Learning

 If you have ADHD, you may not be learning at your true potential.

The evidence is fairly clear that most young people with ADHD tend not to perform to their true potential at school and are at a much higher risk of temporary and permanent exclusion, truancy, early school leaving, and underachievement in terms of academic attainment and exams.

 

There may be many reasons for this, including:

  • the existence of unidentified specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia and dyscalculia

  • relative immaturity, caused by developmental delay

  • problems in adhering to rules and expectations

  • boredom (caused by a lack of intellectual stimulation)

  • a lack of parental support (parents who perhaps did not themselves do well at school)

  • poor organisational skills

Where appropriate support is provided, when the skills and interests of the pupil are recognised and exploited, and where good relationships can be forged, young people with ADHD can do well, even in very academic disciplines.

download.jpg

If you are struggling at school and have a diagnosis of ADHD or suspect that it could be contributing to your problems, speak to a teacher you trust or ask your parents/carers to do so on your behalf.

Before giving up, try everything. Leaving school early is often one of the biggest regrets of adults when they look back on their early years.

You will get more support in school than anywhere else, and being in education can provide you with the opportunity to understand how you learn best.

Remember that learning doesn’t end when you leave school and that in virtually all jobs and careers, you will need to learn how to learn and acquire new knowledge and skills. 

Simple techniques can often be adopted to improve performance significantly, and when you do manage to achieve, this can provide a huge boost not only to your self-esteem but to your interest in learning more.

 Try some of the following:

  1. Checklists and task lists to visualise what is expected of you and the deadlines that you have to meet.

  2. Develop the ability to use mind maps for very efficient planning and processing.

  3. Reduce complex topics to bullet points to help develop an overview and prompt your memory.

  4. Chunk tasks into smaller subtasks that are easier to manage at any one time.

  5. Ask your teachers for constant feedback so that you know how you are doing and how you can improve.

  6. Use apps and assistive technologies to reduce barriers to learning. (For example, this page was written using voice text and not one single word was typed or written.) This can make it much easier to get your ideas down on paper before you forget them, and means that extended writing becomes less of a burden.

If you are struggling in one particular area, for example with spelling, ask if you can be assessed by a specialist teacher who might be able to identify any specific learning difficulties that could be getting in the way.

 Key messages:

  • stay in school as long as you can

  • speak to teachers you trust about any difficulties that you are facing

  • take control of your own learning and see it as something that will benefit you for the rest of your life

  • don’t let occasional failures destroy your interest and enthusiasm for learning

  • avoid being distracted by those who want you to help them feel better by failing

  • never give up on yourself