Five more minutes won’t hurt…

For one neurodivergent young woman, inhibition (control impulses) was never her strong suit. Instead, she was constantly allowing herself to become distracted by things around her. Whether it be by her phone or wanting to strike up a conversation with her friends, she always seemed drawn to the more entertaining thing rather than what was important at the time, like homework or listening to teachers when they were speaking. Although she was able to get by in high school, once she was in college and away from her parents micromanaging, her inhibition skills continued to get weaker.

In lectures she was constantly playing on her phone or speaking to her neighbor instead of listening to the professor, claiming she will study whatever she missed when she gets back to her dorm. Yet, once it came time to study, she would get distracted by the show her roommate was playing in the background, so she went to her room, but even there she couldn’t control herself. She would often reach for her phone or stare out the window, causing her grades to begin to slip. The young woman wouldn’t stay on task long enough to focus on studying, and even while socializing, her inhibition seemed to be lacking. She would constantly interrupt people, react harshly and impulsively when upset, and even not do chores because she’d get sidetracked in the process, creating a strain on her relationship with her roommate who had to do all the cleaning herself.

As time went on, all these aspects began to make college a difficult place for the neurodiverse young woman. Her grades were slipping, her relationships with her peers, friends, and roommate were suffering, and so was the young woman’s mental health, worrying her parents. As time went on, they did some research before reaching out to the College Life Skills Program for help. There, the young woman met weekly with a coach/counselor while in college to help strengthen her inhibition skills by helping her eliminate distraction and teaching her skills and strategies to help her better control her impulses. As time went on, her executive functioning skills became stronger, allowing the young woman to feel confident in her abilities to go back out and tackle independent life again.

Inhibition is a core aspect of executive functioning. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to control our impulses, leading to angry outbursts, poor planning and task completion, and lack of sensible decision making, which can make many aspects of life much more difficult. For neurodivergent people, especially those with ADHD, inhibition can be a difficult skill to fully develop. As once source puts it, “A key feature of ADHD is impulsivity, or difficulty pausing to consider the possible ramifications of one’s actions before acting.” (Enright, 2021). This is because neurodivergent individuals tend to struggle greatly with executive dysfunction. Another source explains this by stating how “Executive dysfunction is a symptom that happens with conditions that disrupt your brain’s ability to control thoughts, emotions and behavior.” (clevelandclinic, 2022).

Without inhibition, many other executive functioning skills cannot function. Planning, organizing, task completion and more will not fully be efficiently utilized in daily life if one cannot do anything to completion, making independent life much more difficult than it needs to be. Being able to do what is more important in the moment, even though it may not be the more entertaining or fun choice, is important for young adults to be proficient in doing, because if not, they may never be able to reach their fullest potential. However, inhibitory skills are not impossible to learn.

At the College Life Skills Program, our team of Doctoral and Master level professionals utilizes a series of highly individualized strategies, services, and techniques to help neurodivergent young adults who are college bound, in college, and even after college succeed in and after their transition into independent life. We help teach them life skills such as inhibition so they can be successful in the work world and in life as well as help them learn how to balance independent life on their own, and other executive functioning skills, social skills, and emotional maturity. If your young adult is struggling with life skills, such as maintaining inhibition on their own or the transition into college and adulthood, CollegeLSP has the tools to aid them in achieving and generalizing such skills.


Click here and call now to schedule your FREE 20-minute individualized screening- $150 value.

Dr. Eric J. Nach, Ph.D., M.Ed., A.S.D.C., is a Developmental and Behavioral Specialist who specializes in Autism, ADHD and related disorders. Dr. Nach is the founder of the College Life Skills Program where he and his team of professional’s help develop the Emotional Maturity, Executive Functioning, Life Skill and Social Abilities of college students and those high school students preparing for college. The CollegeLSP is a subsidiary program of the Support For Students Growth Center, located in Boca Raton, FL and providing services nationwide.

Professional, C. C. medical. (2022). Executive dysfunction: What it is, symptoms & treatment. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/23224-executive-dysfunction

Enright, J. (2022, May 22). Impulsivity: It’s a neurodivergent thing. Medium. https://medium.com/the-museum-of-the-neurodivergent-aesthetic/impulsivity-explained-a-guide-for-neurotypicals-399b30ae318f