Nine Tips for Homeschooling ADHD Children
Homeschooling can be daunting; homeschooling a child with ADHD is even more so. And yet, home education can be highly effective in educating ADHD children due to its flexibility.
According to CDC data, an estimated 7 million children in the United States between the ages of 3 and 17 have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). That’s a whopping 11.4% of the population! If your child has ADHD, you may be wondering if homeschooling is right for your family.
Recently, I asked homeschooling parents who had homeschooled their ADHD children to share their tips for success. In reviewing their answers, I found striking commonalities in their approaches that I’ve broke down into nine categories for you here:
1. Shorter is Better!
The most frequently offered advice from the parents was to keep lessons short. A child who is easily distracted finds it challenging to focus for any length of time, but this becomes increasingly more difficult as the lesson time increases. Parents all said the antidote here was shorter lessons and assignments—or punctuating longer lessons with more breaks, giving kids time to walk around or get some energy out. As they get older, you may be able to slowly increase instruction time.
This incremental approach also applies to instructions. Parents recommended giving children instructions one step at a time. Giving it to them piece by piece, on an as-needed basis. will help to not overwhelm them. Offer ADHD children smaller bites of education and let them progress at their own pace.
2. Provide Adult Guidance
Most parents stressed the need for adult guidance, specifically working alongside the child to help keep them on task. Having a parent beside them tended to help these children focus. Sometimes, more active engagement is required. One mother described her role as being a “body double” to her child, writing what the child writes and working out the problems beside him. Other parents mentioned that bringing in an outside adult, like a tutor, was extremely helpful.
3. Freedom to Fidget
Children with ADHD are simply going to be more fidgety. There’s no getting around that. You can, therefore, either grind away fighting against it or incorporate it into your routine through daily physical exertion.
The parents surveyed were unanimous about allowing ADHD children the freedom to fidget by making allowances for physical movement within the school day. Some parents recommended starting the day with physical activity to give them sensory input: movements like bear crawls or crab walks, anything with weight on all four extremities, or lifting weighted items. Parents also suggested working hands-on activities into the day as much as possible.
This might also mean doing lessons in unconventional ways, such as working on lessons while standing, listening to music, or holding on to something to fidget with. The goal is to facilitate attention, regardless of what that looks like physically. One mother, Stephanie, said, “If my son is hanging upside down on the couch while I’m reading his history lesson, but he’s actually listening, I consider that a win.” Another said, “I let my kids bring fidget toys so long as they aren’t noisy.”
4. Clear Instruction
Until you work with someone with ADHD, you may not be aware of how much we rely on intuition to “connect the dots” and understand instruction in our social interactions. However, parents cannot count on ADHD kids to connect the dots due to their lagging executive function. Things we understand as implied are lost on them. It is essential, therefore, that instructions be made crystal clear. For many children, this will necessitate using written instructions and visual reminders. Some parents keep a visible family calendar; others utilize Post-it notes on book covers and written to-do lists. However you choose to communicate, the point is that communication should be detailed, precise, and leave nothing to intuition.
5. Manage Distractions
Since children with ADHD are easily distracted, parents emphasized managing their kids’ exposure to distracting elements around the house. Most parents recommended limiting screen time in general. Screen exposure is already addictive in itself, and in ADHD children, it can quickly become compulsive if not carefully governed. Some parents also recommended noise-canceling headphones so children would not be distracted by the sounds of activity one frequently finds in a bustling homeschooling household.
6. Harness Hyperfocus
While ADHD kids are known for being distracted, their distraction can be a blessing in disguise. The superpower of the ADHD mind is the ability to hyperfocus when the child is passionate about something. If the child gets hyperfocused on a particular subject, factoid, or activity, you can run with this and harness it to your advantage. One mother, Laura, said, “I had one child that liked deadlines. He was distracted at home… but in the car, he would hyper-focus on getting to whatever needed to be done in the car before we got to our destinations.” In other words, no one works as intensely as an ADHD kid who is allowed to follow his brain down the rabbit hole.
Use that to your advantage by nurturing these little mental asides your child might take. “Follow the rabbit hole of hyperfocus.” Another mom said, “You can teach a lot when they hyperfocus!”
7. Vary Instructional Methods
As for instructional methods, parents suggested offering great diversity in how the material is presented and what the focus should be. You may need to present the same information in multiple different ways. There’s also no reason instruction needs to be done during a dedicated instruction time when the child is learning and doing nothing else. Depending on the child, combining instruction with some other physical activity might be beneficial. One mother, Ami, said she relied on “oral drills while practicing soccer or hitting a punching bag,” finding that handling it this way enabled the child to focus and retain information better. And speaking of oral drills, many parents said reviewing content orally was extremely helpful.
One mother named Kate explained that instruction should not be merely about conveying information but strengthening executive function skills: “Developing internal narrator, making/executing plans, auditory working memory, non-verbal working memory, and self-evaluation,” she said. Activities and assignments should be structured in such a way to develop these skills.
8. Think About Health and Wellness
Several parents mentioned integrating a health and wellness routine with academics as part of their overall approach to homeschooling their ADHD child. They recommended keeping up with regular physical exercise routines and regular access to healthy snacks and vitamin supplements.
9. Stay Flexible!
Finally, every parent agreed on the importance of staying flexible. Routines are helpful, but every learner is unique, and the ultimate success is what serves the child best. Remember that you are on a journey; what worked well last week may not work tomorrow. You should regularly evaluate your approach to ensure that it best serves the child’s needs. And don’t hesitate to chuck your plan and take your kid to the park. “Don’t be afraid to throw routines out the window,” said Brenda. “Time outside in nature and face-to-face time with your kid is more beneficial than another math lesson.”
Conclusion: “They Turn Out Okay”
Homeschooling a child with ADHD can be a challenge, but it is not impossible. With the right approach, you can provide your ADHD child with a stellar homeschool education. If you think about it, educating a child with ADHD requires nothing more than an extension of the principles by which we homeschool any child. When homeschooling, we opt for educational approaches customized for our children. Homeschooling an ADHD child simply requires a higher degree of customization. You will do fine with some planning, fortitude, and lots of love!
We will close with some reassurance from Brenda, who said, “I promise they turn out okay.”
What are your thoughts on this topic? To continue the discussion, join me and other homeschooling parents at our Homeschool Connections Community or our Facebook group!
EDITOR’S NOTE: To go deeper into the topic, see Dr. Kristi Moore’s article ADHD Overview.
