A Guide for Teaching Students With ADHD

Part of raising awareness about the educational needs of children with atypical development is providing knowledge, training, and resources so teachers can help children with ADHD succeed. In many cases, educators enter the classroom with an unclear understanding of the nature and manifestation of the disorder, which stops them from taking the right step forward. To prevent this, we’ve created a comprehensive guide for teaching students with ADHD. 

Our goal is to clear the air and help teachers as well as homeschooling parents to have a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In addition, we aim to share a lot of resources and opportunities where both teachers and homeschooling parents can find support and professional training for teaching students with ADHD. 

What You Need to Know About ADHD

Much has been written about ADHD, yet mandatory training for teachers and caregivers in this field is still a rare sight. This contributes to the general confusion and misconceptions that persist in the classroom. It also affects the students, which is the main concern. While knowledge about ADHD increases after an experience with ADHD students, studies warn about the suboptimal knowledge teachers have about ADHD, especially when it comes to treatment. This is why we’ll start by briefly and clearly explaining the current findings on ADHD. 

What Is ADHD?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, commonly known as ADHD, is the most common developmental neurobehavioral condition that can be formally diagnosed through its clinical manifestation. It’s characterized by overactive, impulsive behavior, and difficulty concentrating and paying attention to a point where it disrupts normal functionality. 

According to the American Psychiatric Association, the prevalence of ADHD is around 4% to 7% of children (diagnosed) worldwide. Typically, the diagnosis is based on DSM-V criteria, which say that a child has ADHD when it manifests a persistent (more than 6 months) pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity that interferes with normal development and functioning. Depending on which of the three core symptoms are predominant, there can be three different types or presentations of ADHD, which we’ll get to in a minute. 

A lot of vague words, we agree, and we’ll break them down in the following section, but before we do that, it’s important to address the fact that DSM-V diagnostic criteria are not perfect. Although it’s the best diagnostic tool we have so far, a lot of challenges and concerns remain, especially with overdiagnosing and overmedicating young children. A serious critique of ADHD is the skepticism among some researchers whether it’s an actual syndrome or not. Scientific evidence points to the fact that yes, the condition meets important conditions for syndrome definition even though many things remain unclear. The pathology of ADHD is one of those things that prevent a clear neurological background explaining the clinical picture and cognitive function. 

In other words, it’s still not clear what are the underlying mechanisms of ADHD. Several factors have been associated with the condition, including abnormalities in the functioning of neurotransmitters and brain structure, but hopefully, we’ll know more in the future. For now, keep this in mind while you read the information about symptoms, evaluation, and treatment. During developmental years, children vary massively in temperament and characters, which might get even the best of us fooled that something is wrong when it’s actually not. To be on the safe side, our recommendation is to always consult with trained professionals and medical personnel before you make a conclusion.   

ADHD Types and Presentations

The clinical manifestation of a typical profile of an ADHD individual is what leads professionals to suspect a child might have it. There are three indicators for making the diagnosis. We’ve already discussed these three aspects as inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsiveness. But, what do they mean in practice? 

Inattention means that the student can’t follow instructions or has difficulty completing tasks. This is due to a short attention span that makes students unable to stick to something. Therefore, these students are typically disorganized, distracted, forgetful, and seem completely uninterested in the activity or task they’re supposed to do. If the other two criteria are absent, this profile is seen as the inattentive presentation of ADHD without hyperactivity or impulsivity problems. 

The second cluster of symptoms is describing students with hyperactivity issues. These students seem restless, they can’t sit still, always move, and jump around like they have all the energy in the world. Hyperactivity also means being noisy and running around when it’s inappropriate. This highlights an important fact about ADHD students and generally hyperactive kids. ADHD students can’t control themselves and this behavior is not intentional. It should be differentiated from kids who are conveniently restless and mischievous when they are bored or want to provoke. 

The third aspect of ADHD is impulsivity, which usually goes hand in hand with hyperactivity. Impulsive kids interrupt others, blurt answers even if they were warned not to do that, have difficulty in waiting for turns, have difficulty in following the rules in a group activity, etc. Together with hyperactivity, kids who manifest these symptoms have the second ADHD type – hyperactive/impulsive presentation of ADHD (without inattention).

Finally, the third type is a combined presentation of ADHD where a student has inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms. It’s considered the most severe form of ADHD and usually most functionally disruptive. 

ADHD Evaluation

Let’s say that while reading the above-mentioned symptoms, a student comes to mind. Most parents and teachers reading this article already have their suspicions which are now probably even bigger. What do you do now? Should you seek help and where do you start? 

The first thing you should consider is the age of the kid. A child under the age of 4 can’t be diagnosed with ADHD. Sometimes, parents wait for the child to manifest symptoms at school before taking it as a serious problem. However, if you’re scared for the well-being of your child, please consult with your health-care provider that can refer you to a childhood ADHD specialist if they think that’s necessary. 

If you’re a teacher, the first contact should always be the parents. It’s a sensitive issue, but if your approach is with consideration and pure intentions, they’ll probably be understanding. Moreover, parents can provide invaluable context crucial for diagnosing the child. With the knowledge and permission of the parents, the school can also do their own educational evaluation for providing academic accommodations, essential for the success of ADHD students. Most federal funding schools are obliged to offer some kind of evaluation for these issues. If you’re not familiar, contact the school representative who can give you more details on this option. 

Finally, there are many private practice specialists for ADHD that can do an evaluation. Homeschooling parents might be interested in this option. However, before you make an appointment, make sure you research the facility and the person doing the evaluation to make sure they’re a true professional. 

The ADHD evaluation is important for many reasons beyond the educational implications. For instance, with an ADHD evaluation, other conditions should be excluded or identified, which might indicate that the child needs specific treatment.   

ADHD Treatment

The treatment for ADHD can be broken down into four main categories of which at least two are part of the standard practices. Behavioral management therapies and dietary interventions are the fundamentals on top of which medication might be included for more severe cases. 

Behavioral Management

Behavioral management therapy is a critical part of ADHD treatment and has many variations, but mostly focuses on behavioral management as a classroom strategy (explained below). The general idea behind behavioral management is teaching specific techniques and skills that improve the child’s behavior. You can find more about this technique on the official Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) website. 

Medication as Part of ADHD Treatment

In severe cases, medication is introduced as part of the ADHD treatment. Understandably, it can only be prescribed by medical professionals. Before introducing medication, an accurate diagnosis is the most important thing, right before the exclusion of other possible conditions. Even then, parents must be well informed about the benefits and drawbacks of using pharmacotherapy for ADHD. We suggest reading the CHADD’s Managing Medication and Medication Abuse and Diversion articles for better understanding this complex aspect of ADHD treatment. 

That being said, typical medications prescribed for ADHD include stimulant medications such as Ritalin, Concerta, Adderall, Focalin, Dexedrine, and others, as well as non-stimulant medications such as Strattera, Intuniv, or Kapvay. 

Dietary Interventions

One literature study review from 2014 examined dozens of studies that claim to have found a link between diet interventions and ADHD symptoms improvements. The results from the review suggest that elimination diet and fish oil supplementation are the most promising interventions when it comes to the treatment of ADHD. The best part of these dietary interventions is that when they’re approved by a child nutritionist or medical professional, they don’t have any side-effects and are even beneficial for the overall health of the child. This concerns the more general recommendations such as eating a healthy and balanced, home-cooked diet with minimally processed food and no preservatives or food dyes. 

Alternative Treatments

There are other mind-body treatments that have been linked to ADHD. These include regular exercise and a strict sleeping schedule, as no sleeping seems to worsen symptoms of ADHD. Also, mindfulness practices, like yoga, meditation, and neurofeedback will be of help. However, more evidence is needed to back up these claims. 

Classroom Strategies for Students With ADHD

All the above-mentioned information is beneficial for both parents and teachers, however, the latter is significantly more limited to what they can do to help students with ADHD. Therefore, when it comes to teaching students with ADHD, there are two main classroom strategies that’ll be most effective. 

Behavioral Classroom Management

The first strategy is behavioral classroom management, which we mentioned in the treatment section above. There are probably more than 12 different behavioral management approaches, but in the classroom, success is best achieved through reinforcement. 

One example of positive reinforcement is to give students a daily report card. That being said, more serious reward systems lead to more effective results. The basis of such reward systems is an object (service/interaction) on which the students put a lot of internal value. What this also does is discourage negative behavior. 

Behavioral classroom management (BCM) works best on younger children who don’t yet have strong habits, but it’s also used for students of all ages.  Read “The ADHD Classroom Kit: A whole‐classroom approach for managing disruptive behavior” study, published in the Journal of Psychology, where this treatment is described in-depth.  

Organizational Training

The second most common classroom strategy for teaching students with ADHD is organizational training. Just like the name suggests, organizational training is a manual that helps kids master organizational skills that will help them with school responsibilities and learning. 

With this strategy, teachers, other school staff, or homeschooling parents should receive training and follow the manual that’s specifically designed to promote positive behavior. Children are expected to learn to manage time, plan, keep track of school assignments, etc. There’s a very popular textbook by Richard Gallagher, Howard B. Abikoff, and Elena G. Spira titled Organizational Skills Training for Children with ADHD: An Empirically Supported Treatment that you can buy if you want to learn how to implement this strategy in your classroom. 

Special Education Services in the School

Another thing both teachers and parents should be aware of is that there are special education services and accommodations available to public schools, since they have an obligation to fulfill the educational rights of students with disabilities. Ask your school for these services and be an initiator in case they’re not yet available. The legal basis for these special services are contained in: 

• The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Therefore, if kids meet the requirements, IDEA provides an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and a 504 Plan. 

To put it in simple terms, IDEA and Section 504 are laws that provide special education and other services to children with disabilities in the United States. They apply in all public school districts and other federally funded programs. Both of them cover any mental or physical disability that includes ADHD. If a student qualifies, the school should conduct an educational evaluation and make an IEP (individualized educational plan). On top of that, there’s another evaluation of 504 services, where if the child qualifies, they can receive, for example, preferential sitting, or longer and more frequent brakes. 

Both plans offer changes in the classroom practices and rules that would benefit students with ADHD. Some of these changes include:

• more time on exams;
• personalized instruction and assignments adjusted to the child’s capabilities;
• longer breaks during and between lectures;
• conditioned learning with rewards and praise; 
• adjusting the classroom setting to avoid distractions.

Teaching Students With ADHD

Diving deeper into this topic, we’re going to discuss the teacher-student relationship more specifically. All the above-mentioned tips are large-scale actions that require collaboration with parents and other staff from the school. However, once all those options are exploited to the best of everyone’s ability, what’s left? What can teachers do on a daily basis? 

Here are some tips for teachers when teaching students with ADHD!

Communication Tips

• provide positive feedback to encourage desired behavior; 
• be attentive and verbally guide the student when they need it; 
• be careful with words and show consideration for their emotional outbursts; 
• repeat the instructions again and again if needed; 
• verbally explain each step of the process and provide a lot of warning before changing the assignment. 

Assignments and Tasks Tips

• make the assignments visually stimulating with less text (example: graphic instructions instead of text)
• make the assignments shorter;
• give them more time for completing the tasks;
• assign longer breaks between the tasks;
• minimize distractions in the room;
• use organizational and other helpful management tools. 

Finally, don’t forget that students with ADHD are not trying to be disruptive, they can’t control their impulses and, most of the time, they’re not aware of the disrupting character of their behavior. Older students regret their behavior and fear that teachers might take their actions personally. For these reasons, be a flexible teacher who is understanding and compassionate, but also consistent who follows a strict schedule and rules. 

Teaching Resources for Students With ADHD

We’ve gone through a lot in this article, but it’s just the first step in setting students with ADHD for success. If you want to learn more, share experiences with other people going through the same, or have professional training, here are some helpful resources.

Training Programs

• CHADD’s Teacher to Teacher Training Program
• Understanding and Supporting Students With ASD and ADHD by Teacher Academy
• P2P: Helping your child with ADHD with remote learning (free online course)

Support Groups

• CHADD’s ADHD Centers Directory
• ADHD Parents Online Community 

Books

• CHADD Educator’s Manual on ADHD: An In-Depth Look from an Educational Perspective
• Managing ADHD in School: The Best Evidence-Based Methods for Teachers  by Russell Barkley 
• 12 Principles for Raising a Child with ADHD by Russell A. Barkley
• What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life by Sharon Dr. Saline

Final Words

Every student with ADHD presents the teacher with a challenge, but that’s also an opportunity for strengthening their teaching practices and learning something new about the ways of teaching. Knowing how hard it is for children who struggle with ADHD to remain functional and succeed in a society that’s not prepared to offer them the best care is an incredible motivation for educators, as well as the ultimate reward when you make a positive change in someone’s life. 

Hopefully, our article is a good starting point and provides all the resources necessary for both teachers and homeschooling parents to get the confidence they need in accommodating the classroom to fit the needs of students with ADHD. 

For more educational guides such as this one, subscribe to our newsletter and follow the blog as we plan to cover many different educational issues and developmental disorders that might present in the classroom. 

Finally, don’t forget to check out our main website, where we work hard to support teachers and homeschooling parents with worksheets, lesson plans, and other amazing teaching resources.