How to Help Your Child With ADHD in School

This is something I’m really excited about—and it’s something that comes up in both tutoring and ADHD coaching a lot, but one of the questions I’m often asked is “how can I help a child who has ADHD with their school?”

It’s completely normal for parents of students (and students themselves) to feel anxious about their child with ADHD’s performance in school. To do well in school, you have to have some level of executive functioning, which kids with ADHD struggle with.

But, ADHD is actually their secret superpower, and I’m going to tell you exactly how to help your child with school:

#1. Establish Routines

For any child with ADHD, routines make life easier. Keep a consistent schedule so your child knows what to expect every single day when they wake up, go to school, come back, unwind, have homework, when to shut it off, when to have some playtime, and when to go to bed. 

Routines help children with ADHD feel secure. You can also help with this by creating clear transitions from one subject or thing to the next. Almost like a transition from one “brain mode” to the next “brain mode.” 

#2. Create a Visual Aid

You want to provide visual aids such as flashcards, a binder, or color-coded schedules for your child. This could be a central calendar for your child to reference at any time (I love mine, you can grab it here).

ADHD students thrive when they’re able to visually see what’s next and when, so keep the calendars up to date, create checklists to help with tasks, and try to keep the same organization/color coding pattern—switching things up can make it more stressful!

#3. Incorporate Movement

Movement is medicine, food is medicine, and knowing that physical movement during class and at home learning can really help children release their built-up energy and refocus their attention. There are so many different methods out there, too!

One of the easiest to implement is the Pomodoro Method, a time management method in which you do focused work during 25-minute intervals and take a five-minute break. Essentially, you can’t have a child sit down and study the whole time, they need breaks!

#4. Communicate With Teachers

One of the best ways to support your child with ADHD in school is to keep open communication with their teachers, letting them know you are advocating for your child, but that you’re also respectful of the teacher and their role.

The teacher will really hone in on that child more, knowing that there’s a huge team built around them. It’s the teacher and it’s the parent—not just the teacher and the child, and it makes a huge difference.

You want to communicate with a child’s teacher what their needs are, develop a plan together that supports those needs and includes things like organizational tools, collaboration, and getting feedback.

If your child needs it, push for accommodations in the classroom. As a student with ADHD, I had to have accommodations, and sometimes that would look like taking the test a day or two early—same test, different time and environment. 

#5. Give Your Child Clear Instructions

Students with ADHD work best when they have clear instructions, so one of the ways you can help your student is by getting those instructions from the school and helping your child implement them.

For example, you can break the tasks into small tasks, limit distractions, and make sure they’re taking breaks and following their usual routine.

But don’t let their ADHD take over their experience of being in school and being a student, you want to make your child feel like they’re like everybody else—ADHD just happens to be their superpower. 

Want to learn more ways to help your student with ADHD? Book a consultation for ADHD coaching.

Research Resources:

• Ellen Braaten, PhD, Mass General Brigham, Tips to Help Kids with ADHD Focus in School
• Children’s Health, How to Help Kids with ADHD in School
• WebMD, ADHD: How to Help Your Child Succeed at School