ADHD Facts and Tips
While Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can be a challenging condition for teenagers, their parents, and their educators to manage effectively, it can be reassuring to know that there may be a lessening of symptoms over time.
There is evidence to suggest that ADHD symptoms in some teens may be in part driven by brain maturational delays. That said, some students will have to find strategies to manage their symptoms for a lifetime, and we as educators must remember the power of not yet. If a student lacks the executive functioning or attentional skills to function independently in a particular area, whether time management or emotional impulse control, it is our job as educators to bring their awareness to these behaviors and explicitly teach them executive functioning skills until yet is achieved.
We must also remember that although ADHD is a disability recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, each child with an ADHD diagnosis is a unique individual. As educator Mel Levine recognized so well, “to lump all of them together and say they have...ADHD is to tell us very little about them.” Each student we work with is an individual with his or her own way of processing and producing understanding of academic material. The more we get to know and work with our individual students and pay attention to their behaviors, while keeping established constructs about learning differences in mind, the better we will be able to provide quality educational care. And the more we teach students about themselves and their ADHD, the more effectively they will be able to successfully manage their own behavior.
**Please scroll to next image below to see Anne's helpful ADHD guide.**
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We must also remember that although ADHD is a disability recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, each child with an ADHD diagnosis is a unique individual. As educator Mel Levine recognized so well, “to lump all of them together and say they have...ADHD is to tell us very little about them.” Each student we work with is an individual with his or her own way of processing and producing understanding of academic material. The more we get to know and work with our individual students and pay attention to their behaviors, while keeping established constructs about learning differences in mind, the better we will be able to provide quality educational care. And the more we teach students about themselves and their ADHD, the more effectively they will be able to successfully manage their own behavior.
**Please scroll to next image below to see Anne's helpful ADHD guide.**
