Awesome Apps for Kids/Teens with ADHD

Things that were learned through books, lectures, and hand-written practices when we were kids are now being learned through games, apps, and videos by the kids of this generation. Even their leisure time is spent differently than ours.

Here are some of my favorite apps for kids/teens with ADHD. They all boost learning capabilities and help the student stay busy enough to absorb information.

They’re great! (And parent-approved)

Great app for 4 to 6 year olds: Endless Reader

Cost: FREE (for the basic version); upgrades can be added

Available on: Apple and Android devices

Endless Reader is a spelling/reading app for younger kids that allows them to learn sight words in hilarious ways. The game turns letters into monsters and asks the player to place the letters in the correct order to create specific words. It’s super simple, the noises are interesting, and it’s constantly moving to keep kids on their toes.

Of all the kid’s apps in the entire world … this is my very favorite one! My daughter loves it (she’s four and a half) and it’s set up perfectly for kids with ADHD. The colors, the monsters, the sounds, the movement … all of it together is the perfect concoction for teaching ADHD kids how to read.

Great app for 7 to 9 year olds: Numbie: First Grade Math

Cost: FREE

Available on: Apple and Android devices

This is one a lot of people haven’t heard of, which surprises me. The visuals in this app are CRAZY (in the good way), and the material they’re teaching is great.

The game is eye-catching and fast-paced so that kids with ADHD are continually stimulated and constantly challenged. It’s not too challenging, though, which deters a lot of ADHD kids because they don’t always have the capacity to slow down and think through a problem.

Perhaps the reason this app is still relatively unheard of is because of its limited age range. Nonetheless, I love it! Younger elementary students can gain a lot from it, and parents can feel good about them playing it.

(It’s a heck of a lot better than those obnoxious “toy un-boxing” videos. You know what I’m talking about, parents.)

Great app for 10 to 12 year olds: Monument Valley

Cost: $3.99

Available on: Apple devices

** Apple Game of the Year 2014 **
** Winner of Apple Design Award 2014 **

This one is SO COOL. It’s a mind bender, full of optical illusions and tricks on the eyes, that stimulates the player’s creative thought process.

For kids with ADHD, Monument Valley keeps their attention by changing quickly and constantly. The music that plays throughout it is also fantastic. It’s so easy to get lost in this game.

Never underestimate the important of creative time for kids.

(Fun fact: My ADHD nephew beat this game in about an hour. Go ADHD kids!)

Great app for 13 to 14 year olds: Epic Win

Cost: $1.99

Available on: Apple and Android devices

Your middle-schoolers hate doing chores … right? Of course they do. We all did at that age. For kids/teens with ADHD, household chores can be even more tedious because they don’t have the concentration skills required to finish long projects.

Epic Win is the world’s most fantastic way to make those monotonous chores a little easier. It’s basically a role-playing game that allows them to be the main character (the hero, obviously) who destroys challenges and defeats enemies.

“What are the challenges and enemies?” you ask.

That’s easy. Whatever chore you’ve assigned them! You can customize the app to send them on quests that are similar to the chore they need to accomplish, and then they can be [virtually] rewarded once they’ve completed the task. What ADHD kid wouldn’t love that?

Wish they would’ve had this during all the times I did dishes by hand as a kid. *Shudder*

Great app for 15 to 17 year olds: Audible

Cost: FREE (you only pay for the books, unless you download one of their free books!)

Available on: Apple and Android devices

I know so many people with ADHD who really, seriously struggle with reading. Their minds just wander too much. Some people with ADHD have a tendency to focus too much on what they’re doing and can read without noticing a single thing going on around them.

A lot of people, however, find their ADHD to be a huge road block when it comes to reading. For high school students, especially, reading is an important part of them learning education material and graduating with passing grades.

My father-in-law who has ADHD loves to listen to audio books. He can keep his hands/body busy while listening to the book, and actually ends up absorbing the story better than most people do.

Downloading an older student’s textbooks through Audible could mean the difference between them learning what they need to before a test and failing because they couldn’t concentrate long enough to read.

By W. R. Cummings, PsychCentral