School can feel like an uphill battle for students with ADHD. Waking up every day to new challenges and staying on top of expectations designed for a different brain. For many students with ADHD, it’s not just about struggling to pay attention; it’s about trying to succeed in an environment that often fails to adjust to how their mind works.
ONE: Executive Function Overload
Our brain's frontal lobe controls our executive functions - our higher-level cognitive skills - including self-control, flexible thinking, and working memory. In its simplest terms, ADHD is an "executive function impairment." This impairment can impact behaviour inhibition, our ability to plan goals and actions, and our foresight to act for our long-term interests. An ADHD student showing up late, leaving their homework assignment on the kitchen counter, or forgetting when their unit test is can often be traced back to their executive function impairments. The upside to an impairment is that it can usually be supported with accommodations, similar to how glasses can support an impairment in vision.
TWO: The Attention Tug-of-War
For many, ADHD can make boredom unbearable. Sustaining attention in class can feel impossible when the subject or the way it's taught isn’t engaging. A 45-minute lecture on geometry might as well be taught in a different language for a student whose brain is wired for novelty and stimulation. It is important to understand that it is not because they don’t care—it's that their brain may be screaming for something more interesting.
“I try so hard to listen, but my brain just wanders off without asking me.”
THREE: Emotional Struggles in the Classroom
Students with ADHD often experience emotional overwhelm, especially when they feel criticized or misunderstood. From intense sensitivity to feedback or criticism (i.e. Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD)) to challenges with peer relationships, students with ADHD can often feel their behaviour is misinterpreted as laziness, defiance, or carelessness. This can lead to feelings of isolation or being unfairly judged.
“It’s not that I don’t want to pay attention; it’s that my brain won’t let me. But people think I’m being rude.”
FOUR: Classroom Chaos and Sensory Overload
The average classroom is a sensory minefield—ringing bells, shuffling papers, the teacher speaking and side conversations. For a student with ADHD, this environment can be overwhelming. A simple group activity might feel like chaos when noise and movement make it impossible for the student to focus. There are strategies that both students and teachers can learn to manage the overload when it happens.
“It’s like trying to solve a problem while standing in the middle of a rock concert.”
FIVE: Mismatch Between Strengths and School Expectations
For students with ADHD, the way traditional school classrooms operate can be filled with unclear expectations and rigid systems. From confusion over abstract instructions to moving or unclearly defined deadlines, ADHD students may struggle to get started or lose track entirely.
Deciphering what an assignment asks of them, especially when tasks are presented verbally or in abstract terms, can be especially challenging. A lack of clear guidelines can leave a student feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and unsure where to start. They might procrastinate, turn in an incomplete presentation, or avoid the task altogether without support.
"When the teacher says, ‘Just be creative,’ I feel like I’ve been dropped into the middle of the ocean. Am I supposed to swim to shore? Build a boat? I have no idea what they want."
How Can ADHD Student Coaching Help?
Understanding these challenges is the first step in supporting students with ADHD. An ADHD coach is trained to understand the challenges and support students in developing strategies to manage them in an ADHD-friendly way and to advocate for themselves more frequently - an easier task when they have confidence in how to do so.
The key to making school less overwhelming for students with ADHD lies in embracing their ADHD, identifying where they struggle and overcoming the challenges with alternative ways to get things done that work for their unique brain.
“When we started focusing on what my daughter was good at instead of what she struggled with, she started loving school again.”
"When he started to understand why it was challenging to study for exams and who he could ask for support from, he learned how to approach it differently in a way that worked for him."
For more information on NextGen ADHD Student Coaching and the benefits for your teen, book a 15-minute free chat!
Chrissy
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