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What is ADHD?

6 min read

November 27, 2024

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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a brain-based condition that can cause people to have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviours, and being overly physically and/or mentally active. The disorder has long been viewed as a child’s condition that will be grown out of, but we now know that ADHD persists into adulthood, and adult-onset ADHD is now also a medically recognised condition.  People with ADHD have difficulty staying focused and organised, which can make it hard to succeed in school or work. Emotional regulation and impulse control can also be affected, leading to difficulties with social cues and relationships and possibly poor or disruptive behaviours. However, numerous treatments are available, including medication, therapy, ADHD coaching and tutoring, and lifestyle strategies that can help manage the symptoms of ADHD over time.

What Is ADHD?

ADHD is a neurobehavioral condition. It affects an individual’s ability to stay focused, pay attention, control impulsive behaviour, and regulate emotions. It’s characterised by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, but these symptoms can vary widely from person to person. 

ADHD usually first appears in childhood; however, it may not be diagnosed until adulthood when challenging new environments (e.g., university) or roles (e.g., jobs or parenthood) can reveal difficulties and symptoms previously well-managed. Some children grow out of their ADHD, though this is rare. Many people with ADHD have no idea they have the condition until they get older, as it often goes undiagnosed in childhood due to a lack of awareness about ADHD among parents or teachers. 

Risks Associated with Undiagnosed ADHD

Girls are in particular danger of underdiagnosis due in part to a lack of understanding of the many different ways ADHD can present. Girls with ADHD often exhibit symptoms that differ from the classic "hyperactive" type of ADHD, more commonly seen in boys. Instead of displaying hyperactivity, they may show symptoms like inattention, daydreaming, disorganisation, or forgetfulness. These symptoms are often less outwardly disruptive and more subtle, which can lead to girls being overlooked or misdiagnosed with another disorder such as anxiety or depression. Additionally, there is still a pervasive stereotype that ADHD is primarily a boy's disorder. This stereotype can lead to gender bias in diagnosis, where teachers, parents, and even healthcare professionals may not consider ADHD a possibility in girls.

Untreated ADHD can pose a severe risk to health and well-being. The negative impacts of undiagnosed/untreated ADHD include a dramatic increase in school drop-out, expulsion, and exclusion rates, higher likelihood of being dismissed from or impulsively quitting multiple jobs, increased tendency towards addiction and impulsive behaviours such as gambling, and a high risk of developing comorbid conditions such as anxiety and depression.

ADHD Strengths

While ADHD is often associated with negative symptoms, it also brings a wealth of strengths, such as high levels of creativity and out-of-the-box problem-solving. As Drs. Ned Hallowell and John Ratey put it in their book ADHD 2.0

“it helps to think of ADHD as a complex set of contradictory or paradoxical tendencies: a lack of focus combined with an ability to superfocus; a lack of direction combined with highly directed entrepreneurialism; a tendency to procrastinate combined with a knack for getting a week’s worth of work done in two hours; impulsive, wrongheaded decision making combined with inventive, out-of-the-blue problem solving; interpersonal cluelessness combined with uncanny intuition and empathy; the list goes on.”

When each individual’s ADHD is known and well-managed, it’s possible to use these gifts to great effect. 

At Sunbeam Education, our ADHD tutors and coaches help students with ADHD to discover and utilise their unique strengths, enlisting these to manage the more challenging aspects of ADHD, allowing them to flourish at school, university, and beyond.

What Causes ADHD?

The exact cause of ADHD is not known. Still, research suggests that genetic predisposition and environmental factors play a role in the development of the condition.

ADHD has a high heritability of around 70-80%, meaning that if you have ADHD, on average, 70-80% of the ADHD traits will be passed on to your child. A high hereditability indicates that genetics play a significant role in ADHD. However, having a genetic predisposition towards developing ADHD does not necessarily mean that ADHD will develop.

The brain develops during pregnancy and throughout childhood, and the effects of some substances (e.g., alcohol or lead) can be passed from mother to child through the placenta or breast milk. For example, drinking alcohol during pregnancy increases your child’s risk for developing ADHD later in life because it interferes with proper brain development during critical stages when neurons form connections.

What Affects ADHD Symptoms

As with any medical condition, several factors can affect and exacerbate the symptoms of ADHD. The following are some of the most common:

Stress

Stressful situations can make it difficult for people with ADHD to focus on what they’re doing and stay calm. Many people with ADHD are prone to activating the ‘fight or flight’ mode in reaction to seemingly small triggers. Stress releases cortisol into the body, causing the brain to recalibrate its brain chemistry and impairing impulse control, working memory, and emotional regulation.

Too Little Sleep

Too little sleep may cause irritability and other symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as poor concentration and memory problems that make it hard to think clearly and perform tasks efficiently at work or school.

Poor nutrition habits

Unhealthy diets can lead to low energy levels–and when you’re already struggling with concentration issues due to having ADHD, this only worsens things. On top of this, ADHD forgetfulness can make it very difficult to remember to eat and plan meals, leading to over-reliance on convenience foods.

Too much screen time

Mobile apps, TV shows, and games are designed to hold your attention for long periods. As a result, they can cause addiction and overstimulation.

Sensory Overload

Too many distracting external stimuli, such as background noises, being too hot or cold, physical discomfort or constraint - including the constraint of having to sit still at a desk, and even itchy clothing labels can be unbearable to a person with ADHD, who may be unable to tune these things out. When sensory overload takes all available attention, there isn’t any left over for other tasks. Overexposure to ‘quick dopamine’ significantly impacts people with ADHD. Too much sugar, shopping, gaming, or screen time seriously increases the chances of overstimulation, leading to anxiety, depression, or burnout.

Assistive Technology:

Assistive technology has been a game-changer in rendering learning accessible to students with dyslexia. Text-to-speech software can convert written text into spoken words, allowing students with dyslexia to listen to text rather than struggling to read. Spelling and grammar checks can provide real-time suggestions, helping improve writing tasks. Specialists may also recommend using digital planners to track homework and assignments, maintain schedules, and develop organisational skills. These assistive tools can significantly improve the autonomy, confidence, and capabilities of learners with dyslexia.

How Is ADHD Diagnosed? 

To be diagnosed with ADHD, symptoms must be noticeable enough to cause impairment in several aspects of life. Examples include school or university work difficulties, poor social skills, memory problems, frequent zoning out of conversations, and unpredictable emotional outbursts. If you notice a pattern of ADHD-like symptoms in yourself or your child that are causing difficulties, it’s important to speak with a medical professional. 

The first step in seeking a diagnosis is usually via a GP, who may then offer a referral to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist will ask questions about behaviour, family history, and other conditions that could be causing ADHD-like symptoms. It can be a great idea to collate relevant ADHD information ahead of these appointments. For adults, this ADHD Self Report Scale can be a beneficial document, and parent and teacher questionnaires are available to complete on behalf of children.

Psychiatrists often use standardised tests, rating scales, and checklists to help them determine if a person has ADHD or another mental health condition; ADHD can look similar to anxiety and stress, and often there is a significant overlap.

When diagnosing children, rating scales can include questions about how often they are distracted by things around them (such as noises) or forget things like homework assignments or appointments. The psychiatrist might also ask questions about how well the child functions at home and school and their relationships with friends and family.

How to Make Classrooms More ADHD-Inclusive?

To make classrooms more inclusive for students with ADHD, teachers should work to identify the students in their classes with the condition. Teachers can ask parents whether their child has been tested for ADHD or question about how they behave at home or in other settings, and observe how they interact with others during class. Students with ADHD must be provided with accommodations to help them succeed academically.

To accommodate students with ADHD, teachers should utilise engaging, multisensory teaching methods, teaching through games and hands-on activities rather than lectures only - although this is good advice for teachers in general. Students with ADHD require a high level of engagement to grab their interest, and they will be enthusiastic and responsive learners when you have their attention!

In addition, teachers should allow extra time for tests and assignments because those tasks may take longer for someone who struggles to gather their thoughts and finds their mind wandering off task. We recommend giving students an extended deadline or allowing them to take tests multiple times until they get them right! This way, no one feels embarrassed about not being able to complete something on time; instead, everyone has numerous opportunities to learn from past attempts and improve at a pace that suits them.

Tips for Teachers: Classroom Accommodations for Students With ADHD

  1. Provide a quiet place for students to work.
    Provide headphones if they’re not disruptive to others and the student can use them appropriately.
    A timer can remind the student when it’s time to change tasks. Providing one they can carry around (especially for younger children) is best.
    Make copies of assignments and handouts available before class so students can start their work immediately.
    Give each student a planner or encourage them to set reminders on a calendar to keep track of assignments, due dates, and any other important information explicitly related to themselves; this will help them stay organised throughout the day.
    Teach and reinforce executive function skills like organisation, planning, and time management. These are often areas of difficulty for students with ADHD.
    Collaborate with parents. Maintain open communication with parents or guardians to ensure a coordinated approach to support the student's school and home needs.
    Provide clear written instructions for tasks and projects that can be referred to as many times as needed, rather than relying solely on verbal instructions, which a student with ADHD may find very difficult to recall.

Tips for Parents: Effective Home Management Strategies

  1. Help them with their homework, especially when organising and prioritising tasks.
  2. Assist with time management, including setting up a routine for doing homework and other activities such as cleaning their room or tidying up after themselves (this may also involve helping them learn how to use an alarm clock).
  3. Help them organise their belongings, so they have what they need to hand (for example, having stationery supplies in one place rather than spread across several drawers).
  4. An ADHD Coach or Tutor [link to Sunbeam page] can help your child keep up with school work and develop self-supporting coping strategies for school, social, and home life that will work with their ADHD brain wiring.


As a parent, taking over the tasks your child finds challenging can be tempting. However, it would be best to let them do their work. Too much support from a parent can leave your child unprepared for life when they leave home. It’s important to let your child find ways of doing things that work for them. 

Their way may seem unorthodox, but children with ADHD can often develop creative and efficient strategies for success, and this type of out-of-the-box problem-solving skill is to be celebrated. If children struggle with procrastination, an excellent way to encourage them to do their work is to sit with them during the task, which provides some motivation to complete it.

Tips for People With ADHD: Lifestyle Choices To Help You Manage Your ADHD

Various lifestyle choices and adjustments can help manage symptoms and help you perform at your best.

  • 1. A healthy, balanced diet can help to alleviate ADHD symptoms and is important for physical and mental well-being. Try to eat a wide variety of nutritious foods, including nuts, grains, fruit, and vegetables, and avoid excess sugar. Sugar causes the release of dopamine. This dopamine hit significantly impacts the brain’s reward system and sends a positive reinforcement signal for sugar, which can lead to unhealthy eating habits or even sugar addiction. It’s best to consume sugar in moderation and avoid using sweet treats as a reward for good behaviour.
  • 2. Exercise and sports are fantastic for both the brain and the body. It can improve mood and physical health and alleviate ADHD symptoms.
    3. Regular physical exercise has been proven to improve school performance in pupils with ADHD. It’s also a great way to use up some of that restless, hyperactive energy!
  • 4. Maintain a regular sleep routine, including quiet time before bed. Avoid using phones or tablets the hour before bedtime as they can overstimulate the brain, making it harder to fall asleep. If you or your child struggle with insomnia or wake up still tired after sleeping, talk to your doctor about alternative therapies such as meditation or relaxation techniques such as yoga. They may also be able to recommend a medication that could help you get more restful sleep at night so that you’re refreshed for whatever the morning throws at you!
  • 5. Avoiding overstimulation from technology such as social media and video games by setting aside time each day when these things aren’t allowed will give your brain a chance to rest after absorbing so much information throughout the day!

We hope this post has helped you understand what ADHD is, how it affects students, and what can be done to help. As we mentioned earlier, learning more about ADHD and how to manage its symptoms will improve your relationship with anyone affected by the disorder. In addition to this, an appreciation of the positive traits of ADHD will significantly boost the self-confidence of those struggling to manage its challenges. Understanding and knowledge of ADHD, along with a supportive environment, will make it easier for them to live with ADHD and achieve their goals in life!

Got a Question?

  • Can a student with ADHD succeed in school?

    Absolutely! With tailored learning strategies and the right support, students with ADHD can thrive academically. Encouragement, patience, and a focus on their strengths help build confidence and foster a positive learning experience.

  • Why is structure important for children with ADHD?

    Structure at home and in the classroom helps provide predictability and reduces stress, anxiety and confusion. This helps students with ADHD to feel comfortable in their environment, enabling them to focus on their learning. However, it's important to leave space for play, curiosity and novelty - three key ingredients for engaging ADHD brains!

  • How can teachers support a student with ADHD in the classroom?

    Teachers can support students by providing clear, structured instructions, using multisensory teaching methods, offering additional time for assignments and tests, and ensuring that the student's environment is allowing them to focus (e.g. a desk near the front of the classroom where they can more easily remain engaged with the lesson).