From the library of

Frank Barnhill M.D.
 

The last two months of the school year can be very frustrating for teachers and parents of ADHD kids, as well as the affected students and other students in classes with ADHDers.

First, I’ll explain all of the aspects of my observation:
It’s obvious to see how a teacher can become frustrated while trying to “educate” students who have chronic concentration problems and can’t focus on doing class work, much less home work. Just think about how difficult that teachers job becomes as the end of school gets nearer and nearer and all of his or her students become fidgety and poorly focused when they can only think of what they’ll do over spring break or summer.
A tenth grade teacher once told me that she felt she “really earned her salary between March and June of each school year, because that was when the kids were most difficult to teach.” “Their ability to concentrate sinks like a rock in a big ocean.” “ It’s hard to find them, because they are lost in daydreaming about summer.”

Likewise, it’s easy to see how a parent can get frustrated and even angry as an ADHDer’s grades start to slide toward failing and they get frequent calls and negative comments from teachers. Heck, it’s embarrassing for a parent to think that their child is being labeled a failure. In addition, as the ADHD child becomes more fidgety in anticipation of school being out and a summer of fun, he or she has increasing difficulty concentrating on homework and doing chores around the house.

So, you ask, how can other kids in the class become frustrated over another students ADHD? Well… as the ADHDer loses what little bit of ability to concentrate he or she had earlier in the school year, that ADHDer becomes more disruptive in class. They may disrupt the class so badly that the kids still trying to pull up grades or successfully pass into the next academic year become so distracted they can’t study or complete classroom work. As they say, “Spring fever is contagious!”

These kids may see their grades fall, start ostracizing the ADHD child and complain more to the teacher about the ADHDer’s behavior. This sets up a vicious cycle as the teacher complains to the ADHDer’s parents, the parents try to deal with the ADHD child and frustration of the teacher, other student’s parents blame the ADHDer and his or her parents for the worsening behavior and their own child’s impending failures. Then, the cycle begins over as everyone tries to “force” the ADHDer to improve so that everybody’s grades will go up. Talk about stress on the ADHDer!

So, what other stressors does the ADHDer experience during this time of the school year?
Most ADHDer’s are very smart and realize they are making failing grades again. The problem most of them have is they don’t know why it is occurring, don’t know how to stop it and don’t know whom to turn to for help! They can become frustrated, depressed, and anxious and develop “a who cares” or “I can’t win attitude” and often just give up or do the least they can, hoping they will magically pass to the next grade. This behavior rapidly becomes contagious. It can cause classroom productivity to fall apart before a teacher can cope with it if not detected early in the spring.

Ok, now that the problem has been revealed what can we do to help?
Here are suggestions from ADHD and behavioral specialists:

- Maintain your child’s sleeping and waking schedules as closely to those used in the fall and winter until two or three weeks before time changes, then slowly change sleep and wakening times to coincide with what would be normal by the time change.
This is really important as daylight savings time goes into affect because some kids tend to fizzle out in the early evening and get up earlier in the morning as their biological clocks are reset. This messes up their ability to concentrate (Key Note: this will occur whether on ADHD medications or not!) early in the morning and evening hours until they adjust to the time changes.
- Be sure your child knows he or she can talk to you about what’s going on in their lives. They need to feel secure in the fact that they have an advocate and someone who will stand up for them and help find help when they need it. You must keep an open mind about all of this so you can listen and offer help without being judgmental.
- Try to involve your child’s teachers and doctors in what is going on. They may have unique insights into your child’s feelings and behavior as they have observed many other children with the same problems in the past. Don’t depend on your kid’s teacher to pick up on the change as early as you, as he or she has twenty to thirty other kids to evaluate. You must work hard to follow how your ADHDer is doing in his or her quest to lead a successful life.
- Help your ADHDer maintain consistency in times he or she plays, does homework, participates in social or athletic events and does chores. Consistency, consistency, and consistency are what provide feelings of security and the foundation for ADHD treatment success. Keynote: most parents require their ADHDer to complete homework before being allowed playtime. If this is your usual routine, do not change it just because time has changed!
- Find outdoor activities that will allow your child to burn up some of his or her excess energy and impulsiveness as daylight hours get longer and longer. This will help your ADHDer rest better at night and decrease frustration levels, as your child actually may want to go to bed earlier.
- Get your ADHDer interested in maintaining or improving grades and classroom behavior to order to “earn points” toward a variety of “fun things to do” over the summer. You could offer trips to the local miniature golf course, arcades, malls, favorite restaurants, professional baseball games, summer camps and other outings “designed just for the ADHDer”. (Keynote: ADHDer’s must feel they are earning something no one else or only a limited few can earn.)
(Drhuggiebear.com has articles dealing with reward systems for ADHD kids.)

Hope these tips help as your ADHD races toward the end of the school year.
Dr. Frank
drfrank@drhuggiebear.com

P.S. If you have other suggestions, please share them with us.
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