Understanding the Challenges
The classroom and learning in general pose special challenges for children who have ADHD. While many children are very bright and capable of learning, their hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention can make it hard for them. Children with ADHD can have difficulty achieving their potential, and may get into trouble for their behavior, which may lead to discipline. The good news is that the right combination of treatments including medication, behavior modification, and an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) can help your child succeed in school—academically and socially.

Working With Your Child's School Team
The first step in helping your child to succeed in school is to contact the school's principal to learn who will be working with you and your child during the school year. This team may consist of a school psychologist (if there is one), a guidance counselor, the principal, and teachers. Once you have identified your child's team:

• Meet with and get to know the school team
  At the beginning of the year or before school starts, set up a meeting with the team. If your child is seeing a therapist outside of school, you may invite that person as well. A meeting should also be arranged for the team to meet your child.

• Designate a case manager
  One person from the team should be designated as a coordinator to communicate between the team, the student, and the parents. Because keeping the child focused is the key issue of ADHD, it may be helpful to schedule regular check-in times between the child and coordinator to help keep the child organized and on track.

• Develop a plan
  You and the school team will develop your child's IEP together based on your child's strengths and weaknesses. Some questions to consider when designing this plan are:
  • Will tutoring or resource room assistance be available?
  • What other accommodations will be available to my child?
  • Will teachers be available before or after school for extra help?
  • If my child needs medication during the school day, who will be responsible for making sure he or she gets it?
  • What are reasonable goals for my child?
  • Will my child require program adaptations, such as extra time on tests? If so, how will they be implemented? What impact will they have on my child's education?

• Create a Good Communication System
  Set up a daily planner for your child and encourage the teachers to use it to communicate with you every day. Work with the teachers in developing a weekly report to inform you of your child's behavior, work progress, and special assignments. Ask teachers to advise you when a strategy or accommodation is not working so that you can meet and make effective changes to the plan.

• Schedule a Follow-up Meeting
  Plan to meet again in 1 month after the initial meeting to review your child's progress. Include the child in meetings whenever possible. Other meetings should occur as needed.

Finding the Best Teacher
You may not be able to choose your child's teachers, but you can pay close attention to your child's classroom experiences, the strategies the teacher uses to engage him or her, and how much the child benefits from them. As your child's number-one advocate, you are within your rights to regularly assess the teacher's effectiveness and to discuss what you feel is and is not working with the school team. Your child is likely to benefit most from teachers who:

• Are positive and upbeat and who regularly praise and reward the child for all kinds of achievements.

• Provide a structured and predictable classroom with rules, daily assignments, and schedules clearly posted; specific times designated for specific tasks; and regular and frequent breaks scheduled throughout the day.

• Modify lesson plans by combining high- and low-interest activities, simplify lessons and provide visual aids, and teach organization and study skills.

Special Education and Accommodations
Your child's educational needs depend on the nature and severity of the ADHD. The special education classroom may be more suitable for children whose hyperactivity, inattentiveness, behavior, or learning differences require more attention than can be given in the typical classroom.

Accommodations are adjustments made to the regular classroom environment and lesson plans to meet the needs of a child with ADHD. About half of children with ADHD do well in a regular classroom with these accommodations made for them. Accommodations that the teacher may make to ensure your child's success include:

• Seating the child in a quiet area with few distractions, preferably up front and close to the teacher.
• Providing an area where the child can move around to release excess energy.
• Scheduling difficult subjects in the morning.
• Mixing classroom lectures with brief periods of physical activity, such as washing the blackboard or going to the bathroom.
• Keeping assignments brief.
• Allowing the child to participate often.
• Giving the child extra time to answer questions or complete tests and other assignments.
• Providing the student with a simple outline and notes for lectures.
• Providing practice tests or quizzes.
• Allowing the student to use a calculator.
• Preparing the student for transitions or changes in routines, such as field trips or changes from one activity to another.
• Encouraging the student to check in with the case manager regularly.
• Giving immediate feedback and rewards for desired behavior or for achievement.
• Making sure homework assignments are clear and that the student has all the materials needed.
• Providing you with an extra set of books to keep at home.

Your Child's Right to an Education
By law, most children with ADHD qualify for free special education services within the public school system. For example, under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a child diagnosed with ADHD and an adversely affected learning ability is entitled to special education and related services, such as tutors and resource rooms. Typically, the child must undergo an evaluation led by the school team to determine if he or she is eligible for special services under IDEA. Evaluations from professionals outside the school system may also be considered. If he or she is eligible, you and the school team should work together to develop an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) for your child. This plan should identify skills the child needs to improve while defining activities that will build on his or her strengths. It should also establish short-term objectives and goals for the overall school year.

There are several criteria your child must meet to be covered under IDEA. If your child is not eligible, he or she may be covered under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, another federal law that ensures children with ADHD receive free and appropriate education. These laws are different from each other, so it is important for parents to learn about the eligibility criteria, procedures, and advantages and disadvantages of both laws to determine which one is best for their child.

To learn more about IDEA and Section 504, visit its Web site at United States Department of Education at www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/Policy/IDEA.

After-school Activities
Participating in activities after school can be terrific for your child. It can help burn off excess energy, teach life skills, improve self-esteem, and help your child explore his or her talents and interests. For example, your child may participate in:

Sports
While team sports can be a way for your child to make new friends and improve social skills, some team sports require too much attention and impulse control for a child with ADHD. If this is true of your child, consider sports like swimming or running in which your child competes against himself or herself and earns the pride of gaining a new skill without attracting attention.

Art, Drama, or Music Classes
All of these provide terrific ways for your child to express himself or herself. If your child does not do well with group learning, find an older peer or individual instructor to share these interests with your child.

Model Building or Woodworking
Such activities allow your child to create a concrete product, which is an effective way to build your child's confidence.

Martial Arts
The discipline of learning martial arts can be empowering and excellent for your child's self-esteem.

Youth Activity Groups
Scouting, for example, provides an opportunity for children with ADHD to establish positive role models, interact with other children, and do activities that build practical skills and self-esteem.

Children with ADHD often have the most difficulty with their peers. They may do better one-on-one with a younger or older child, or with an adult or grandparent. When your child finds a social experience that works, do all you can to provide him or her with more opportunities for these rewarding situations.

Adolescent School Success
As your child undergoes changes moving from childhood to adolescence, school demands will change as well. In fact, they will increase, requiring an even greater need for organization and good study habits. These changes can often magnify a teenager's inattentiveness, disorganization, and restlessness. Many of the special services, accommodations, and tips that helped him or her as a child may be useful in the early teen years as well—others may not work as well. But as adolescents grow, they may be better able to help themselves become successful in the classroom.

Coping in the Classroom: Tips to Share With Adolescents

Be sure you understand each assignment
After class, ask the teacher to repeat the instructions or to write them down for you, if necessary.

Break large assignments into smaller pieces
Set a deadline for each part. Reward yourself as you complete each one.

Make a daily list
Write down what you want to accomplish each day and cross it off as you complete it.

Use a daily planner
Make yourself a schedule that includes all the tasks on your daily list. Include assignments and appointments. Carry it with you at all times.

Use sticky notes
Place the notes in places you'll see them-your locker, the bathroom mirror, on the kitchen refrigerator.

Develop a routine and stick with it
Get yourself ready for school at the same time, in the same way, every day.