By Lucy Taylor
In recent weeks, I have been thinking about how I can better support my pupils with ADHD and ensure my classroom is an inclusive space where all learners can make progress. This led me to undertake a bit of research and I have summarised my findings and hope they will be useful for other WA colleagues who are teaching pupils with ADHD!
What is ADHD?
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. ADHD is a cognitive condition that affects people’s behaviour. One of the most important things I learnt when researching more about the condition itself is that it is common for people with ADHD to also have sleep and anxiety disorders which, as you can imagine, provides additional barriers to learning and exacerbates the effects of their condition. If you are interested in learning more about the medical condition itself, the NHS website is very informative and I will attach the relevant links below!
Once I had learnt a little bit more about the condition I started to think about how this may present itself in the classroom and what I can do as a classroom practitioner to help students continue to make progress and ensure my classroom is inclusive.
Here, you can see the three common presentations of ADHD. There are some pointers which lead medical and educational professionals to suspect a student has ADHD:
Inattention
Difficulty following instructions or completing tasks.
Short attention span and difficulty ‘sticking to’ an activity.
Difficulty organising tasks and activities.
Easily distracted and forgetful.
Often struggles to listen when spoken to.
Hyperactivity
Fidgets, is restless and can’t sit still in class.
Can’t stop talking.
Runs about when it is inappropriate.
Impulsiveness
Interrupts others.
Blurts out answers without waiting for the question to be finished.
Difficulty in waiting or taking turns.
However, it is incredibly important to note that not all students who have ADHD show all or any of the symptoms and therefore, we may have trouble recognising it in the classroom. The most powerful takeaway I took was that ADHD isn’t simply just the hyperactive behaviours I had heard of prior to this research. Students with ADHD may be inattentive or impulsive instead of, or, in addition to being hyperactive.
Another powerful takeaway from this research was how common ADHD is and how often it goes undetected due to stereotypes or assumptions we may have about the condition. ADHD is more common in boys than girls (by 6:1).In some cases the condition can seem to affect genders in different ways. Though both can have attentional problems, boys are often reported as exhibiting overactive behaviours and as a result can be perceived as more difficult to manage. Though girls with ADHD can exhibit hyperactive and impulsive symptoms, a number of girls with inattentive symptoms are harder to detect in busy classrooms. As a result, their needs are often overlooked. This solidified to me, how important it is we have inclusive classrooms that allow all students to progress. As such, this led me to think about strategies I could implement in the classroom.
Reframing ADHD
From my research, I believe the first step to providing effective support is to ‘reframe’ ADHD and challenge any of our own misconceptions around the condition.
It is vital to remember that ADHD is a genuine medical condition that requires specific support. Understanding and acceptance of ADHD, together with the desire to adapt teaching and learning strategies, can enable many students with ADHD to learn more effectively. Here are some suggestions below (this is similar to the reframing of language we did with Paul Mulvihill and our trauma-informed approach to teaching!):
Think of the student who is easily distracted as having high levels of awareness and observation
Think of the restless student as being energetic and lively
When the student with ADHD goes off on a tangent, see it as a sign of individualism and independence
If the student starts interrupting, think of it it as enthusiasm to contribute
When work is sloppy, look for signs of effort despite difficulties
Reward their positive behaviour and focus on this when addressing their behaviours that may be unexpected
Strategies to use in our classrooms:
My research led me to three ways to incorporate more support for students with ADHD in our classrooms.
Accommodations - Refers to making learning easier for students with ADHD
Make adjustments in the classroom. In order to keep students with ADHD from distracting and disrupting the class, you can change the layout of your classroom and make adjustments for your students with ADHD.
Seating
Students with ADHD should be positioned away from windows and doors
Seat the student right in front of your desk unless it would distract them
Seat them in rows as students with ADHD tend to work better this way compared to around tables or facing one another
Importantly - have discussion with the pupil in a private space away from other pupils. They can usually give powerful insight into what helps them focus and learn better.
Instructions - Methods and techniques used for teaching
Delivery of Information – Students with ADHD Learn Differently
Give instructions one at a time. If possible, repeat.
Work on the most difficult task early in the day. If it is a P5 lesson - think about how to deliver tasks!
Use visual aids such as charts, pictures, and colour coding
Create outlines to make note-taking easy for them. This can also work with tables, grids, sentence starters etc
Student work
Create worksheets and tests with fewer items. Frequent short quizzes are better than long tests, if possible!
Formatively test students with ADHD focusing on their strengths, such as orally or filling in blanks
Divide long term projects such a coursework into clear segments, and set a deadline for completion for each segment, rather than an overall deadline
Organisation
Vary your pace depending on the kinds of activities. Students with ADHD are known for excelling in competitive games or in rapid and intense activities
Devise an unobtrusive set of cues for reminding the student with ADHD to remain focused on the task. Such as placing a sticky note on their desk or hand signal. Chat to them about what works well!
Intervention - How to handle any disruptive/distracting/unexpected behaviour
Prevent disruptive behaviour
Allow students with ADHD to have frequent breaks and let them squeeze a stress ball, fidget toy or something that will not disturb the class as physical outlet.
Deal with disruptive behaviour
Devise some kind of warning signals for students with ADHD. It could range from hand signals or a sticky note on the student’s desk.
Refer to zones of regulation. Have one that they can see and identify with.
If you need to discuss their behaviour, talk to them in private.
Ignore unexpected behaviour if it is not disrupting the lesson.
I hope this is helpful and informative! Please do get in touch if you would like to talk further about this - I’d love to hear from you!
References and Further Reading
https://www.ldrfa.org/tips-and-strategies-to-help-students-with-adhd-succeed/
George J. DuPaul , Lisa L. Weyandt & Grace M. Janusis (2011) ADHD in the Classroom: Effective Intervention Strategies, Theory Into Practice, 50:1, 35-42,
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/
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