Educational techniques for ADHD – Bracketing distracting thoughts

One meaning of the term “bracketing” is “to place within.” This concept of “placing within” is a helpful strategy that students and adults can use to identify and appropriately deal with distracting thoughts.

In stage one, students decide whether their current thoughts are appropriate for the task at hand. If they are not, students can bracket them in stage two.

It is very helpful to teach students (and adults) to classify thoughts into three groups:

Now: appropriate to follow up on now, i.e. thoughts that promote full engagement in the lesson or other current task. During reading, for example, a “now” thought would be about the content of the reading (reading comprehension) or about ways to stay focused on reading.

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