Managing daily activities
low mood, ADHD, ’
TRANSITION
There appeared to be a lack of congruence between the phase 1 median TRAQ managing daily activities score of 4.33 and the narratives of the youth shared in phase 2. The relatively high TRAQ subscale score indicates youth with co‐occurring chronic health and mental health conditions in phase 1 were confident managers of their daily activities, including preparing meals, doing household chores, and using neighbourhood services. While some of the youth interviewed in phase 2 described living independently and being responsible for ‘cleaning’, ‘keeping things organized’ and ‘grabbing groceries’ (see Figure Joint Display of TRAQ managing daily activities subscale results. IQR, interquartile range; TRAQ, Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire.Despite the high TRAQ phase 1 subscale score, a number of phase 2 participants shared how their mental health symptoms affected their ability to perform activities of daily living. They described their mental health as ebbing and flowing so that during periods when their mood was low or they were inconsistent with their medications, these activities became challenging to manage independently. Examples were provided of the impact of youths' mental health symptoms on managing daily activities, including lacking the motivation to participate in hobbies they were passionate about (e.g., drawing), difficulty focusing long enough to clean their rooms or complete schoolwork due to ADHD, and challenges with meal planning and preparation due to low mood and extended sleep (see Table 