ADHD affects children both at home and at school. To ensure your child with ADHD does as well in school as they can, you need to build a solid relationship with your child's teachers. To do this, you need to communicate clearly and often.
Communication helps you to:
- discuss initial concerns about your child's ADHD symptoms
- develop school-based interventions
- monitor your child's progress
- make sure you and your child's teacher are using the same approaches to help your child
- share information about
medication and other treatments
What you need to know from your child's teacher
During assessment
Your child's teacher may be the first person to suspect that a child has ADHD. They can help a health-care professional assess your child's behaviour and academic achievement, for example by describing or explaining:
- your child's symptoms in class and how long they have had them
- whether your child's symptoms are better in some settings than in others
- how your child is doing academically
- your child's language abilities
- how your child is doing socially
After diagnosis
After your child has been diagnosed, your child's teacher can provide important information about their progress, including:
- the approaches they are using at school to help your child
- the approaches you can use at home to help your child with schoolwork and homework
- how well the different approaches are working
What your child's teacher needs to know
During assessment
While your child is being assessed for ADHD, let your child's teacher know that:
- your child is being assessed
- your child's health-care provider may need information from the teacher to help with diagnosis
Some parents and caregivers may be concerned about sharing a potential ADHD diagnosis with their child's teacher for fear that it will have a negative impact on their child at school. However, because of the range of research that has been conducted and shared about ADHD, there is less stigma associated with the condition. In addition, the earlier your child's teacher knows that your child is being assessed for ADHD, the better they can help with a diagnosis and support your child to do as well as they can in school. If they have been struggling, it is best to have the correct diagnosis for your child.
After diagnosis
After your child has been diagnosed, meet with your child's teacher to:
- discuss the treatment plan
- explain what interventions (ADHD supports) your child is receiving
- discuss changes the teacher can make in the classroom to help your child
- discuss how the teacher can help monitor the success of the treatment plan
- discuss what you are doing at home to help your child
- discuss how to be consistent with rules and consequences at home and at school
- explain the medication your child is taking, if any, and what to look out for
How to advocate for your child's needs
Advocacy means speaking up for your child's interests. You may have to advocate for your child's needs:
- in the classroom
- in the principal's office
- whenever there is a meeting of your child's identification and placement committee (the team who come together to discuss school goals and accommodations for your child)
You are the expert on your own child, but also listen carefully to what educational experts can tell you about children with ADHD and how they learn.
Be positive
One key to successful advocacy is to stay positive. Having reasonable expectations about what can be accomplished in a school can make advocacy a smoother experience.
That said, sometimes you may need to push for additional staffing or accommodations that require equipment or additional classroom space. Teachers are not always aware of the latest research on how to help children with ADHD. It is fine for you to ask, "Have you heard of this program? Can I give you some information?" CDDAC (Centre for ADHD Awareness Canada) offers more information on how ADHD affects children at different ages and provide suggestions and strategies for educators.
Understand the system
Often parents are intimidated and frustrated by the "system" of education. This structure may seem complicated, but you will probably find you can navigate it more easily once you clarify who is in charge of what. The school board may have a website or brochure that describes the process.
In elementary schools, the principal or vice-principal co-ordinates and oversees the work of the special education team, which may include:
- the special education teacher
- the classroom teacher
- the teacher-adviser
- support staff
The special education team is involved in developing, monitoring and reviewing each student's education plan. School boards usually have a superintendent of special education who has ultimate responsibility for all categories of special education in the district.
Be a partner for your child's teachers
Your attitude towards school, teachers and learning rubs off on your children. Part of helping your child succeed is building trust and a successful partnership with their teacher and school staff.
Here are some methods for building the teacher-parent relationship.
- Maintain open communication with your child's teacher. Listen, ask questions and carefully consider the ideas your child's teacher brings up.
- Pay careful attention to reports on your child, including the yearly identification and placement meetings, the regular report cards and interim notes. The teacher spends a lot of time with your child and is trained to observe progress and spot roadblocks.
- Write a note to let your child's teacher know if you notice your child cannot finish their homework or is struggling with something new, or if anything important is happening in your child's life that might affect their performance.
- Focus on actions and results, not blame or responsibility. Whenever you describe a problem or a need, try to suggest what can be done to address that need. Consider what you can do as a parent as well as what the teacher can do.
- If you are trying to make changes in how your child is taught, focus on key skills. Ask teachers what techniques they will use to make sure your child keeps progressing and if these are based on research that shows their effectiveness.
Further information
For more information on ADHD, please see the following pages:
ADHD: How to help your child at home
ADHD: Treatment with medications
Resources
The following websites offer support if a child has ADHD.