Skip to main content

Staying Focused with ADHD

 As a student with ADHD, it can be challenging to stay organized and focused in school. However, there are a number of strategies that can be helpful in managing ADHD symptoms and improving academic performance.

A group of students at Epic Charter Schools was surveyed. Here are the six most commonly identified strategies that may be helpful for your student(s) with ADHD in managing their symptoms and improving their academic performance:


  1. Use a planner or schedule 

Having a consistent schedule and using a planner can help students with ADHD stay organized and on top of their responsibilities.


  1. Take breaks and practice self-care

This may include getting regular exercise, eating a healthy diet and getting enough sleep.

 

  1. Use assistive technology 

There are many tools available to help students with ADHD stay organized and focused. These may include apps for tracking assignments, note-taking software and timer programs. Some favorites include Bionic Reader and the microphone tool in Google Docs.

 

  1. Find a support system 

It can be helpful to have a network of friends, family and your Epic teacher, all of whom can provide encouragement and assistance when needed.


  1. Seek professional help as needed 

If symptoms of ADHD are affecting a student's academic performance or overall well-being, it may be helpful to seek the help of a mental health professional. A therapist or counselor can help them develop coping strategies and work on skills such as time management and organization.


  1. Keep your comfy shoes on 

Yes, you heard that right. Wearing comfortable shoes can contribute to an overall sense of well-being and potentially can help with focus. While there is no scientific cause-and-effect relationship to this suggestion, enough people do it that it can be a great additional strategy for combating attentiveness and distraction.


Having ADHD should not stand in the way of our students and their goals. Whether your student wants to join the military, attend a college or university, enter the workforce directly, or take a gap year to travel before making any decisions, overcoming the pitfalls of ADHD will be necessary to finding their best version of success.  


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

If I Were King...for whatever reason

I was asked where I work this week. It went something like this... "I work for Epic Charter School!" And then I get the..."oh, hm.! And then I am all - you dismissive cuss! I could teach you a few things too. Except I don't really say that, but I am forced to word vomit all over the guy telling him about my school and how it really is closer to his than he thinks. And damnit I am feeling on the defensive and I am good at what I do. I was asked to write an essay this week in one of my Grad classes. The topic was along the lines of Jason James prompting March 23rd, so I will share. Better late than never? If I were King of #Oklaed. Sorry it’s 667 words... I have a beef with public schooling. It is not something housed in your school building. It is housed in your heart and mind. I dislike greatly the competition between schools and districts. I am not talking about the Jenks v Union rivalries.  I abhor that there has to be a huge fight between types of ...

Elevation is King - Guest Blog by Travis Barnes

We met up with the boys around 8PM at the end of the trail for Segment 6. It was an insanely emotional day for us, but  will tell my version of account another time. Let me introduce to you Travis Barnes, my husband and my kids hero. This is his account of the last three days.  The first three days of our Colorado Trail experience are behind us. It’s amazing what can happen in three days. We rolled into Breckenridge today behaving like we’d been gone for weeks, but time is relative as we now know miles are. That’s right, miles are relative. The 500 mile distance of this ride is not impressive. When we left for this trip we could ride 75 miles on the mountain bike with 27 lbs of gear with little problem, then do it again the next day. That being said, the past 3 days have been the hardest riding I have ever experienced in my life. On day two we took a bypass into a town and I was able to text Erin. I told her among other things that, “this is HARD.” Erin knows me better th...

5 Things We Should Stop Pretending....4 Student's Point of View...and my own

I decided that because we were hearing from a plethora of teachers, that I would involve some of my high school students here today. There are four of them and we needed 5 reasons, so the 5th is my own. So to answer the call out by Mr. Wesley Fryer who was answering the call by Mr.  Scott McLeod .  ...here they go in no particular order. They are written by the kids, proofread by me, and cleaned up by the kids after consulting with me.  1.  Schools need to stop pretending that we all intend on going to college. I have no plans to go to school after I graduate high school. Why are you making me take algebra 2? Why must I take a foreign language? Now you are going to require I to take CPR too? My parents can't even tell me what they use algebra 2 for and they went to college. In Oklahoma, there are now two different paths to take, college-bound and "the dumb kids" route. I feel like schools put labels on us. Sometimes you make us different when there wa...