ADHD as a Framework for Reimagining Education

Kristy Smith, PhD Candidate

Faculty of Education, York University

Image by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels

In thinking about the theme of this month’s collection of articles, Disrupting Convention and Conformity, I was inclined to think about my own educational experiences as someone with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD is a neurological disorder that impacts four regions of the brain: the frontal cortex, the limbic system, the basal ganglia, and the reticular activating system (Silver, 2024). The disorder is characterized by deficiencies in neurotransmitters’ functioning, and while scientists are still trying to identify exactly what is going on with neurotransmitters and neurons in ADHD brains, they know that deficiencies in norepinephrine and dopamine are part of what make up the brain chemistry of ADHD (Silver, 2024). Norepinephrine is made from dopamine, and these two neurotransmitters together govern many things in our bodies, including mood, focus, and executive function. To treat ADHD chemically, physicians will prescribe stimulant medications that cause the brain to synthesize norepinephrine. One of the most fascinating things I learned in reading about ADHD after I was diagnosed as an adult (six months before I began my PhD!) is that the same neurotransmitters that impact our happiness also impact our ability to focus. This discovery led me to wonder what a model of pedagogy designed through the lens of ADHD might look like, and why such a model may be helpful for all students. Many people with ADHD struggle in school for myriad reasons, and research about people who achieve graduate degrees while navigating ADHD is severely lacking. However, in conversations I’ve had with other scholars who have ADHD, I gather that we don’t always thrive because of our K-12 education experiences, but in spite of them.

Why ADHD Specifically?

There are many symptoms of ADHD that are observed in both children and adults, including challenges focusing on singular tasks for extended periods of time that aren’t interesting to the individual. On the other hand, people with ADHD also experience periods of hyperfocus where we can focus so intensely on a singular task that interests us to the extent that we may forget about other commitments or fall out of tune with our body’s basic needs, such as eating or sleeping. People with ADHD can be impulsive, sporadic, or engage in risky behaviours. We’re more prone to develop addictions to substances, spend our money irresponsibly, take off on spontaneous trips abroad, or engage in risky sexual encounters. We’re quite hedonistic, and I’ve come to think about these phenomena as living in a constant state of chasing the feel-good chemicals that our bodies naturally lack — partly because we need them to function.

While this state of being is relevant for people with ADHD, researchers are finding that, in general, young people’s mental health has been significantly impacted by the pandemic. Emerging research suggests that children who don’t have ADHD are still experiencing some of the symptoms, and these early findings are prevalent on a global scale (Rogers & MacLean, 2023). It makes sense: students spent months or years at home isolated from their social worlds, and many sought instant gratification through social media to cope and bring moments of joy to their lives. Since the pandemic, students’ attention spans are shorter, they’re less engaged, they are struggling with mental health conditions at increasing rates, and overall they are less capable in the classroom than they were before. Research at a global level indicates that children and adolescents are experiencing greater challenges in their executive functioning and cognitive abilities post-COVID-19 (Attwood & Jarrold, 2022, Lavigne-Cervan et al., 2021). Therefore, whether a student has ADHD or not, I believe that framing pedagogy through an ADHD-friendly framework would help improve students’ engagement, promote stronger learning skills, and enhance their academic achievement overall.

What might an ADHD-friendly education look like?

Here are some ideas for teaching and learning in a way that’s accessible and engaging for both students with ADHD and students exhibiting some of the symptoms due to other factors in their lives. While none of these ideas are particularly novel, I believe they can disrupt notions of what we think education can or should look like in pursuit of more meaningful pedagogy for all students K-12 and beyond.

1. Bring playfulness into the classroom. One of the things I appreciated the most in school was my drama classes, and in particular, that my teachers often started each class with a game. As a student, I thought we were just having fun. Now, as a former high school drama teacher, I understand the pedagogical benefits of starting class with a game: if you get students active and having fun together as a regular practice, they’ll be able to focus and engage more effectively, and build meaningful relationships with each other as well. If we take the neurological relationship between happiness and focus seriously, then we can infer that creating moments of joy yields better focus and motivation overall.
2. Assess learning skills through project-based learning driven by student choice. Hyperfocus is one of the best parts about having ADHD, in that it allows us to engage deeply and do well when we’re exploring a topic of interest to us. Hyperfocus may explain why the same student with ADHD who is failing one subject is achieving top marks in another. If you allow students to choose the topic they’ll explore, you’ll be able to assess their learning skills and other success criteria in a way that shows you what they’re capable of when they’re engaged.
3. Where possible, allow students to curate their sensory environment. Sensory sensitivities are a common symptom of ADHD, and knowing how to work with them rather than against them can reduce moments of sensory overload, and promote stronger executive functioning. Allow students time to self-stimulate (stim) or self-soothe if they’re becoming overwhelmed. Allow them to listen to music, ASMR videos (videos designed to catalyze an autonomous sensory meridian response-a calming tingling sensation felt in the body), or white noise while working independently; offer a choice of materials in kinesthetic tasks; and allow them to use fidget objects in class.
4. Offer lots of reminders in various forms. Working memory is one of the challenges that people with ADHD face, but in conversations I’ve had with others over the last few years, it sounds like many neurotypical people have weaker memory skills than they did before COVID-19. Offering reminders through several points of access helps everyone. You can write reminders on the board, post them on Google Classroom, and add them to a class calendar so that students will see them in multiple places.
5. Offer some flexibility, but not too much. My policy with granting extensions is that students must come to me with a proposed deadline in mind and demonstrate that they have a plan to finish their assignment by the new deadline. While it can be tempting to offer endless flexibility, ensuring that you’re holding students accountable and following through on consequences offers them the structure that they may need to get their work done. Accountability isn’t an unkindness, and sometimes the possibility of facing a consequence can provide the extrinsic motivation that both people with and without ADHD need in order to finish a task.
6. Have 5-minute productive break tasks prepared. While working for longer periods of time, I find that short, productive breaks are helpful for keeping me on task. However, if I start scrolling on Instagram or watch a short YouTube video, I’m likely to get and stay distracted. Taking a productive break by doing a chore or organizing my agenda will give me the short break I need from my work but will not lead me too far off track.

While limited, I hope that this list of ADHD-friendly pedagogical strategies offers some insight into what a pedagogy for neurodivergent students may look like. I believe that ADHD as a framework has much to teach us about childhood, joy, and meaning-making in ways that challenge hegemonic discourses of education and schooling. People with ADHD are naturally curious, and positioning playfulness and joy at the centre of our pedagogy can bring forth new forms of creativity and knowledge creation that can fill the gaps within more traditional teaching strategies, and make learning more accessible for all.

References

Attwood, M., & Jarrold, C. (2022). Investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological wellbeing and cognitive function of older adolescents. PsyArXiv, 1–29. doi: 10.31234/osf.io/6a4jq

Lavigne-Cervan, R., Costa-Lopez, B., Juarez-Ruiz de Mier, R., Real-Fernandez, M., Sanchez-Munoz de Leon, M., & Navarro-Soria, I. (2021). Consequences of COVID-19 confinement on anxiety, sleep, and executive functions of children and adolescents in Spain. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1–11.

Orban, E., Yao Li, L., Gilbert, M., Napp, A., Kaman, A., Topf, S., Bocker, M., Devine, J., Reiss, F., Wendel, F., Jung-Sievers, C., Ernst, V., Franze, M., Mohler, E., Breitinger, E., Bender, S., & Ravens-Sieberer, U. (2023). “Are the kids alright?” A systematic review of longitudinal studies on mental health and quality of life in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Elsevier. SSRN. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4544367

Rogers, M., & MacLean, J. (2023). ADHD symptoms increased during the COVID-19 pandemic: A meta-analysis. Journal of Attention Disorders, 27(8), 800–811.

Silver, L. (2024, April 8). ADHD neuroscience 101. ADDitude Magazine. https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-neuroscience-101/