They keep saying they are bored and expecting me to fix it

What to do right now

They are bored and it is your problem. 'I am bored' is not a statement. It is a request for stimulation that their brain cannot generate internally. Do not list twenty activities. Give them two choices. Better: give them a physical task. The boredom is neurological discomfort, not a failure of imagination. A movement challenge, a building project, or a timed race meets the need without you becoming the entertainment.

What your brain just did

Your body

Your nervous system is activated. Cortisol and adrenaline are influencing how you think and react right now. This is physiology, not a character flaw.

Your brain

The ADHD prefrontal cortex provides less reliable braking between feeling and action. The gap between trigger and response is neurologically shorter than in a neurotypical brain.

What this did

What happened makes sense when you understand how your brain is wired. The reaction isn't the problem to solve. The conditions that led to it are.

What your child is experiencing

Their body

They are understimulated and uncomfortable. The boredom is not optional. It is a neurological state that feels physically unpleasant.

Their brain

ADHD baseline arousal is lower than neurotypical. When stimulation drops below threshold, the discomfort drives stimulation-seeking behaviour. They are not being lazy or unimaginative. Their brain is asking for input it cannot generate internally.

What they need

Movement, novelty, or challenge. Not a list of suggestions. Two choices or a physical task. The boredom resolves when the stimulation meets the threshold, not when they 'decide to do something.'