Understanding the ADHD Student: A Guide for Teachers

• What is really going on behind the forgotten homework and the calling out?
• What can I do on Monday?

By Dr. Douglas Cowan, Psy.D., MFT

There is a student in your classroom right now who is trying harder than you think.

He forgot his homework again. He stared out the window during instructions. He called out in the middle of your lesson and disrupted everything. It is not even noon and you have corrected him three times.

From the outside, it looks like he does not care. From the inside, he is tired. He has been corrected, redirected, and disappointed in himself more times today than many people are in a week.

This article will not solve everything. It will change how you see him, and that changes a lot.

What is happening in the brain

ADHD is not a behavior problem. It is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting the brain networks for planning, starting tasks, controlling impulses, holding information in mind, and calming big emotions (1, 2). Brain imaging research found that in children with ADHD, the cortex matures on a delayed schedule (3). Many students with ADHD show executive skills that lag behind their age (2).

He is not choosing to struggle. His brain is not yet equipped to do consistently what you are asking of it. That is not a character flaw. It is a brain that needs more time and more support.

The potential is there, and the wiring needs time to catch up.

Why it looks the way it does

• He knows the rule and breaks it anyway. The rule lives in his thinking brain. The impulse moves faster.
• He looks right at you and still does not follow directions. Working memory is weaker in ADHD. The instruction arrived and did not stay.
• He seems to try on some days and not others. Attention in ADHD varies with interest, novelty, and urgency. That inconsistency is part of the pattern.
• He melts down over small things. Emotional braking is slower too (4).

Children with ADHD also tend to hear more correction than praise. Over the years, that adds up inside a child and shapes what he believes about himself. You are in a position to change that, every day.

What helps

Research on school-based programs finds that classroom strategies improve behavior and academic work for students with ADHD (5). Behavioral approaches in school have strong support (6), and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends school supports as part of care (7).

Shift the question from “Is he choosing this?” to “What does his brain need to do better in my room?” That moves you from adversary to coach, and a coach changes outcomes.

What to do starting today

• Keep a predictable routine. A posted visual schedule does the work of “what comes next” for him and frees up mental energy for learning.
• Give instructions in small steps. One step. Check. Then the next. “Open to page 42.” Wait. “Find the third paragraph.”
• Put reminders where he can see them. A checklist on the desk, a “Now and Next” card, a note card with the two main tasks. What is written down does not have to be remembered.
• Praise him right away, and be specific. “You stayed focused through the whole reading block. I noticed.” Quick, specific, honest praise is one of the strongest tools you have. Use it far more than correction.
• Give him a job that uses his energy. Passing out papers, running an errand, setting up equipment. Moving with purpose helps many students settle.
• Correct privately. Sarcasm or shaming in front of peers escalates things. A quiet word after the moment reaches him.
• Reframe what you see. Ask whether defiance might be dysregulation, whether laziness might be overwhelm, and whether “won’t” might be “can’t yet.” That is accuracy, and accuracy leads to better teaching.
• Try a daily report card. A few specific goals, rated briefly each day and shared with parents, reduced disruptive behavior in a review of studies (8).

For more, see calming the classroom and our ADHD-friendly teacher checklist.

If you are worried about a student

You do not diagnose, and you do not need to. Share specific observations with parents and your school team. Our teacher observation and parent collaboration form can help. A full evaluation looks across settings and rules out other causes.

You will not be perfect at this, and neither will he. Consistency is what changes outcomes. One teacher who understood him can change the direction of a child’s life, and you may already be that teacher.

Keep going. A student’s best chapters can start in your room.

This article is for education and is not a substitute for professional diagnosis or treatment.

References

1. Faraone, S. V., Banaschewski, T., Coghill, D., Zheng, Y., Biederman, J., Bellgrove, M. A., et al. (2021). The World Federation of ADHD International Consensus Statement: 208 evidence-based conclusions about the disorder. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 128, 789-818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.01.022
2. Barkley, R. A. (Ed.). (2015). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A handbook for diagnosis and treatment (4th ed.). Guilford Press.
3. Shaw, P., Eckstrand, K., Sharp, W., Blumenthal, J., Lerch, J. P., Greenstein, D., et al. (2007). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is characterized by a delay in cortical maturation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(49), 19649-19654. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0707741104
4. Shaw, P., Stringaris, A., Nigg, J., & Leibenluft, E. (2014). Emotion dysregulation in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 171(3), 276-293. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.13070966
5. DuPaul, G. J., Eckert, T. L., & Vilardo, B. (2012). The effects of school-based interventions for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A meta-analysis 1996-2010. School Psychology Review, 41(4), 387-412. https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2012.12087496
6. Evans, S. W., Owens, J. S., Wymbs, B. T., & Ray, A. R. (2018). Evidence-based psychosocial treatments for children and adolescents with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 47(2), 157-198. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2017.1390757
7. Wolraich, M. L., Hagan, J. F., Allan, C., Chan, E., Davison, D., Earls, M., et al. (2019). Clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents. Pediatrics, 144(4), e20192528. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-2528
8. Pyle, K., & Fabiano, G. A. (2017). Daily report card intervention and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A meta-analysis of single-case studies. Exceptional Children, 83(4), 378-395. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402917706370