From wondering about a new teacher’s personality to a subject matter’s level of difficulty, all children face various concerns and challenges throughout the school year. Thomas E. Brown, director of the Brown Clinic for Attention and Related Disorders in Manhattan Beach, California, says that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are no different from those without the disorder when it comes to these feelings. “The first thing for parents to remember is that kids with ADHD are also kids,” he says.
Brown, who is also a consulting psychologist at Understood.org, a free online resource and community supporting parents of the 1 in 5 kids with learning and attention issues, explains that children with ADHD go through similar emotions that neurotypical youngsters experience. When it comes to school, children tend to compare teachers with ones from previous years, worry if other kids will be friendly and have homework anxieties. “Having ADHD doesn’t change the whole person — just various aspects,” he says.
For example, Brown says that children with ADHD often have a difficult time prioritizing. “Kids with ADHD need more support than others in terms of keeping track of assignments and putting time aside for homework,” Brown says.
[See: 10 of the Biggest Health Threats Facing Your Kids This School Year.]
Communicate With Teachers
For parents concerned about their child’s scholastic success, Russell A. Barkley, clinical professor of psychiatry, Virginia Treatment Center for Children at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, says it’s imperative to determine how knowledgeable a teacher is about the disorder. “More than anything else, the teacher’s attitude toward ADHD is the defining factor towards how well the child will do in the classroom,” he says. “It’s crucial. If a teacher thinks ADHD is a myth or that it’s social and not neurobiological, look for a different school or teacher.”
Brown advises parents to hold a meeting with a child’s teacher early on, not midway through the school year. “Talk about what your child’s strengths, difficulties and interests are,” he says. “This can be harnessed by the teacher to help a kid function.” Brown adds that communication should also transcend face-to-face interaction. Parents should make it clear to teachers that correspondence via phone calls or email is welcome.
One word of caution: Brown says parents should be mindful of how they speak with a teacher. “You don’t want to have a teacher perceive you as a defense attorney for your child,” he says. “Sometimes parents have a way of talking that makes it appear that their kid has never done anything wrong.”
Gaby Bobadilla and her son, Martín Lazos Bobadilla, know the importance of teacher interaction. Gaby is the content and community manager with Understood Español, and her son, Martín, was formally diagnosed with ADHD within the past six months. He’s about to enter freshman year of college but exhibited the signs of ADHD throughout his childhood, such as excessive fidgeting, forgetfulness and not focusing on a project unless he was under pressure, Gaby explains. “The one thing I always did was talk to teachers about Martín,” Gaby says. She conveyed that he constantly needed to move around and may daydream, requesting that he should be seated away from distractions or allowed to stand up occasionally. “I got an excellent response from teachers,” she says of the willingness to make accommodations.
To complicate his challenges, Gaby says that Martín transitioned from a Montessori school in Mexico City — where the family lived until Martín was 8 years old — to a New York City public school in the middle of the fourth grade. “It was very confusing,” Martín says of the larger, less personalized setting. “The education system was different from what I was used to.” Furthermore, learning the language made the change more complex. These days, however, he’s excelling, attributing much of his success to his mother’s encouragement, passionate and helpful teachers and the fact that he continually reads about ADHD — in particular, the neuroscience behind the disorder.
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Work Together With Your Child
It’s also necessary for parents to help their child at home, which Barkley says involves knowing what deficits exist for children with ADHD in the first place.
He explains that disorganization and forgetfulness are common ADHD deficits, so children with the disorder may lose assignments or not remember to bring books home from school. Journals, day planners and assignment sheets are good ways to “make up for this biologically based memory deficit,” he says. High-tech alternatives work too, but he points out a possible downside: Apps or an uploading process can be time-consuming, while also creating an “out of sight, out of mind” component.
People with ADHD also often have time-management problems, Barkley says. To help with this, he says parents can place a timer nearby when children do homework. Setting timers for 30 minutes per task is ideal for ADHD children who typically can’t wrap their minds around the concept of time when it’s conveyed verbally, he explains. He suggests reviewing the range of timer options offered at ADDwarehouse.com.
When it comes to in-depth school assignments requiring more time, such as book reports and science projects, Barkley recommends breaking them down into baby steps. He uses a bridge made of bricks as a metaphor to address getting from point A to point B on a step-by-step basis. Reading a few pages at a time together to help children with a book report is one example of breaking a project down into small, achievable steps, he says.
Brown agrees that reading with children is beneficial. “Saying things like, ‘You read a paragraph, then I’ll read a paragraph,’ can help ADHD children improve reading skills,” he says.
He also adds that flashcards can be helpful. Remove the ones children know very well, Brown says, and focus on the challenging ones. Find ways to study cards by building in time throughout the day, perhaps by practicing during television commercials or other free moments.
Keep Medication in Check
Parents also need to make sure children continue to take ADHD medication, if it’s a part of the treatment plan. “Make sure children don’t run out of it,” Brown says, adding that reminders may be helpful. Furthermore, if children have been off medication during the summer — a practice some families engage in to lessen the amount of time medication stays in the body — he notes that it’s not unusual to experience a diminished appetite during lunchtime now that ADHD meds, which can suppress the urge to eat, are back in the picture. Translation: Hunger pangs may strike once school lets out. Providing children with a healthy snack after school is wise, he says.
[See: 8 Things You Didn’t Know About Counseling.]
Barkley adds that ideally, children who intentionally don’t take ADHD meds during the summer should start taking them a few weeks before school starts. This should especially be the case when a nonstimulant like Strattera is involved since this medication takes more time to start working in the body, he notes.
Brown explains that the overall picture is for parents to not lose sight of the concept about catching more flies with honey than vinegar when interacting with ADHD children. “Recognize and praise when kids are working well,” he says. “Encourage the efforts you see and don’t look for perfection.”
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Tips to Ensure Your Young ADHD Child’s Success in School originally appeared on usnews.com
