3.1 Signs of (un)diagnosed or poorly managed ADHD

Signs that students with (un)diagnosed ADHD are struggling at school

Regardless of whether your student has been diagnosed with ADHD, they have some additional needs if:

their frequent inattentiveness or hyperactivity is negatively impacting their relationships, wellbeing, participation, or progress
they have intense emotional outbursts that are over-stated for the situation, and/or
there are concerns that medication if prescribed, is ineffective or not well-managed.

Kim Anketell describes characteristics of students with (un)diagnosed ADHD (2.6 mins)

Kim Anketell

Resource Teacher: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB)

Bio: Kim's roles in education vary from teacher to associate principal to RTLB. She has worked alongside and participated on Boards of Trustees as an educator and senior leader to ensure the high quality of education is maintained and that staff have all the resources they need to accomplish this goal.

Outside of your classroom, you may have noticed signs your student has:

poor attendance
refused to attend class or school
disengaged with learning
expressed frustration or distress about their learning
withdrawn socially, appears sad or isolated, and/or
whānau that are concerned about their child's ability to learn.

Regardless of whether your student has been diagnosed with ADHD, they have a higher level of need if they have a significant lack of impulse control or attentiveness that is leading to:

anxiety or emotional wellbeing concerns
regular disruption to peers' learning
isolation from their peers
challenging behaviour
reduced participation, or
whānau stress.

Read what this Resource Teacher has to say about Learning and Behaviour (RTLB)

"It's definitely harder to identify the inattentive ADHD, and I often think they are quite tricky for even an RTLB. So they know something's not quite right, but they're not really sure. And yeah, lots of words like lazy or they'll talk about the diet and tiredness and things like that always often comes up as well."

In class, you may notice signs that your student:

is reluctant to engage in learning or participate in challenging activities
attends class irregularly
feels anxious about learning or participating
has difficulty following classroom instructions or completing multi-step tasks
makes self-deprecating comments, e.g. "I am so dumb"
acts out, e.g. being the class clown to avoid embarrassment
is challenged with a specific learning difference, e.g. dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia (ask the whānau to share any formal assessments or reports), and/or
has skills which have regressed or show little progress, despite implementing different teaching strategies.

If you think a student reflects some of the struggles outlined above, then it is time to implement a four-step action plan. The exact process followed will vary from school to school, but the broad steps will be consistent.

1. Gather information

2. Share and discuss (colleagues, whānau, medical professionals)

3. Getting your student assessed for ADHD, and

4. Helping your student manage ADHD with medication and a plan for support.

Click to read what this Resource Teacher had to say about Learning and Behaviour (RTLB)

"We collect our own data with what's called an ecological approach.

So that means we go out, and we look at the classroom, we talk to whānau, we talk to the student, and we talk to the teacher, at those initial meetings, about any concerns, but also we're quite strength-based. So we talk a lot about what students can do.

And then you'll go through those observations. If it's behaviour-focused, your observations tend to be around behaviour and quite specific, whatever the main issue is, but usually, we could collect academic data as well. And then we come back.

Once we've got all that information, including the voices of the students and their whānau we come back for a feedback meeting where everyone's around the table.

We come up with a plan, a collaborative action plan. And usually, that plan, if something's kind of identified, then part of your plan might be, you know, a paediatric referral."

You are 14% of the way through eLearning module: 3. Signs that students with (un)diagnosed ADHD are struggling at school.

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