Talking to Your ADHD Child's Teachers

If your child has ADHD, talking to his teacher is probably the best thing you can do to help him do better at school in spite of his ADHD. Remember your ADHD child spends a significant part of his waking hours there.

In general, teachers do want to understand ADHD and the ADHD child and in particular they want to understand your child, their student. Teachers do want to help their students, and most teachers have taught ADHD kids before, if they've been teaching long.

When talking to a teacher about your ADHD child you should explain that your child has ADHD and that it ADHD is a common childhood illness. Also don't forget to offer to provide additional information the teacher may require about ADHD, including a list of books and web sites that have relevant teacher information.

Next, inquire how your child is doing in the classroom or on the playground. If your ADHD child is having problems at school, find out what they are, see if they are likely related to ADHD, and find out what you can do.

The teacher will need to know the ADHD medications your child is taking, even if they are not taken school. Also explain any other ADHD treatments your child is receiving, including any special diet or other treatments.

If you feel you haven't gotten the results you hoped for by talking to your ADHD child's teacher, or if the teacher feels there is more that can be done, you can also talk to a guidance counselor. These specialists may know more about ADHD than your average teacher and may be able to help.

Finally, find out if any special services are available. If you are in a public school in the United States, the answer to this is yes, there are accomodations available for ADHD kids and public schools are legally obligated to provide them when necessary. Private schools or schools outside the U.S. will have different ADHD accomodations.

However, when talking with your child's teachers and other school staff, be sure to not let any of them intimidate you or make you feel inadequate because you don't know all the details. You should not be afraid to ask any questions about anything they tell you nor should you assume that they have the answers.

Sometimes educational staff will not volunteer information about all of the available programs; there are always budget constraints to deal with. So it is wholy up to you to do your homework and find any and all available programs in your school's district or surrounding community.

There are a multitude of acronyms and program codes to navigate. You'll see programs like "504" and "special ed" that may or may not be beneficial to your child with ADHD so be sure to investigate the pros and cons of each and every one of them.

Don't ever give up if your child is struggling to learn. Instead, keep on searching for answers by keeping tabs with his teachers on a regular basis. Most teachers are quite open to suggestions to things like a simple daily progress checklist that can be signed by both parent and teacher.

Teachers today relatively have greater awareness and better attitude towards children and their problems. The attitude has taken a shift from, "He is a problematic child!" to "He is a child with a problem!"

Just be aware that what will work for one child will not work well for another. You know your child best and how he reacts to certain behaviors and tasks. You are the parent and here is a perfect place where a heaping portion of "parent intuition" should be applied liberally.

So remember, your child's future depends on your decision to take an active role in helping him deal with the issues of childhood ADHD. He only has one childhood so it's up to you to make it the best one possible.