It is very common for children with ADHD to have difficulties in school. These problems can occur for severalreasons:

• Symptoms of ADHD like distractibility and hyper-activity make it hard for children with ADHD to payattention or stay focused on their work, even thoughthey may be capable learners and bright enough tounderstand the material.

• Many children with ADHD also have trouble organiz-ing themselves, breaking an assignment down intosmaller steps, and staying on a schedule.

• Some children with ADHD have difficulty with self-control and get into trouble with peers and/orteachers.

• Many children with ADHD also have a learning dis-ability. A child with a learning disability has difficultyunderstanding information he sees or hears or troubleputting together information from different parts ofthe brain.

• Children with ADHD often can learn material but itmay take longer and require more repetition.

• Children with ADHD often show inconsistency intheir work because of their ADHD; one day they mayknow information and the next day they cannot seemto remember it.

Collaborate and communicate with your child’s school

Teamwork between home and school is critical. It isimportant that the school faculty be aware of all that youare doing for your child with ADHD. That way, everyoneis working on the common goal of helping your childachieve independence and academic success. The schoolwill need information about your child’s diagnosis, treat-ment and academic recommendations so that a plan ofaction can be set in place.

It is critical to establish consistent and open communi-cation with your child’s teacher. Collaborate with yourchild’s teacher to find solutions for your child’s ADHDchallenges.

There are many different ways that a parent’s participa-

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Helping Your Child with ADHDSucceed in School

tion can make a difference in a child’s school experience,including:

• Spending time in the classroom, if your work scheduleallows, and observing your child’s behavior.

• Talking with your child’s teacher to identify whereyour child is having the most problems.

• Working with your child’s teacher to make a plan for how you will address these problems and whatstrategies at school and home will help your child besuccessful at learning and completing work.

• Acknowledging the extra efforts your child’s teachermay have to make to help your child.

With your busy schedule, it’s not always easy to meetwith your child’s teacher in person, so here are some waysto keep in touch:

• Communicate by phone or e-mail on a regular basis.• Create a notebook that travels back and forth with

your child for the teacher to write down any notesabout your child. You can also add any importantinformation that you think the teacher should beaware of as it arises.

• Provide the teacher with a set of stamped, self-addressed envelopes that the teacher may use to mailimportant information home rather than sending itwith your child.

Learn strategies to reduce homework hassles

• Let your child take an active role in making homeworkdecisions. Homework isn’t optional, but there aremany options about when and how to do homework.

• Help your child observe himself so that he knowswhen and how he works best. Some kids need vigor-ous exercise after school before tackling homework,while others need to “veg-out.” Still others do better ifthey complete homework before dinner. Similarly,some need to work in the same room with a parent tostay on track. There are kids who concentrate bestwhile listening to music; others need total silence.

• Encourage your child to try different approaches tohomework. Together with your child, develop a daily

Editor: Gregory K. Fritz, M.D.

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homework plan that best suits his individual needs.Then encourage your child to stick to the plan until itbecomes a habit.

• Remove distractions that interfere with homeworkcompletion. Whether it’s television, the phone orinstant e-mail messages, anything that repeatedlyinterferes with homework should be removed untilhomework is finished.

• If your child takes medication, it’s important that shebe on the medication during homework and after-school activities. Be sure she schedules her difficultreading assignments and written work for times whenthe medication is most effective.

• Don’t try to “tutor” your child. That doesn’t mean that you can’t help your child once in a while. But ifyour child needs a lot of help, has a specific learningdisability or has major problems with planning, timemanagement and completion of long-term assignments,he needs professional help.

• Don’t do the work for your child. By spending manyhours helping your child, and/or doing much of thework for her, you are not allowing the child to learnto deal with her ADHD. Give your child support andencouragement, along with the message that she isstrong enough to carry the load.

Make sure your child actually has mastered new materialpresented so that he does not get behind academically.Acknowledge how much harder it is for your child to getorganized, stay on task, complete assignments, and learnmaterial compared with other children. Help your child toget organized, break tasks down into smaller pieces, andexpend his excess physical energy in ways that are “okay”at home and in the classroom. Praise your child and rewardhim for a job well done immediately after completingtasks or homework.

Another good way to get help from your school is to

determine if your school has a regular education processthat helps teachers with students who are having learningor behavioral problems that the teacher has been unsuc-cessful in solving. The process differs in various schooldistricts and even among different schools in the same district. Some of the names this process may go by includeStudent Study Team (SST), Instructional Support Team(IST), Pupil Assistance Team (PAT), Student InterventionTeam (SIT), or Teacher Assistance Team (TAT).

Parents are encouraged to request a meeting on theirchild to discuss concerns and create a plan of action toaddress their child’s needs. In addition to the child’steacher, members of the team may include the child, theparents, a mentor teacher or other teachers, the principal,the school nurse, the resource specialist, a speech and language specialist, or a counselor or psychologist. Theteam members meet to discuss the child’s strengths andweaknesses, the child’s progress in her current placement,and the kinds of problems the child is having. The teammembers “brainstorm” to develop a plan of action thatdocuments the kinds of interventions that will help thechild, the timeline for the changes to take place, and theschool staff responsible for the implementation of theteam’s recommendations.

The team should also come up with a plan to monitorthe child’s progress. A follow-up meeting should bescheduled within a reasonable time frame (usually 4 to 6weeks) to determine whether the team’s interventions areactually helping the child in the areas of difficulty.

Source: This parent handout is excerpted from Working with YourChild’s School, a guide from the American Academy of Pediatricsand the National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality, andHelping Your Child with ADD (ADHD) at School, an article fromPatricia Quinn, M.D., and Kathleen Nadeau, Ph.D., posted on theirADDvance website (www.ADDvance.com). Reprinted with permission.

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