How can you design Digital Learning products for users with ADHD?

You need to understand how the ADHD brain works if you really want to provide content which will work for that brain. Perhaps a self check in at the beginning so that the users can understand what strengths might be needed and what strengths and weaknesses they have. Greater self understanding will help success.

You probably know people who have ADHD already. If not, make it a goal to get to know someone who does, and then someone else. Survey, interviews, and personas, are all great tools of course. But if you can't relate on a human level to someone that you know and can empathize with first, such tools can distance you from your audience, and that's a gap that people can often feel. Gather the data, build and test and iterate your product, yes! But start with your audience, and learning to see their world. You aren't serving "Them" with what you make, you're learning to serve "All of Us" even better.

Engaging with an individuals with ADHD is crucial. Their lived experience will give more insight to the challenges they face, it will also give accurate representation that needs will be different from individual to individual.

Awareness of targeted population needs and strategies that best aid their learning is a crucial step before designing any goals, curriculum or product. However, people with ADHD don't need specialised kinds of products. They can use the smilier products that other learners use with some supporting strategies like colourful visuals.

By using neuroinclusive language, it doesn’t just benefit the minority - it’s benefits EVERYONE. Many people, regardless of neurostatus, find open language and learning aids easier to process information. By using more inclusive language and learning aids, you are also supporting individuals who may have been missed diagnosed. Many neurodistinct conditions are also co-occurring, so there is a higher chance using inclusive learning support will benefit a wider audience over than the targeted.

I agree with Holly's point by simplifying content it's not only the target population who gets benefits ( because of the diagnosis or 'label') but also the people who struggle but do not visibly take advantage. I can give a simple example of a child with ADHD due to a teacher adding visuals, images, diagrams, charts or visuals, or videos to supplement/ illustrate text. Using all these mentioned techniques not only facilitates a student with ADHD but also a student who struggles with language processing or has dyslexia.

Building on the comments above. The Australian Bureau of Statistics states 12% of adults are neurodiverse. This doesn't include the large number undiagnosed! Taking this approach for all change and communications will let you reach and engage ALL employees, including your existing 'invisible' neurodiverse cohort. Nearly 70% of neurodiverse adults will not tell an employee about their unique, amazing brain due to stigma and discrimination, or they are undiagnosed. Don't wait for someone to go, 'Hey, I'm here and different.' Start now.

A great example for PowerPoints here, would be to minimise the use of animations, keep slides precise and not loaded with text, keep text the same font and not overcrowded. In text documents, use a minimum 1.5 line spacing. Use a neuroinclusive font such as calibri or veranda.

There's research evidence which supports that the multi-sensory approach facilitates learning. The use of techniques like visualisation is evidence-based and effective.

The best learning occurs in a supportive and empathetic environment. Unfortunately, the current grading system creates anxiety, fear and a continuous feeling of being evaluative. Before introducing challenges, competitions, and feedback, consider individual differences, readiness for the task, and how students take the results of group tasks.

This is probably one of the most important aspects. If you don't engage the ADHD brain, it cannot possible learn. It's really important to have all styles of content provided, video, aural, written and some form of self check in or feedback with immediate response. Short content is also really important - content should take no more than 7/8 minutes to consume.

Let’s move past the days of death by power point! Measuring engagement will help you understand if you’re getting it right… or very wrong. Making content personable is a great way to engage people for example sharing experiences. Before engaging in social learning, make sure you engage with individuals that they are comfortable to do so and what’s involved.

Support should be given to all users not just those with ADHD. Support should not be given just because they have ADHD… support should be given on individual need not diagnosis met. By ensuring your material is inclusive will remove many barriers in the first instance.

Make it as easy as possible for you to learn from the people who are learning from what you make. Design for feedback cycles, and proactively look for trends in the usage data. Then, most importantly, DO something with these results. When people know you are listening to them and can see you making change on their behalf, they will tend to give more input and pay closer attention. Especially people who are traditionally marginalized or ignored. Helping people with ADHD be heard is itself a tremendous support, and will bring you a wealth of information you can use to provide the specific types of user support that have the most impact. And remember, serving this audience well means serving everyone even better.

Along with all mentioned points, and unconditional support, working on independent learning and self-confidence is important to achieve long-term goals.

Reminders which can be incorporate into their lives are important. Make is compatabile with phones so that it can be all in one place. Different platforms with different reminders will make them too difficult so they will be ignored.

Building on Chris's fantastic point. If you can, also talk to your employees. Ask them to tell you about experiences where they were engaged, absorbed content, learnt. Then flip it and ask for their negative experiences. This will give you great insight to then create an approach, with the tools you have at hand.