To Sit in a Quiet Place

“I don’t want to bother anyone but I like to sit in a place where it’s quieter and not that much like going on around me.  It’s ok if I’m in the back or kind of by myself because I’m more comfortable if I can focus better and also I make a lot of noise and I don’t want to bother other people.  When there’s too much noise around me I either get mad or I get distracted and start messing around so it’s better to just let me sit alone and then I kind of don’t have those problems as much. I know I can be pretty annoying because I move a lot and with the noise thing too so it’s probably better for others kids honestly too.  I know I can distract other kids a lot.”  

“Sometimes it helps me to function and to do my work to sit by my teacher because sometimes it feels like I’m just like in some other world and I don’t know what to do so when she’s near me it reminds me of what to do. I prefer to sit, like, at a table with her because I think I do my work better. When I’m distracted I like for her to allow me to come sit by her also because it’s quieter and that helps me a lot. I like to be able to go work at her table if I need to but I have to be truthful and say that I don’t like if teachers get close to me too much all the time if I don’t feel comfortable with them because sometimes it makes me feel, like, a little awkward. I like it better when they let me go over to them when I need to be next to them.”

Help to Follow the Rules

“A lot of teachers keep reminding me of the rules and telling me stuff like how I hurt someone or am doing things that are bad for the classroom community.  I already understand the rules and already feel sad when I hurt someone.  Actually when they just keep repeating it I feel even more sad and embarrassed.  I don’t mean to sound rude or something but I already know that.  I would rather the teacher just remind me to calm down or give me a chance to calm myself down.  That’s actually the problem, I get so mad and frustrated and then it’s really hard to follow the rules when I feel like that all at once.”

Directions I Can Remember

“I can’t understand a bunch of instructions at a time.  Sometimes I don’t remember or understand one.  When people tell me a lot of things to do at once, I don’t know where to start, it all just sounds like blah, blah, blah in my head.  Don’t get me wrong, I want to do them, I just feel, like, overwhelmed.  I need teachers to understand that I am trying to do them even though sometimes it looks like I’m not because I get distracted and start doing something else.  Just like remind me and then I’ll focus and that helps me get back on track.  I always have a lot of random stuff in my head so it makes it hard to do everything someone’s telling me to do.  I think if teachers wouldn’t make such confusing statements it would be easier for me.  Like maybe write it on a paper or let me do it alone.”

Help Me Learn about Stuff I’m Interested in

“I am very interested in a lot of things and want to learn and be smart.  I wish I could learn about things that I’m interested in and already curious about.  I ask my mom a lot of questions and we watch videos together about all kinds of random stuff like volcanoes, Martin Luther King, the planets, the Pilgrims, and a lot of things.  I also really like to build stuff and to figure out how things work.  I wish my mom could homeschool me so that I could learn more because I feel like school is repeatedly Math, Writing, and Reading.  I know that’s important but I want to learn about things too.”  

If you have a strategy or strategies that you are already successfully using or find one that you would like to share, please tweet about it with the hashtag #ADHDGlobalConvo.

I Can Learn When I’m Moving: Going to School With ADHD will be released by EduMatch Publishing in February 2021. Be sure to subscribe at NicoleBiscotti.com and follow Nicole on Twitter at @BiscottiNicole

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