BLOG PODS #10 - School & My ADHD
INTRODUCTION:
Looking back, the hardest thing for me to come to terms with was the impact of ADHD on my education and, consequently, on the trajectory of my working life.
I was not only unable to fully benefit from the opportunities available at school, but my future adult life was also massively affected.
One of the greatest benefits available to children with ADHD today is a school that understands their condition and adapts its teaching approach to support them.
I didn’t have this…
STOP COASTING, START WORKING:
As part of the diagnostic process for ADHD, I was asked to provide evidence of ‘early onset.’ This is because a diagnoses of ADHD requires the symptoms to have been present ‘prior to age 12.’
School reports
Now, being 59 years old meant this was going back in time a bit, so I dug out my old school reports to see what I could find there.
Here are a few examples of actual comments from my school reports:
* ‘…has lapses of attention and misses vital new information.’
* ‘…has good ideas but is easily distracted and tends not to persevere.’
* ‘…must concentrate!’
* ‘…rushes too much.’
* ‘…he tries to hurry and does not pay the required attention to details.’
* ‘…is easily distracted.’
And my favourite of all, a summary statement from the deputy head teacher:
‘Stop coasting. Start working.’
Common to all?
Maybe these comments don’t seem that extreme to you. Perhaps you can hear echoes of your own school experience in them, and since you don’t have ADHD, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about.
But for me, knowing what I now know about ADHD in general and my own functioning in particular, I can see problems that have dogged me my whole life and that I still fight against today. At the time, however, I just thought everyone was like me.
Yes, I had a little more energy and get-up-and-go than most, but it was a difference of degree not of type - or so I thought.
Children with ADHD experience the world differently, but they don’t know it. Like all children, their assumption is that ‘this is how life is’, or ‘this is what it’s like for everyone.’
But it’s not. ADHD kids are not ‘most kids.’
Most kids…
* Most children in school don’t get into trouble for shouting out instead of putting their hand up and waiting to be asked. At least not all the time.
* Most children don’t lose track of what the teacher is saying and have to constantly ask them, or the other kids, to catch them up. Or, worse still, have to copy off the kid next to them.
* Most kids don’t sit in class with their minds somewhere else entirely, almost all the time. At least not to the degree that if the content of the lesson isn’t absolutely riveting they will tune out and miss most of what’s said and done.
* Most kids don’t have a sense of being an irritant to teachers for reasons they have no idea about. My entire school career was spent feeling that basically most teachers liked me, but at the same time were exasperated or frustrated by me or just thought I was annoying.
* Most kids don’t have an above-average IQ and are therefore easily able to understand what’s being said, but lack the interest and wherewithall to focus on it and listen anyway. And if they do listen, can’t remember it when asked about it later.
* Most kids don’t lack the working memory to be able to hear instructions, hold them in mind and then get on with their work. So most kids avoid having to ask over and over, ‘What are we supposed to be doing, Miss?’
* Most kids don’t get asked to sit at the front or away from their friends so the teacher can keep an eye on them - a vain attempt to break the cycle of distraction and poor concentration. I find my mind wanders wherever I sit - and all the more so if I feel stressed or rejected. Or both…
* Most kids don’t constantly have to bear public correctives like, ‘sit still’, ‘where are you going?’, ‘sit down,’ ‘could you stop tapping/wriggling/leg-bouncing/fidgeting/whistling/clicking your fingers/clucking your tongue/clicking your pen, playing drums with your pencil…’ etc.
* Most kids don’t sit in class feeling like if they don’t move around they’ll explode, such that their concentration is focused on trying to move subtly without getting into trouble, rather than on the content of lesson.
* Most kids aren’t constantly told they’re talking too loudly, speaking over others or blurting things out.
I was not most kids. All of these typified my time in school (and since).
Social vs academic
For me, the social aspects of school far overshadowed any sense that I was there to learn. Playtimes and lunchtimes were brilliant—opportunities to run and play, chat and socialise with friends, and generally have a good time. Chasing girls, playing football, or hide-and-seek—this is what school was about for me.
The rest, the learning stuff… was just filling time.
Now, clearly, it wasn’t a complete waste of time. I learned to read (though, thanks to my Mum and Dad, I’d mastered the basics before I ever went to school) and got a grip on basic numeracy and other skills, no doubt. But any effort on the part of teachers to hone and develop these in a way that would prepare me for exams and a career commensurate with my innate ability didn’t materialise into much at all.
Part of the sadness I experienced when I finally accepted that I had ADHD (link to previous post here) was about what I might have achieved had I been able to take full advantage of school.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I left school over 40 years ago, and things have changed a lot for the better since then. There’s still plenty of prejudice around, but generally speaking, schools are much more aware of ADHD and other learning problems than they ever were in my day.
However, as with any problem, the solution begins when professionals understand and empathise with the subjective struggle of the individual child and then adapt their input to serve them better.
In the years since my school days, I’ve studied and achieved well. But I had to do this despite having ADHD. At no point did I feel my learning style (or whatever) was taken into account, let alone embraced, understood, and accommodated so that I could properly engage.
ADHD prevented me from fully benefiting from school.
That shouldn’t happen.
A plea:
So, let me make a plea to teachers and educationalists everywhere: please familiarize yourself with ADHD and the challenges it poses for children. Work with specialists and colleagues to adapt classroom cultures and teaching approaches so that those children who struggle to sit still or to focus (or both) can be fully involved and not penalised for something they have absolutely no power over.
They were born different. Some of them—perhaps many of them—will achieve way beyond the average. But only with the right help.
Please leave a comment and let me know about your experiences!
More information:
* BOOK: When The Adults Change Everything Changes: Seismic Shifts in School Behaviour by Paul Dix - click here
* BOOK: ADHD Explained: Your Toolkit to Understanding and Thriving - click here
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©Jonny Matthew 2024
