Behavioral interventions are a first-line treatment for elementary school-aged children with ADHD, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Here are two types of classroom behavioral interventions that parents can request and teachers can use alone or in consultation with school psychologists and other staff.

[Free Download: How to Teach Children with ADHD — Classroom Challenges & Solutions]

Preventing Interventions

Use these interventions before disruptive behaviors and challenges mushroom:

• Greet each child individually with daily words of encouragement. Students are motivated to please adults they like and respect, and who like and respect them.
• Review expectations before activities. Many teachers think: Students should know what I expect by now. They may, but many children with ADHD have difficulty applying this knowledge. This external support only takes a minute or two, and it puts the rules at the top of students’ minds.
• Offer a choice of where to work (e.g., in a seat, on the floor), how to learn (e.g., using headphones, with a partner), and what to focus on (e.g., write about any character, select one of two books offered). This allows students to leverage their strengths and enhance their engagement in the classroom.
• Set an achievable goal. A student with a goal is more likely to modify their behavior than a student without one.
• Provide an illustrated step-by-step plan for completing high-priority tasks. For example, how to get started independently in math class and what a student should do if they get stuck on a problem.
• Use a timer that students can easily see. Remember that students with ADHD have internal timers that are underperforming.
• Do a weekly check-in. Ask students about their interests, hobbies, or experiences outside of school to show you care. This positive interaction helps to balance any corrective feedback given later.

Consequence Interventions

These should be connected to a student’s behavior, but they are not disciplinary actions.

• Students with ADHD benefit from external guidance and feedback. Praise tells them, “Yes, do more of this behavior,” and corrective feedback tells them, “Don’t do that again.” Think about praise and corrective feedback as the two bumpers on a bowling alley lane (one on each side). If students receive both, they can roll in the right direction toward success.
• Corrective feedback is most effective when you label the unwanted behavior (e.g., “That’s an interruption; that was disrespectful”). Then link the behavior to expectations: “Remember, we wait until the speaker is done before asking a question.”
• Praise is most effective when it is genuine and behavior-specific.
• Engage in skills practice to allow the student to try the behavior correctly. This also helps them build their “self-control muscles.”
• Provide a consequence/remove a privilege. For example, “You didn’t follow my instructions twice, so you lose the privilege of being a line leader today. Please stand behind Jamal.”
• Encourage problem-solving. Ask the student, “What would help you follow expectations better in this situation?”

These interventions should be used with all students. Importantly, our research shows that teachers do not need to respond to every instance of disruptive behavior with a correction, but if they respond to more than half, rule violations drop significantly over time.

[Click to Download: 10 Teaching Strategies that Help Students with ADHD]

If a student continues to struggle, consider implementing a higher level of service, such as using a daily report card, to build upon interventions and smooth their path forward.

Behavioral Interventions for ADHD: Next Steps

• Free Download: Free Guide to Solving Behavior Problems Rooted in Executive Function Deficits
• Sign Up: Free ADHD Teacher Training Program!
• Read: Could a Behavior Intervention Plan Help Your Student with ADHD? 
• Watch: “Better School Behavior: How to Design and Implement a Positive and Effective Behavior Plan”

Julie Sarno Owens, Ph.D., is a psychology professor and director at the Center for Intervention Research in Schools at Ohio University.

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School accommodations unlock learning for many neurodivergent students. But when a child has ADHD and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), certain commonly used accommodations may unintentionally trigger symptoms, and lead to harmful effects.

Here are several accommodations that should be carefully reconsidered when supporting a student with ADHD and OCD:

Granting extra time on assignments and tests.

This is helpful for students who struggle with processing speed and focus. However, students with OCD may use that extended time to check and recheck, reread and rewrite, and overthink their answers. In other word, they will fill the extra time for testing with compulsive behaviors.

[Get ADDitude’s Back-to-School Guide 2025]

OCD generally expands to fill the container it is given. Think of the classic OCD compulsion of handwashing. Without time restrictions on how long an individual can spend in the bathroom, the washing may take longer and longer. Time boundaries provide at least some limit to OCD behaviors.

Allowing a child to eat in a separate area.

Some neurodivergent students experience distraction and/or disgust in cafeterias, so their parents worry they won’t eat at school unless given this accommodation. When a child is allowed to eat in a separate lunch area at school, however, they become less willing to engage in public eating in general.

Children with OCD may benefit from being required to eat in a cafeteria, where they will be exposed to some of their triggers, such as fear of contamination, social challenges, and sensory experiences. Repeated exposure to OCD triggers can lead to desensitization over time, while consistent avoidance achieves the opposite. As educators and parent, we must be willing to allow our children to feel discomfort in the short-term so that they become stronger in the long-term.

[Self-Test: Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) in Children]

Allowing more time with a school counselor to talk about worries.

Sometimes, traditional therapy and school counseling techniques can exacerbate OCD symptoms. OCD treatment techniques are highly specific, and school counselors are seldom trained in this modality. Instead, the counselor may offer reassurance, anxiety check-ins, and other approaches that could fuel OCD behaviors.

No student should rely on their school counselor (or teacher) to regulate their compulsions and fears. OCD treatment involves allowing our children to feel anxiety and resist the urge to “fix” it (including by seeing the school counselor). OCD diminishes when a child no longer reacts to anxiety as though it were dangerous or disabling.

For children with ADHD and OCD, school accommodations must be thoughtfully considered. Generally, long-term accommodations are not recommended because they could lead students with OCD to become less resilient and more anxious over time.

Childhood OCD in School: Next Steps

• Read: OCD and ADHD – The Polar Opposites That Are Not
• Watch: “OCD in Children with ADHD – Navigating the Dual Diagnosis”
• Read: What if You Are Enabling Your Child’s Anxiety?

Natalia Aiza, LPC, is a therapist and parent trainer. She is the co-founder of Kairos Wellness Collective, an innovative therapy center that specializes in OCD and anxiety disorders.

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As a child psychologist, I see a direct connection between academic achievement and a child’s ability to build meaningful friendships, manage their emotions, and tolerate distress. When a child is emotionally dysregulated, they are less available to learn.
When individuals with ADHD get triggered and do not have the skills to regulate emotions effectively, they enter a fight-or-flight state. The amygdala is activated, and the body releases stress hormones like cortisol. This autonomic response can hijack the prefrontal cortex and sabotage the ability to focus, process new information, and regulate emotions.

The brain becomes unable to engage higher-order executive functioning skills and learn. This is why social-emotional skills are a critical precursor to learning, and a linchpin for academic success.

Over the past 30 years, educators have increasingly embraced social-emotional learning (SEL). Notably, parents play a critical role in nurturing their children’s skills in this area.

[Get This Free SEL Programs Comparison Chart]

Children who develop emotional awareness and expression skills can improve self-regulation and manage their reactions effectively. Those who learn perspective-taking skills and develop empathy can understand others’ feelings.

SEL Skills Teach Conflict Resolution

Problem-solving skills help kids resolve conflicts constructively. But for many children with ADHD, didactic lessons in a classroom are not enough; they need to see and feel how SEL skills may be applied in the real world. Therefore, it is critical for these skills to be taught and applied organically on a regular basis. Parents and teachers need to see conflicts —misbehavior, sibling rivalry, fights between children on the playground, meltdowns, rigidity, and disrespect — as learning opportunities.

Sadly, kids are often given detentions for these behaviors. Punishment, however, does not help children learn. Instead, it breeds anger and resentment, making them feel bad about themselves. It keeps them stuck.

The next time your child or student is involved in a conflict, use the following steps to build their SEL skills:

Step 1: Evaluate

Ask yourself: What is this child’s skill deficit at this moment? What do they need to learn?

[Free Guide to Activities and Sports for Kids with ADHD]

Step 2: Validate

Validate the child’s perspective. Feeling seen and heard will help them be more fully present for learning. Remember, you don’t need to agree with them to offer validation.

Step 3: Collaborate

Truly hear them before you share your perspective. Encourage the child to problem-solve or come up with a compromise that works.

Acquiring and applying SEL skills, like any other skill, takes time and practice. Perhaps more importantly, it also requires you, as a teacher or caregiver, to regulate your own emotions to help a child see how to regulate theirs.

SEL Skills: Next Steps

Free Class: The ADHD Learning Series for Educators
Free Download: Friendship Guide for Kids with ADHD
Read: The Social Executive Function Skills That Elude Kids with ADHD
Read: How to Be Your Child’s Social Emotional Learning Coach

Tamar Kahane, Psy.D., is the founder and clinical director of The Kahane Center, LLC, in New Jersey. 

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What Is Social Emotional Learning?

Social-emotional learning (SEL) programs teach skills ranging from emotional regulation to social awareness and problem-solving. For students from preschool through high school, SEL teachings aim to improve academic performance, encourage positive behaviors, and strengthen a sense of belonging.

And the approach works. A meta-analysis of hundreds of studies involving more than a half-million students globally found that students in SEL programs demonstrated measurable gains in social and emotional skills and behaviors, including self-esteem, mindset, perseverance, and optimism.¹

The analysis also found that benefits to children significantly outweighed the costs, and this was consistent across socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.

[Get This Free SEL Programs Comparison Chart]

SEL Training Is Inadequate

In a survey, ADDitude asked educators whether they were familiar with SEL. Of the nearly 400 respondents, 70% said yes. When asked how they learned about its goals and approaches, 69% said they sought this information independently. About 45% said their school offered training, but many teachers said the training was inconsistent or inadequate. And satisfaction?

• 27% were satisfied or very satisfied with their school’s SEL training and approach
• 29% were not satisfied

“We had a very brief meeting at the start of the year, maybe for an hour,” one respondent said, echoing other teachers’ responses to ADDitude.

Another said, “We had some professional development meetings, but there was a distinct lack of follow-through.”

What are the biggest hurdles to implementing SEL programs or curricula in the classroom? Here’s what teachers said:

• Time constraints: 65%
• Inadequate training: 44%
• Lack of resources or funding: 41%
• Lack of clear guidelines or expectations for SEL implementation: 38%
• Difficulty assessing and tracking student progress: 32%
• Demands related to test preparation and/or curriculum goals: 26%
• Poor student engagement: 22%
• Poor parent cooperation: 17%

[Read: How to Be Your Child’s Social Emotional Learning Coach]

The Value of SEL in Education

Teachers also shared how SEL programs have become part of the classroom experience.

• “Noticing how I’m feeling deeply impacts the tone of my classroom. When I stop to breathe, I can stay in my executive brain and make healthier decisions and responses.”
• “As a school psychologist, I have worked to educate teachers and administrators on the value of implementing an SEL program. When fully embedded in the curriculum, it improves students’ self-awareness, self-regulation, and social awareness. This, in turn, impacts positively on social relationships and supports a more positive overall community as well. SEL instruction is a game changer.”
• “I’ve learned how to identify and manage emotions, and how to resolve conflict.”
• “Leading with compassion and curiosity has been the most effective strategy. This includes teaching students to be compassionate and curious with themselves.”
• “Scaffolding and differentiating learning to help students overcome anxiety and access the curriculum makes a big difference in their ability to engage with peers in the classroom. Being able to engage on their intellectual level helps our gifted students make friends and feel welcomed in the classroom.”

Social Emotional Learning: Next Steps

• Free Download: SEL Program Comparison Tool
• Read: The Social Executive Function Skills That Elude Kids with ADHD
• Read: Build Your Child’s Social Skills in 7 Steps

Carole Fleck is Editor-in-Chief at ADDitude magazine.

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Sources

¹ Cipriano, C., Strambler, M. J., Naples, L. H., Ha, C., Kirk, M., Wood, M., Sehgal, K., Zieher, A. K., Eveleigh, A., McCarthy, M., Funaro, M., Ponnock, A., Chow, J. C., & Durlak, J. (2023). The state of evidence for social and emotional learning: A contemporary meta-analysis of universal school-based SEL interventions. Child Development, 94(5), 1181–1204. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13968

Proactive Strategies

Early research on social anxiety exclusively studied people with a fear of public speaking. We now recognize that social anxiety broadly involves excessive worry about how others will perceive, think about, and react to you. Sometimes, social anxiety even extends to an individual’s unspoken thoughts and worries about how people would respond “if they ever knew” that individual’s inner fears and desires.

In children, social anxiety may look like awkwardness in conversations with peers or apprehension about joining activities. Kids who are excessively aggressive in their interaction style or who seem more withdrawn, or immature compared to their peers may have social anxiety — in large part due to overt or covert social rejection or victimization.

[Self-Test: Social Anxiety Screener for Kids]

School interactions may exacerbate social anxiety. Some students become socially anxious when they feel they are not grasping class lessons at the same speed as their peers. Other students may excel academically but become stressed during gym class when others watch them shoot a basketball or complete a set of push-ups.

How Social Anxiety Manifests

Teachers can help students develop resilience by expressing empathy, offering encouragement, and setting clear expectations. But first, they must realize that a child’s social anxiety may manifest in unexpected ways.

If a student withdraws or avoids a task, don’t assume it’s due to laziness. Spend a few minutes individually with the student to learn about their perspective and motivations. During the conversation, acknowledge their point of view and assure the child that you are listening.

Respond with something like this: “Some kids don’t worry about working in groups with other kids. But some kids do, and it takes them longer to feel comfortable. That’s ok. In my class, I encourage you to join group activities. I will assign you to group projects, just as I do with any other student because the more you avoid group work, the more difficult it will become. I want to help you face this fear, and I’m always here to talk with you about it.”

[Free Guide: How to Help Your Students Make Friends]

Interactions with a few classmates at a time will gradually increase their confidence, so create opportunities for small groups of students to work together. Extreme cases of social anxiety may require additional help from a school counselor, psychotherapist, or psychiatrist.

Social Anxiety in Children: Next Steps

• Free Download: Social Anxiety Facts and Falsehoods
• Free Class: The ADHD Learning Series for Educators
• Read: “Help! My Child Won’t Go to School.”
• Read: Classroom Strategies for Students with Social Anxiety

Thomas E. Brown, Ph.D., was a clinical psychologist and founder of the Brown Clinic for Attention and Related Disorders in Manhattan Beach, California.

The content for this webinar was derived from the ADDitude webinar “Hidden Fears, Quiet Shame: Social Anxiety in Middle School to College Students” with Thomas B. Brown, Ph.D., which was broadcast live on April 2, 2025.

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Thank you for reading ADDitude. To support our mission of providing ADHD education and support, please consider subscribing. Your readership and support help make our content and outreach possible. Thank you.

You see, I am not just an educator. I am a caregiver-educator — a combination that caused me not to burn out, but to incinerate.

Like many educators, I never clocked out of my caregiving identity. For years I carried the unbearable weight of emotional labor, amplified by undiagnosed ADHD.

My classroom was a whirlwind of innovation and empathy. My home life, on the other hand, was a cycle of collapsing into silence and guilt. I could write a six-week unit plan in a weekend but forget to start the dishwasher. I could advocate fiercely for students with disabilities but freeze when my own child melted down. I was highly capable and chronically exhausted.

Teacher Burnout & My Breaking Point

It started during one Christmas break. I was raw from months of school stress and worn thin from family tension. Then, at the last minute, a plan that would have given me a place at the holiday table was canceled. I tried to be gracious. But that night cracked something open. I spent Christmas Eve alone, seething with rejection and stewing in shame. I completely unraveled, and it was my son who caught the shrapnel. That moment became the beginning of my understanding.

[How Burnt Out Are You? Take This Quiz to Find Out]

I didn’t realize I had ADHD until after my son was diagnosed. I remember sitting in the psychologist’s office, hearing her describe my son’s brain and realizing she could’ve been describing mine. I’d spent my entire career teaching and coaching students with ADHD, and somehow I had missed the fact that I was one of them.

And in the months that followed, I began to name what was happening to me overall: disillusionment, burnout, compassion fatigue, demoralization, and moral injury. I call them the Five Fires. Caregivers, including educators, are at risk. And when you’re raising children with unique needs while also trying to teach them, you’re often burning in more than one.

The Caregiver-Educator with ADHD

ADHD caregivers are especially vulnerable to this kind of collapse. We feel deeply, so we show up big. We care ferociously, so we keep pouring from an empty cup and blame ourselves for not being strong enough to keep it going.

No one really sees the educator-caregiver with ADHD in full collapse. They see the clipboard and the clever lesson plan, but they don’t see the meltdown in the pantry. They don’t see the silent apology after a reactive outburst. They don’t see the guilt that settles like ash over every interaction.

[Read: “What I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before My Flaming ADHD Burnout”]

But we see each other. We see the texts left on “read” because there’s no energy to respond, and the half-read self-help books and the bookmarked podcasts. We see the moments we try to break generational cycles while holding our breath through our own triggers.

Recovering from ADHD Teacher Burnout

If this is you — if you’re a neurodivergent caregiver-educator wondering how it is that you can hold an entire classroom together but lose it when your kid refuses to eat dinner, please hear this: You are not broken. You are burned. Burned doesn’t mean that it’s over, only that it’s time to rebuild.

Healing didn’t come to me in one grand gesture, but through a series of small permissions: to stop overperforming just to prove I belonged. To rest when I was tired, not at the point of collapse. To see myself as more than the roles I served. I sometimes fall back into the fire, even with daily practice. The difference is that now I know the signs and I’m better at rising again.

Your ADHD doesn’t make you a bad parent or a failed teacher. It means your nervous system is working overtime in a world not built for it. You’re wired to care. That’s not a weakness. That’s a kind of flame, too.

Teacher Burnout: Next Steps

• Read: “How ADHD Makes Me a Better Teacher”
• Read: “I Wrote My Own IEP and It Changed Everything”
• Read: 7 Habits That Bring Calm and Stability

SUPPORT ADDITUDE
Thank you for reading ADDitude. To support our mission of providing ADHD education and support, please consider subscribing. Your readership and support help make our content and outreach possible. Thank you.

The outcome of SEL programs that lack buy-in from teachers and students, however, results in lost instruction time and missed opportunities for students to enhance their self-awareness, self-control, self-confidence, and overall wellbeing and academic success.

This download is here to help educators reduce the time and overwhelm that come with selecting a new SEL curriculum.

This easy-to-read chart highlights:

• 10 popular SEL programs according to ADDitude readers
• Program descriptions
• Curriculum focus areas
• Unique program features
• Program suitability by grade range
• Contact information
• And more!

Use these 5 approaches to foster self-confidence and encourage independence in your stalled-out high school student. Start here.

Every child wants to do well — in school and in other parts of life. But children and teens with ADHD often struggle with the how. When these struggles add up, they can greatly affect self-esteem. Learn more.

Motivation for teens with ADHD shares an inverse relationship with criticism, executive function challenges, anxiety, and academic demands. As these increase, motivation decreases.

Building resilience in children with ADHD begins with this: identifying their islands of competence and celebrating their strengths at school and at home, says Robert Brooks, Ph.D. Learn more.

Executive dysfunction causes problems with planning, organizing, prioritizing, and sticking to a goal, among other challenges. It’s also a major reason behind motivation challenges in tweens and teens with ADHD. Read more.

Here, understand why the ADHD brain is tough to motivate, and how you can adjust your teaching and/or parenting accordingly. Keep reading.

Neurology shows that the ADHD brain is particularly sensitive to positive reinforcement and to punishment — insights that should influence parenting and teaching strategies. Read more.

“In the process of helping my son, I totally revolutionized the way I teach my own students — both the neurotypical and the atypical ones.” Read more.

“Lagging maturity, fewer social models, and weak executive functions mean that children with ADHD may struggle socially. The good news is that, like any other skill, social-emotional skills can be taught and improved.” Keep reading.

From smart social media use to careful questioning, here’s how parents can help boost a tween’s wavering confidence. Get help.

Social skills may not come naturally to kids with ADHD, who may seem bossy or oblivious, attract bullies, or hide in video games. Here’s how to help your child make friends (and keep them) this year.

Social-emotional learning activities and strategies for ADHD kids who struggle to make and keep friends — find them here.

Navigating social interactions requires various mental processes, or executive function skills. Deficits and delays in these skills – which I refer to as social executive function skills – are common in ADHD, and they explain many of our kids’ problems in the social realm.

Q: “As a teacher, how can I encourage my students to be supportive of their fellow classmates with ADHD? An inclusive classroom environment with peer kindness is my goal.” Read the answer.

If your child has ADHD, you know that “mean teachers” are rarely cruel on purpose. But sometimes their lack of knowledge and training on ADHD means that they have expectations — and comments — that are wholly inappropriate and/or unhelpful for our kids. Here are the 9 that I remember most clearly.

School refusal, also called school avoidance, is a serious matter. An acute case can last from two weeks up to a year; a chronic case might persist for a year or two. Learn more.

“Growing up with undiagnosed ADHD, I was repeatedly labeled… Lazy. Unmotivated. Smart but slacks off. Careless. Indifferent. Clumsy. Forgetful. Distracted. Sloppy. Listens but doesn’t follow directions. Doesn’t listen. Won’t listen. Stubborn.” None of them were true.

The best way to help a teen develop a positive, healthy mindset about their self and their future is to be present – and patient. Learn more.

Daily challenges and corrections at school can demoralize a child and trample her confidence over time. Here, learn how to end this negative cycle and improve your child’s self-esteem in the classroom.

Chronic stress at school can make kids (particularly those with ADHD or LD) dread going — and change their brains for the worse. But parents and teachers can help alleviate the stress that is stopping these bright kids from succeeding. Here’s how.

Your child’s bad behavior is not personal. Make ADHD the enemy; not your child. Catch your child being good every day. Stop blaming others. And other rules for parenting a child with ADD that every family needs to hear.

Spare your family daily drama and fights by following this homework system designed for children with ADHD and learning disabilities. Learn more.

Reading is a challenging way for a person with ADHD to learn information. Reading is passive. It’s like learning to play basketball by watching your coach play.

A dialogue journal is a blank book, usually kept in a designated space, that a teacher and student can use to correspond back and forth. Learn how it works.

If your child is too tired or frustrated to finish his homework, let him stop. And more advice from a seasoned educator.

Write notes on the right two-thirds of the page and create summary questions on the left side. Get more pro tips.

Math and writing require rock-solid executive functions, a source of immeasurable frustration for many students with ADHD. Here, learn helpful techniques and strategies.

Research suggests that the soundtrack to your child’s homework should comprise these 21 songs, proven to change the electromagnetic frequency of brain waves for optimal focus. Get the list.

Executive dysfunction commonly plagues children with ADHD at school and at home, impacting their working memory, ability to prioritize and organize, and sustained attention, among other things. Measure your child’s executive function with this tool.

Use these strategies for managing negative ADHD behavior in the classroom — and teaching students better skills for the long run. Get started.

Get ideas for soothing, effective fidgets for students with ADHD who focus best when they are chewing, squeezing, picking, or — yes — spinning. Reader recommendations.

Music stimulates the release of dopamine, which regulates motivation, working memory, attention, and focus — all needed for tackling homework — and often in short supply for people with ADHD. Learn more.

This is actually not the most effective way to help those of us with ADHD reliably and consistently do what we need to do. Here, learn why — and what to do instead.

To follow directions, students with ADHD must hear and understand classroom instructions. Use these teacher strategies for simplifying complex tasks with verbal and written guidance.

“Hyperactive children… are kinesthetic learners. That’s not a bad thing. It’s an opportunity for you to introduce fresh methods into your educational routines that address that learning style.” Susan Saurel, guest contributor

ADHD in the classroom is easy to mistake for carelessness, defiance, laziness, or a learning difference. Here are the 7 ADD symptoms that educators seldom recognize at school — and solutions for each.

Reasoning with dysregulated, angry kids in the middle of a breakdown is practically impossible. The best approach in the moment is to stop the meltdown from escalating, and to reduce their severity and frequency over time. How to do that.

“Defiant behavior is simply a response to a child’s lack of skills — that is, when a child feels incapable of responding to a specific expectation, he’ll lash out, push back, or melt down.” — Ross W. Greene, Ph.D.

Children with ADHD experience the same emotions as do other children, but their feelings are more frequent, intense, and longer-lasting. Because the underlying brain mechanisms that help manage emotions are affected by ADHD, emotional regulation development is delayed. Learn more.

These back-to-school supplies for students with ADHD — such as erasable pens, highlighter tape, wiggle seat cushions, and more — improve focus, organization, and classroom engagement. See the list.

This gives kids with ADHD a sense of being in control of their day. Provide advance notice of any changes to the usual routine. More strategies for promoting emotional control.

Aim to meet your child where they fall in terms of executive functioning and emotional maturity with the intention of helping them develop those skills. Here’s how.

Weak working memory impairs a child’s ability to follow multi-step directions, tap into old information, or quickly recall lessons. These 15 exercises and strategies can help.

Research shows that students with ADHD don’t need to study harder or longer to conquer exams — they just need to study differently. Here’s how.

Improve working memory in children with ADHD by using these 10 exercises that lighten the mental load by externalizing reminders.

Repetition can improve working memory. It even helps to pair an action or movement with a word or phrase. Learn more.

Stimulating the olfactory nerve produces dopamine, which the ADHD brain craves. Learn more.

“Executive age” refers to a person’s age based on how his or her brain is working. Individuals with executive functioning challenges are, on average, approximately 30 percent behind their peers in executive age. Learn more.

What might look like “selective hearing” is really the brain’s inability to solidify and hold on to information. When you are telling your child something you want him to do later on in the day, he is hearing you… at that moment. He’s just not remembering later on.Learn more.

Reliable schedules for mornings, after school, and bedtime make a tremendous difference in setting expectations, building good habits, and improving ADD-related behavior. Use these recommended templates.

What are the components of a good school planner? Find out here.

There’s no better time than now to work out new school systems and schedules. And that includes getting familiar with a few apps that help to improve time management, focus, and productivity. What are your favorites?

Calendars offer multisensory learning opportunities by being visual records of activities that you and your child write down and cross off, and they prompt auditory reinforcement as you talk about the day’s events. Get more organization tips.

Use this free guide to tackle common trouble spots, from waking up in the morning to going to bed at night. You can make your own routine or adapt the included sample routine to your family’s needs. Get this resource.

Digital clocks present time as a static present-tense thing, greatly affecting kids’ ability to conceive of and gauge time. Analog clocks show that time moves — and let a child know where she stands in relation to the rest of the hour or the rest of the day. We need to reintroduce analog clocks so children can “see” time and learn to place events in context. Learn more.

Transitioning from a hyperfocused, high-dopamine-reward activity to a lower-dopamine one requires a lot of impulse control, emotional regulation, and metacognition. These skills do not come naturally to ADHD brains, especially developing ones, so start by creating and following schedule. Learn more.

Motivation plays a significant role in teens’ behavior, but it’s important to recognize that some behaviors reflect a skill weakness rather than a lack of motivation. To evaluate weaknesses in your teen, be aware of his capacity to engage in effortful mental tasks. Learn more.

The positive effects last for two to three hours after exercise — attention is improved, memory is enhanced, and the endorphins released during physical activity decrease levels of stress and anxiety. Learn more.

Executive functioning skills power our daily functioning, future planning, and mental/physical health. Here, learn how to improve core EFs through recommended activities, exercises, and games.

Productivity gurus agree that the Eisenhower Matrix is a simple yet powerful way to set priorities and to focus your time and energy on what matters most. The matrix is divided into four quadrants according to two attributes: urgency and importance. Learn more.

Triaging a to-do list rarely comes naturally, but it’s learning how to prioritize is a skill that can be taught. Follow these steps to get started.

Executive dysfunction is ubiquitous in children with ADHD, which helps to explain why so many students with attention deficit are reprimanded for forgotten homework, disorganized projects, running out of time on tests, and more. Learn more.

A 7-year-old with ADHD has the executive functioning skills of a 4- or 5-year-old. A 13-year-old’s EF age is between 10 and 11. Your expectations for your child need to align with their EF age, and your strategies for scaffolding probably need to change accordingly. Learn more.

IEPs are protected by law, as spelled out in IDEA. So long as IDEA law remains intact, the rights of students with disabilities to IEPs will remain protected. However, the Department of Education is the primary watchdog for both IDEA and Section 504, so enforcement of IEP and 504 Plan violations could be impacted by recent cuts. Learn more.

We asked a panel of veteran teachers to share teaching strategies and classroom accommodations that had made a real difference in the lives of real students with ADHD and learning differences. Here are some of their favorites…

ADDitude readers share the school accommodations — plus crafty IEP tips and tricks — that help their children manage ADHD symptoms and stay focused, happy, and academically & socially successful. Get the list.

Impulsive behavior. Incomplete homework. Inconsistent focus. Whatever your child’s school challenges, these teacher-approved accommodations can put some real muscle behind his 504 Plan and put the attention back on learning. Get started.

Try this simple project to cultivate a classroom culture where individual strengths and needs are normalized, not stigmatized, and where students of all abilities feel comfortable advocating for the supports they need to thrive. Get started.

The easiest way to think about the differences between an IEP and a 504 Plan is that, if a student needs accommodations only in a regular classroom, he will generally get a 504 Plan. If the student needs special education services outside of a regular classroom, he will qualify for an IEP. Learn more.

IDEA regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Education in 1999 make it clear that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD) is included in the list of “other health impairments” that could render a child eligible for special education services in an IEP. However, not all children with ADHD qualify for an IEP. To qualify, the ADHD must adversely affect a child’s educational performance. Students who do not meet the criteria spelled out by IDEA may still qualify for help under SECTION 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, also known simply as “Section 504” or “a 504 Plan.” Learn more.

Does your child or teen with ADHD chronically underestimate the amount of time needed to complete assignments? Do they suffer cognitive overload and freeze up when projects seemingly explode in complexity? Does this lead to anxiety, tears, and/or missed deadlines?

If so, we feel your pain — and your desire to start this new school year meeting the executive function challenges of ADHD head on. To that end, this webinar will explain how to teach and practice the skill of time estimation, using visual aids and timers for support. It will demonstrate how to break assignments into small parts, and how to create an environment that is conducive to initiating a homework routine. Finally, it will detail what a parent can do when their child is overwhelmed by schoolwork, or when the assignments are too difficult.

In this webinar, caregivers and educators will learn:

• Why students with ADHD have time-management and other executive function challenges that lead to homework resistance
• How auditory processing skills manifest in the classroom and may hamper learning
• How to get kids started on the right foot at the beginning of the new school year, including establishing routines
• How to teach and practice time estimation and other strategies to help kids start and complete homework
• How to use visual aids, reminders, timers, and planners for students at different grade levels
• How to help kids with homework and worksheets that have too many sets of directions
• Scripts for talking with teachers if a student isn’t keeping up or needs help

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Time-Management Skills for Students : Resources

• • • Free Download: Executive Dysfunctions in the Classroom
    • Read: The ADHD Homework System We Swear By
    • Read: 15 Tips for Reducing Homework Stress & Completion Time
    • Read: 10 Ways to Improve Your Teen’s Executive Skills
      

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Meet the Expert Speaker

Beverley Holden Johns is an author and learning and behavior consultant. She has more than 30 years’ experience in the public school system working with students with learning disabilities and emotional/behavioral disorders.

She also was a Professional Fellow at MacMurray College. She is the author or co-author of 23 books in the field of special education, including the seminal book, Learning Disabilities and Related Mild Disabilities (#CommissionsEarned). She currently serves on the board of directors of the Learning Disabilities Association of America and is the President of the Learning Disabilities Association of Illinois.
#CommissionsEarned As an Amazon Associate, ADDitude earns a commission from qualifying purchases made by ADDitude readers on the affiliate links we share. However, all products linked in the ADDitude Store have been independently selected by our editors and/or recommended by our readers. Prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.

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As many parents will attest, Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) often fail to improve classroom behavior, largely due to the absence of evidence-based interventions and support. For example, a recent study found that only half of IEPs for high school students with ADHD who exhibit challenging classroom behaviors included goals related to increasing on-task and socially appropriate behaviors.¹ Of additional concern, only one in three students with ADHD receives classroom behavior-management support. ² And even when a student has behavioral goals written into their IEP, there’s a good chance their teacher has not received direct training on how to implement these interventions.

An approach called the Life Course Model could significantly improve outcomes by keeping parents informed on the effectiveness of behavioral interventions and by ensuring consistency between home and school strategies.

The model’s primary aim is to foster collaborative family-school partnerships. Through meetings with the child’s academic and/or IEP team, parents can help make decisions regarding the best behavioral interventions to address the child’s needs.

[eBook: The Teacher’s Guide to ADHD and Classroom Behavior]

Daily communication about a student’s progress may also allow the teacher to advise on implementing interventions at home. However, successful student outcomes still rely on professional development and teacher training around ADHD interventions and strategies.

Life Course Model Implementation

These practice guidelines were created to help teachers address disruptive or noncompliant behaviors among students with ADHD by providing supports that build skills for independence and self-regulation. Interventions that reduce symptoms (e.g., medication) and accommodations that don’t necessarily build skills are given lower priority in the treatment plan sequence.

Life Course Model, Part 1: Services and Sequencing

Life Course Model, Part 2: Principles for Service Delivery

Behavioral Interventions for ADHD: Next Steps

• Free Download: Classroom Accommodations for Children with ADHD
• Sign Up: Free ADHD Teacher Training Program!
• Read: Could a Behavior Intervention Plan Help Your Student with ADHD? 

Marsha Ariol, M.S., is a third-year doctoral student in the school psychology program at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

George J. DuPaul, Ph.D., is a professor of school psychology and associate dean for research in the College of Education at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

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Sources

¹ Hustus, C.L., Evans, S.W., Owens, J.S., Benson, K., Hetrick, A., Kipperman, K., & DuPaul, G.J. (2020). An Evaluation of 504 and Individualized Educational Programs for High School Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. School Psychology Review,49, 333-345.doi: 10.1080/2372966X.2020.1777830

² DuPaul, G.J., Chronis-Tuscano, A., Danielson, M.L., & Visser, S.N. (2019). Predictors of Receipt of School Services in a National Sample of Youth with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of Attention Disorders, 23, 1303-1319.doi: 10.1177/1087054718816169

– How to improve executive function by developing “domino” habits
– How to foster a positive learning environment that leans more heavily on praise
– How to design a neurodivergent-friendly classroom
– How to model good planning and prioritizing skills for your child
– How to capture wandering attention without embarrassing students with ADHD
– How to use a daily report card system effectively
– How to manage multiple students’ accommodations efficiently
– How to spot and avoid burnout in twice-exceptional students who are gifted and have ADHD
– How to reduce screen-time battles and use music to spark focus

Get all of these resources and more in this concise, practical, 12-page guide to building stronger executive functions in children with ADHD.

Print it, share it, use it, and start off the new school year smart!

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

Q: How can I, as a teacher, more effectively and efficiently implement many Individualized Education Program (IEP) and 504 Plan accommodations for multiple students with learning differences in one classroom?

Many students with learning differences benefit from classroom accommodations, but managing them all can challenge any educator. This is especially true today, as the number of students requesting accommodations has increased dramatically. In fact, it’s one of the top reasons cited by educators for burnout.

If I teach 100 students, about 30 will have an IEP or 504 Plan, with two to three accommodations for each student. Teachers are tasked with figuring out how to implement and track these, while also covering all the course content, engaging young minds, and maintaining rigor. It’s a lot to manage.

To tackle multiple accommodations at once, take the time to carefully organize your online classroom portal. By uploading your notes in advance, for example, you can knock off several accommodations, such as “provide notes to students” and “offer different instructional strategies.”

[Read: 27 Classroom Accommodations That Target Common ADHD Challenges]

Along those lines, set clear due dates in advance for students who are given extra time to complete assignments. Doing so offers a clear structure, which is comforting and motivating for students; for teachers, it streamlines an otherwise unwieldy process.

Q: I see my students with ADHD struggling to focus. How can I help them pay attention without embarrassing them in class?

When teachers tell students with ADHD to pay attention,” most of the kids don’t know what that looks like. This is where we can turn to the SLANT model, developed by Doug Lemov, author of The Coach’s Guidee to Teaching.

[Free Poster: What Every Teacher Should Know About ADHD]

The SLANT strategy details the behaviors necessary for students to pay attention:

• Sit up
• Listen or lean forward
• Ask or answer questions
• Nod your head
• Track the speaker with your eyes

The benefits of this approach are twofold. First, these behaviors enhance the ability of the student to really engage. Second, the student who adopts them looks respectful, which sets a positive tone in the classroom.

Accommodations for ADHD: Next Steps

• Read: The Educator’s Guide to Executive Functions
• Read: Positive Teaching Strategies to Uplift Students with ADHD
• Free Download: Easy Accommodations for Kids with ADHD

Brandon Slade is the founder and CEO of Untapped Learning, an executive function coaching organization. He is a former special education teacher.

SUPPORT ADDITUDE
Thank you for reading ADDitude. To support our mission of providing ADHD education and support, please consider subscribing. Your readership and support help make our content and outreach possible. Thank you.