LoopBreak
BFA Senior Thesis Research
Trying to succeed in school while dealing with ADHD symptoms often leads to a negative feedback loop that just keeps repeating without any progress - LoopBreak is designed to help user break out of that loop. It is a card deck printed with different approaches and methods of managing tasks with ADHD symptoms, gathered through research into occupational therapy techniques and sensory processing issues related to ADHD.
Throughout my entire time in school, my ADHD symptoms caused a lot of stress and and negatively affected me both academically and emotionally. I had always wished there was some way I could have known how to deal with the symptoms I had been having. So when thinking about my thesis project as a capstone to my experience in college, and some of the problem solving skills and approaches I’ve gained during my time in higher education, I wanted to see how I could apply design thinking to generate a solution for some of the problems I had navigating school.
While there are treatment and accommodation options that already exist for students having trouble in school due to their ADHD - medication and university-arranged accomodations are two of the more common options - research actually shows that the most important tools for succeeding academically with ADHD are internal resources. The ability to recognize when and why you’re at a roadblock and take action to cope with your symptoms is crucial for students with ADHD. This can take many forms depending on the situation, but most accommodations and treatments for ADHD aren’t made to build these habits.
Thesis Question
How can we use principles of user experience design to create an engaging and effective resource that helps college students with ADHD cultivate healthy coping mechanisms they can use in school and beyond?
Research Background
My initial research on this topic was inquiry into what resources are currently available to students with ADHD, and how college students with ADHD are currently faring both academically and mentally. I also looked into what methods are being currently being applied by successful adults with ADHD, and how these methods can not only be taught to others, but how to build self awareness and the ability to self-advocate when encountering struggles. As part of my research, I cosnulted with two experts in the design and education industries, who gave me insights on the development of my product and helped me consider ways of making my design solution most effective for its intended users. Once I had gathered enough information, I compiled a list of user requirements to guide the formation of the final deliverable.
Design Solution
My research and design thinking process lead me to a solution I decided to call LoopBreak. It is a card deck printed with different approaches and methods of managing tasks with ADHD symptoms, gathered through research into occupational therapy techniques and sensory processing issues related to ADHD. Users of LoopBreak will be onboarded to the experience with the question, “How are you feeling?” This approach builds the ability to identify times to apply these coping tools based on emotional cues. Based on their answer, they will be able to select a color coded card from the deck that offers a helpful tip, along with information on why the advice is useful for coping with ADHD symptoms specifically.
