When I developed the Bubble Planner several years ago, I did not intentionally design it for people with Attention Deficit Disorder. However, over time, it became apparent that the Bubble Planner is uniquely suited for this group. On the surface, it makes sense. I had become so overwhelmed with the demands on my attention (not to mention a caffeine addiction) that I was exhibiting the same symptoms of someone with ADHD. So, the solution addresses many of the same needs.
In reading the article, Rethinking ADHD from a Cognitive Perspective, it appears that the key has to do with working memory. While people with ADHD often have challenges from a Cognitive viewpoint with executive functions, working memory, and speed of information processing; these challenges are interrelated. Thus, if you improve the ability in one of these areas, all of them are affected.
So, how does the Bubble Planner improve working memory? Well, first, it's important to understand what working memory is. Wikipedia defines working memory as a theoretical construct within cognitive psychology as to the structures and processes used for temporarily storing and manipulating information in short-term memory. I believe that the Bubble Planner, by providing an external associative context to store this information helps bridge deficiencies in the working memory.
This is a high concept way of saying that writing things down in the bubbles and connecting them with lines or putting them beside each other mimics the job of working memory. If you haven't already, I think it's worthwhile to read the article referenced above and the entire wikipedia entry for working memory. I had heard that phone numbers were originally limited to seven numbers as this is the most that people could consistently remember (the three digit area code was generally common to those you were calling regularly, so, it wasn't considered new information to remember). The Magical Number Seven is related and an interesting read as well.
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