Simple changes to help students affected by ADHD

By Jonathan O’Neill

May 17, 2021

School can be a distracting place for some students. Socializing and extra curricular activities sometimes cause education to take a backseat. For students with ADHD (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), this can be difficult, as they lack the ability to pay attention compared to their peers. Without fixing this issue, students will suffer.

Students with ADHD get restless in the classroom because they are stuck sitting in their seats for a long duration of time. Younger students with ADHD may act out due to their restlessness due to a lack of understanding of their disorder and how it affects their ability to learn.

Students with ADHD can be impulsive at times and say whatever comes to their mind even if it’s not the appropriate time to be saying it, like while the teacher is talking for example. One way for teachers to better help their students with these issues is to be more understanding and to find alternate methods to keep the student busy.

Kids who suffer from ADHD often cannot pay attention in the classroom and this is primarily because of the methods being used to teach students. The methods used to teach are beneficial to most of the students, but we can’t just leave students behind who have a learning disability. ADHD students would benefit from more attention from teachers, hands-on work such as projects and one on one time with teachers where they can learn in a distraction free environment.

There are so many distractions in a room filled with other children when trying to learn for someone with ADHD. Any sounds, or noises made could pull the attention from the student away from the teacher.. Teachers can try to limit this by seating the student away from the door and providing a small break for the student during the day so they can refocus and prepare themselves for the rest of the day.

According to an article from brainforestcenters.com, one way to help students is to have teachers give the student an assignment notebook they sign at the end of each day/ class period to ensure the student is not forgetting anything. This could have such a positive impact on students who struggle with organization due to their ADHD.

Both parents and teachers can drastically improve the learning experience for someone with ADHD with just a few changes.