To ask for ADHD classroom experience from the other side

[Nimbostratus100]

More specific than other threads currently running

If you have ADHD, please tell me what helped you most at school

Secondary teacher off sick here, just pondering returning to work some time this year.

I do my best for my students with ADHD, but always wonder if there is something I could do better. Of course everyone is different, and what works for one student might not work for another. And I suppose I am most likely to get a female perspective here, which might be very different to the male one. But any mums to sons with ADHD, insights very welcome!

But imagine yourself back to sitting in front of me in a secondary classroom as a young teen

Please describe what you would most want from me.

Thank you

Space and time to fidget. Both myself (diagnosed as an adult) and my child (in process of diagnosis) need space to pace, fidget, make noise. We don't want to distract but it helps us learn.

Please tell me more about the noise. Space and fidgeting is easy to provide in a classroom, but noise is more problematic, particularly if others are being disciplined for chat, etc.

Consider that pupils without a diagnosis may also be neurodivergent. Many adults who did badly at school describe a history of doing well in primary but struggling in secondary.

Some pupils don't do homework / forget equipment because they can't be bothered but for others it's because they are struggling with executive functioning or may have anxiety and not want to hand their work in.

I think if a pupil was humming, for example, this could be more easily accommodated, than a pupil who was talking, would this work?

My daughter needs to wear headphones. She can't stand external noise. Obviously she only does this once teacher has finished speaking &
They are doing their work individually, but the difference this makes to her learning experience can't be understated.
If that kind of thing can be understood it will
Be brilliant for so many. She also needs to use her fidget cube.

For me I tap, a lot, click pens. Because I couldn't pace it came out as noise, it might be if you let kids pace they will make less noise.

I agree with the other poster too. Executive function is non existent. I always forgot everything and got into serious trouble as a result so lied to cover myself and became a distraction because I couldn't keep up but was too embarrassed to ask for help or accept it when offered...

It's pretty complicated really

Have fidget toys available, simple but effective fix

That is very interesting. I have never heard of this approach for a student with ADHD

Thank you for your input

Is there any approach a teacher could take that might overcome a student feeling embarrassment asking for help or accepting it when offered?

No. Not unless you know the cure to being a teenager 😂

😂

Oh wow, I'm just so happy that you're a teacher and you've asked this question! I think your curiosity about this and the fact you care will make a difference, even if you don't get simple solutions here.

I'm struggling to answer usefully as my school was awful with me and even as a masters educated adult, I'm still hampered by the crushingly low self-esteem they instilled in me.

I suppose, thinking about the variety of different education establishments I've experienced post GCSE, what worked best was experiential learning. Anything using more of the senses and moving my body. I'm not sure how that translates back to secondary school though. What definitely didn't work was sitting still and taking information in aurally. I had to learn by asking friends afterwards or reading their notes.

One thing I see clearly now, as my own child has similar struggles, is that shame and low self esteem push the nervous system into fight or flight mode, which increases the fidgeting and even changes the ability of the ears to focus on the sound of the human voice. Secondary schools place a huge emphasis on personal responsibility and self organisation. A child with specific learning difficulties is already probably struggling with the way the lesson is delivered, and then perhaps even more likely to forget equipment or fail to keep their notes in order, and so the problems, and feelings of shame, spiral.

1. Having a central place to start the day - eg a home room. Where the student can check they have all they need for the day ahead, check diary, revise the plan for the day. And just to be able to chill after the stress of getting to school. Always with same teacher.
2. Be handed a written sheet to take home at the end of each class which sets out what was covered in class, any homework and when that homework is due.
3. Ability to pace around classroom or lie on floor to do work if that's what's required (sensory)
4. Never take away break times as punishment. They are needed for regulation.
5. Movement breaks every 20 mins. Beneficial to entire class, not just those with ADHD.
6. Having spare essentials in classroom - laptop, copy of textbook, laptop charger, pen/paper etc. - so minimise stress if they have been forgotten
7. Advance notice of assessments and regular updates of those. Email parents too so they can assist with staying on top of assessment deadlines
8. Homework club - one afternoon / week where students can stay behind at school and get homework done whilst supervised by teacher
9. Study skills. High school students just don't know how to revise and need so much support with revising, planning their time etc.

@Nimbostratus100 she has adhd & autism. She plays her own calming music/noisy music or podcast which helps keep out external
Annoying noises and helps her focus. It seems to cut down the amount of stimming she does which she prefers as that makes her feel
Embarassed when people notice

My DS has ASD/ADHD and if another student was humming/clicking a pen/ fidgeting it would infuriate him - this is despite the fact that doing all those things himself would help him regulate!

When giving instructions make sure they are understood not by asking ‘do you understand?’ as the answer will invariably be yes even if it’s not understood. Make sure the student can tell you what they need to do.

useful and helpful input thank you . |Lots to think about here.

( but have to chuckle a bit at the idea that I might have a spare text book 😁- and the idea of a school having a spare lap top - no comment)

Ask then privately what helps them, what doesn't. My son (14) is very aware of why he does some of the stuff he does and in a calm moment will happily talk about it. Let little things go if at all possible or for some a bit of humour can deflect. Bare in mind that they say by the time a child with ADHD is 12 they will have received 20,000 more negative comments than their peers. It's so important for them to feel liked.

And prompting. Often students with ADHD have trouble getting started. So once you've described the activity, you might need to separately (quietly, discretely) give your ADHDer a little extra nudge. It could be as simple as, pointing to the bit on the page where they should start writing. It's helpful too to provide the instructions in written form - eg on the board - even if you've also explained things verbally, so that students can refer back to the board during the lesson

This is a really big thing for me, I always aim for any struggling student to feel liked. Whatever their struggle is

My DS is in a specialist dyslexia school and the most helpful things that help his ADHD are

low arousal classroom- no pictures etc to distract on the walls.

an afternoon walking break

not having to bring in his own stationary and books are kept at school

I do get that, honestly (about the spares)! But my son's poorly funded public (state) high school here in Australia has been able to do it (they have a few spare 'school' laptops - not a spare per class) and it's been a life saver on occasion!

@BumbleShyBee when my son was at the local state school they had 11 laptops for the whole school - 1100 students!

Sounds like you are a great teacher. My son excels in classes where he feels liked (he can be difficult to like, I get it)

To be honest, nothing. I felt imprisoned. I genuinely felt like school was a prison. I wasn’t bullied or anything and I had friends but the locked gates used to upset me. Many times I would plan my escape route as I got to know what teachers at what times would man the gates. If I timed it right I would leg it home out the gates and feel euphoric like I had just escaped from inside the prison. It wasn’t a terribly long time ago as I’m 34. I didn’t know at the time though I had ADHD. I must have been a huge source of frustration for my teachers because they liked me and I was bright. Never applied myself though in the end when it mattered as I was too busy escaping.

I remember the last day of school it was one of the best feelings of my life. The huge anticipation of my exciting life that lay ahead. I was on the top of the world leaving those gates.

Australian schools must be much better funded then here. No chance whatso sever of access to a spare text book, the school as a whole has exactly zero spare laptops, ( in fact, not enough laptops for students who cant write to have one each anyway) and if there is spare paper or pens in my classroom, that will be because I have brought them in myself. The cost of paper has doubled here, and the school ran out 3 months before the end of the year last year