part of a group of some sort. Teams come in all shapes and sizes: families, friends, hobbies, clubs and sports. You also have to work together for school and college projects. Effective group work needs everyone to have a basic understanding of their own responsibilities. It also needs everyone to cooperate and share, and have a clear idea of what it is you are trying to achieve together.
What is involved in group work?
Supporting each other by giving encouragement, advice and practical help;- Understanding your own responsibilities within the group and completing your own jobs as well as you can;
- Working with different people and treating each other with respect;
- Creating a positive and friendly atmosphere within the group and avoiding rows;
- Trying your best to help the group do well, even when you don’t particularly like the jobs you have to do;
- Accepting that you have to follow orders sometimes – and give orders at other times;
- Finding new and creative ways to solve a problem;
- Telling the person in charge if there is a problem.
How does ADHD/ADD affect group work?
Everyone who has ADHD or ADD is different. Remember that the difficulties you have may not be the same as someone else’s. What suits them may not suit you as well.
To be effective in group work you need to listen carefully to other people. Good communication is essential for being able empathise with other people. This is how you establish a good rapport with group members. To be an effective group member you need to act responsibly, meet deadlines and produce work for the group as agreed.
ADHD/ADD might affect the way you participate in group work as follows:
- Difficulty concentrating can make it hard to stay focused when listening to other people talking. You might tend to finish other people's sentences or interrupt them;
- Difficulty with self organisation means that you might often be late. Perhaps you’re always losing things, or have trouble getting your work done. This can cause some difficulties in group work;
- However, your energy and drive should make you someone who has a valuable role to play in the group.
Self help
You should:
Decide whether or not to tell your classmates about your disability. Even if you choose not to disclose, you will need to think about the effects of your disability on yourself and on your classmates when you have to work together. If you have disclosed, then you will be able to give them some advice on what helps you. If you choose not to disclose, you will have to be more subtle about what you can ask the group to agree to;- If you have disclosed, you can agree some adjustments that will allow you to join in to the best of your ability. For example:
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- Invite your team mates to signal to you when they are saying something really important so that you can make an extra effort to pay attention;
- Agree, as a group, to make a record of the important information and action points that everyone can share – then you can go always go back and check what you have to do.
Use time management techniques to help you stay on track and meet deadlines:-
- Use your mobile phone timer and alarm functions;
- Make ‘to do’ lists and check off each task as you complete it;
- Take breaks at regular intervals, if needed;
- Create a plan of work and prioritise important tasks and those with set deadlines.
- Use planning techniques to help you control your study areas/room:
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- Highlight, underline or colour code (you can do this in MS Outlook too!) important parts of tasks and notes;
- Use post-it notes or MS Outlook to set reminders in your calendar.
Click on
'disclosure' for more information about how and when you should tell someone about your disability.
Click on
‘personal organisation’ for more information about how to manage your time and resources.
What can my tutors do to help me?
Your tutors should:
You should be allowed to choose where you sit if you are easily distracted by noise or activity. You may need to sit at the back of the room so as not to be distracted by people sitting behind you;- Tutors should be aware of the extra time, effort and concentration that you need for group work;
- Tutors should give you clear instructions and help you with action planning and prioritising tasks.
If you are not already getting the adjustments recommended here, print off a copy of these pages and use them as a starting point for a discussion with your tutor about what can be done to make sure you are able to benefit from their teaching. Remember, you can choose to do this in private if you prefer.
Click on
‘confidentiality’ for information about how your tutor should treat your personal information.
Useful Links
- Adders website
- The National Attention Deficit Disorder Support Service Website
- Children and Adults with ADHD (CHADD) website
- Developing an effective time management system
- Evaluating your efficiency
- Getting organised – some strategies for students
- Living with ADHD
- Manage your time with MS Outlook
- MS office 2007 has a range of planning tools available; right click on the Office button, select ‘new’, select ‘templates; select ‘planners’
- The National Institute of Mental Health: ADHD
- Streamline your office tasks
- Scheduling realistically
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