ADHD in Children: A Disadvantage or a Hidden Advantage in Education?
When a parent hears the term ADHD, it is almost always discussed in relation to school. The natural reaction is to assume that it will present a challenge to a child’s academic progress. We don’t immediately think of its impacts on sports, co-curricular activities and other social interactions. This raises a set of interesting questions, which I will aim to address in this post: Why do we assume that ADHD negatively impacts educational performance? And Is ADHD inherently a disadvantage for children? Or is that assumption too simplistic?
A perspective from experience
Over the past decade, I have noticed an uptick in demand for families seeking support, with specific ADHD expertise. Parents whose children have not received a diagnosis are more cognisant of this issue, vigilantly looking out for signs in their own children and having conversations with other parents in their wider communities. While I am not a clinician, I have useful insights from my personal interactions with students and families over the years. One pattern stands out: ADHD is almost always framed as a challenge to their child’s academic progress.
What exactly is ADHD?
According to the National Institute of Health, ADHD is a developmental disorder characterised by an ongoing pattern of one or more of the following types of symptoms:
Inattention, such as having difficulty paying attention to a task.
Hyperactivity, such as often moving around restlessly.
Impulsivity, such as interrupting others.
These traits, often presented as being problematic, exist in everyone, to some degree. Speaking for myself, I often fidget, can lose track of a conversation and will tap my feet on the floor when working (even as I write this post). We can all acknowledge moments of distraction, restlessness or impulsion. Maybe as you are reading this, you have demonstrated one or all three of these traits, either consciously or subconsciously. I have on several occasions been told by some parents that they were “certain they had undiagnosed ADHD themselves.”
So the question has morphed into: What is a “normal” level of attention? And perhaps more importantly: Who decides?
What is a “healthy” level of attention?
Something is labelled a disorder when a set of behaviours is unmanageable by themselves. So, what exactly is a healthy amount of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity? The first step is to accept that such traits are inherently human and that aiming to remove one’s child of such behaviours absolutely is simply not plausible. Moreover, defining normal behavioural baselines is a significant challenge in itself. Putting these issues to one side, parents would like for their children to be able to sit down and complete their schoolwork in a calm and controlled manner, not interrupt their teachers in class and be able to independently show signs of self-regulation. This is very reasonable and often raised to me when I have my initial meetings with them. However, it is equally important to recognise that these expectations are not neutral and are shaped by the environments we place children in.
The educational context
Modern education systems place a high value on sustained focus and structure. The success to perform well in high-pressured exams, such as the 11+ and SATs, requires children to demonstrate accuracy, focus, speed and consistency under pressure; The entrance exams, which I have helped many students (painstakingly) prepare for, require children to demonstrate fast-acting technique and academic mastery, all under strict time controls. This is expected at the age of 10 (some as young as 7!). Key curriculum exams and others, such as CAT-4, are intensive and often used by parents to compare their children against their class averages and by schools to distribute children in sets.
These systems reward a relatively narrow set of cognitive behaviour such as memorisation, strong memory recall and precise execution. Children with ADHD, who demonstrate more struggles with sustained attention, will naturally struggle with this environment. It is not surprising to see why parents closely link ADHD with their child’s academic challenges.
So maybe the question changes again – is there inherently a problem within the child or an educational mismatch?
ADHD on the rise
According to data, ADHD diagnoses are increasing. According to NHS England, ADHD medication prescriptions have increased by more than 100% since 2015. Referrals for ADHD assessments have surged. Around 3–5% of children in the UK and 5-7% worldwide are estimated to have ADHD. In the US, diagnosis rates are at 11%.
This trend should be interpreted carefully. Greater awareness, greater funding and a reduction in stigma have all contributed to the rising figures. Historically underdiagnosed cases are catching up. This explains how adult diagnoses have increased at an even faster rate as they are being diagnosed later in life. Whilst it is important to acknowledge that ADHD cases are increasing, we are also becoming better at recognising it.
A different approach
The point of this discussion is not to alarm parents or students as many are justifiably already concerned. Rather, it is to shift our perspective to give a fuller picture.
I want to propose the idea that ADHD traits are not inherently negative. Their impact depends heavily on context. A child with restlessness invariably has a lot of energy, drive and intensity. This energy can be captured and geared towards positive targets if we are able to recognise such traits as being positive. If a child can’t stay on task and is rapidly shifting their attention, maybe this is a sign that they have strong creative faculties. Impulsive bursts and interruptions might be signs of children’s action-taking and being bold in the classroom.
That is not to say that such traits can’t create challenges. It is fully understandable to set certain expectations on our children. It is generally good if a child is able to sit down and focus on a task, even if they are not particularly enjoying it. And that they should finish a project even if they find it uninspiring. And that they should let their classmate finish their point before wanting to raise theirs. The idea that we have to do things we don’t enjoy is a very important lesson for children to acknowledge. If we have a more flexible approach to children’s challenges and traits, we can make their experience in classrooms more palatable and ultimately, help children acknowledge within themselves that they can show positive traits.
The role of educators
It is our responsibility as educators to make the process of learning engaging. To expect children to demonstrate perfect levels of focus and attitude in class is simply not possible. In traditional settings where learning is structured and linear, ADHD traits will likely surface as challenges. Some schools will classify such students in particular sets, which can exacerbate the discrepancies between students and risk alienating children with diagnoses. Children are also very adept. There is a grey area between not being able and not wanting to complete tasks, and children are very good at treading this line. Reinforcing ideas of separation and cognitive deficits based on traditional criteria of focus and academic proficiency will only further such issues. The expectations of strict discipline within all teaching arrangements will do a disservice to engaging these same children in education, which is precisely the cause for concern for parents in the first place. Adaptations to teaching can include more one-to-one attention, different methods of teaching that involve more dynamic classes and restructuring classes to include more breaks and other exercises.
ADHD as an advantage
In a traditional format, where education is exclusive to classrooms and memorisation, ADHD behaviours will likely be more pronounced. But what happens when these behaviours are reframed and guides us to adapt the way we deliver education.
Might it be the case that children’s attention spans getting worse is a reflection of our education system in need of adaptation? One cannot dismiss the sensory overload children are exposed to, with constant gaming and social interaction being online. Attention spans are being impacted and this needs addressing. However, I have always been positively surprised by my students with ADHD diagnoses. Put an iPad in front of them and they will navigate through menus at lightning speed, remaining laser-focused on the task. My students are very quick at navigating their school portals, such as Toddle and Atom Learning. Leveraging technology is crucial to the response to ADHD as it is a very effective way to engage children. It can also reinforce a strong sense of agency over their education.
Early awareness and adaptation are key to helping children with ADHD reach their potential. When a child is given the means to understand how they think and behave, they can begin to develop techniques such as self-monitoring, behavioural awareness, strategies tailored to their individual profiles and techniques for managing attention and emotion. It can evoke a stronger sense of mindfulness and awareness for how they can work with their own unique mind. These are all insights and skills which children will benefit from, both in and outside the classroom.
A conversation with parents
So, revisiting the question posed at the beginning—is ADHD good or bad for education?—a more useful question may be: ‘Is my child being understood properly?’
Outcomes are shaped not only by a child’s innate traits, but by how those traits are interpreted and supported by their families and educators around them.
A final thought
ADHD is not inherently a limitation in the way we initially thought, but nor is it a pure advantage. It continues to provide an understating that children and adults posses varying cognitive profiles. This involves a reflection on how we see such traits. Recognising how a child thinks is the first step. The next task is to adjust the expectations, methods and learning environments to help them succeed. We ask children to be attentive – but are we being attentive to them?
Every child thinks differently and on this matter, so should we.
