It’s no secret that having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can be challenging for some. There are people who find it difficult to manage projects in the workplace. Others may struggle to keep a budget on track, while some people misuse ADHD medication. However, it’s not just adults who may face challenges; children with ADHD can as well, especially when it comes to excelling academically.
In particular, it appears that inattentive children — both those who have ADHD as well as those who don’t have the disorder — may be more inclined to face academic problems, and later in life, job issues — at least according to a study published in August in the journal Frontiers in Psychology. Inattention in primary school acted as a predictor of academic achievements several years later and was associated with vocational challenges in young adulthood.
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“Kids with inattention are often forgetful,” says one of the study’s researchers, Jocelyn Meza, a 2017 doctoral candidate studying psychology at the University of California–Berkeley, and a clinical fellow studying psychiatry at the University of California–San Francisco. “These children may forget to put their name on homework or complete one side of a paper without thinking to see if there are questions on the other side.” It’s hard for these youngsters to sustain attention, especially involving activities that require more concentration such as reading or following thorough instructions. It’s most common for children with inattention issues to struggle with homework management and classroom performance, Meza says.
When Inattentive Students Go Unnoticed
Sadly, it’s not unusual for these children to go unnoticed. As such, their struggles may persist, which could mean continual homework and classroom difficulties — and grades that suffer — year after year. Meza says that inattentive children are more inclined to be significantly quieter than hyperactive or impulsive children, whose bolder actions tend to stand out. It’s easier for a teacher to notice children who are causing a ruckus or blurting out answers than the quieter, inattentive student.
Unfortunately, a teacher may think that such a child doesn’t understand the material or is opting not to follow along, when in reality, a genuine inability to sustain attention is the real issue, she says. Inattentive children may be misunderstood in the home environment, too. “Parents may regard inattention as a child being defiant,” Meza says. “They may think of their child as someone who doesn’t listen when spoken to, when it’s really that the child has inattention issues. Parents often see inattention as defiance and teachers often see it as a learning disorder.”
A Matter of Overworked Children?
While inattention is certainly a factor that plays a role in academic problems, there may be something else that could impede scholastic success. According to Ellen Braaten, Understood.org expert and director of the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, today’s children “are asked to manage more than in decades past.” Understood.org is a free online resource and community supporting parents of the 1 in 5 kids with learning and attention issues. Consequently, she says that children often receive inaccurate labels or diagnoses. “A lot of kids are referred to as having issues related to attention that may not actually be an attention disorder,” she says. “I find the requirements of a typical first-grader today versus 30 years ago leads a lot of kids to have difficulties overall with attention issues,” she says. Yet, because these children never fully grasped how to manage this at a younger age, the challenges mount as they move into higher grades. This continues into high school and higher education, she explains, adding that more challenging components are put in the mix such as crafting a well-written passage or learning to balance the needs of several teachers in several different classrooms. “Attentional capacities are sufficiently used if children don’t have to manage 10 things at once,” she says.
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Tips to Help Children with ADHD Excel Academically
It’s not always just a matter of inattention either: All students with ADHD symptoms may encounter academic struggles.
“Both college-bound and college students can have trouble focusing in class, keeping up with the pace of material and staying engaged with lessons,” says Adrian Ridner, CEO and co-founder of Study.com, a personalized learning platform that offers video courses for students in grade school through college. “The traditional classroom setting and conventional teaching methods are often not a great fit for students with ADHD so, naturally, many struggle to keep up and maintain good grades.” He explains that all students have a preferred way of learning, so keeping auditory, tactile, visual or other options in mind can be beneficial. “For those with ADHD, that preference is of utmost importance.”
To help children with ADHD feel less overwhelmed and be less inclined to fall behind academically, Ridner suggests students try a variety of techniques. These include, but aren’t limited to, trying different learning styles to determine what works best, avoiding “cram sessions” by breaking study sessions into more manageable chunks of time and turning to supplemental study resources like referring to online academic videos or quizzes. All of this, Ridner says, can be helpful for someone with ADHD who usually has difficulties digesting a great deal of material at once, finishing assignments in a timely manner or who simply doesn’t find learning fun or interesting.
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Early Assessment, Proper Treatment Also Key
It’s also critical for children to obtain an assessment about ADHD or a potential learning challenge as early as possible, Braaten says, to determine what’s impacting his or her ability to learn and perform optimally. Parent-teacher collaboration is an essential starting point in this case, she adds, saying that it’s important for both parties to pay attention to the unique, individual differences each child brings to the environment.
Setting children up for success is imperative, Meza says, adding that parents often wonder if inattention issues may affect children on a long-term basis. It’s a valid question, she explains, emphasizing the need for adults to make sure children receive proper treatment and the help and support necessary to “overcome challenges and perform at capacity.”
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What Impact Can ADHD Have on a Child’s Grades and Chances for Success in College? originally appeared on usnews.com
