October 6, 2025 • 28 mins
What if the “wiggles” are actually your student’s brain doing its best work? Elizabeth opens up about being diagnosed with ADHD at age three and the unexpected way piano became her first tool for focus, self-regulation, and joy. From caffeinated laps at a recital hall to discovering that busy hands can calm a busy mind, this story threads personal insight into practical strategies any teacher can use.
The episode leans into creative problem solving. Through it all runs one idea: teach the student in front of you, not the stereotype. When we design for a busy mind and busy body, we uncover a musician who thrives on challenge and learns fast.
If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a teacher friend, and leave a quick rating and review on Apple Podcasts—it helps others find these conversations and supports more inclusive, effective music teaching!
Find the full transcript here of this episode and all past episodes!
📚 Join the waitlist for the next Piano Teachers Book Club Session!
Subscribe to Elizabeth's email list here so you won’t miss future courses, freebies, teacher events and more.
Let's stay in touch!
On the website/blog
Follow on Facebook
Follow on Instagram
Follow on YouTube
You can find all of Elizabeth's favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
creativepianopedagogy@gmail.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
This is episode 14 of the Creative Piano Pedagogy
Podcast, and I'm your host,Elizabeth Davis Everhart.
So glad you've tuned in.
Thanks for taking time tolisten.
If you have a chance and youenjoy the show, even if this is
your first episode listening, itwould mean so much if you could
leave a nice review on Apple orSpotify podcast app,
(00:25):
specifically on the Apple one,because that will help encourage
all the SEO things to direct theshow to more people who like it.
And it would just be a hugehelp.
It only takes a few seconds toleave a rating and a comment.
So that would be muchappreciated.
(00:46):
This is a new month.
It's October, probably myfavorite month in the year.
And we have a very funfall-themed monthly email headed
your way this week to your inboxon Wednesday.
It will include our freebie ofthe month.
I try to give freebies on eachemail, and it's been a while
(01:07):
since we've sent out an email.
So I'm excited to share thatwith you.
If you're not sure if you're onthe email list, just head down
to the description and go aheadand pop your email at that link
where you can join.
And if you're already on thelist, don't worry, it will not
duplicate and add you again.
It'll just ensure that you're onthe email list.
(01:28):
Today we are talking all aboutone of my favorite neurotypes,
ADHD.
Attention deficit, hyperactivitydisorder.
It's quite a mouthful.
In this new series, we've beentalking about myths and
misconceptions, things we mayhave heard or even thought were
(01:50):
true about disabilities andneurodiversity, and maybe things
we've thought could be true, buthave learned after meeting real
students that they're not quiteas accurate as we thought.
Today it's going to be a littledifferent theme because I'm
going to share from a personalperspective about ADHD.
(02:11):
I haven't really talked aboutthis much on the podcast, but I
was diagnosed as ADHD about agethree, which is very, very young
for a girl to be diagnosed withADHD, and especially a girl in
the early 90s when ADHD was justbecoming a popular diagnosis,
(02:34):
and it was still much morecommon for boys to be diagnosed
than girls, particularly at sucha young age.
So I thought I would share alittle bit about what I remember
about ADHD and my experiencesand how that transfers to my
teaching and my students, inhopes that this might help you
(02:54):
with some of your students,especially those who maybe
you're not sure if they do haveADHD or they haven't shared, but
you have your suspicions.
And so maybe I can share a fewthings that will not only
encourage you, but give you anew perspective.
So I was very hyper-active as ayoungster.
(03:15):
My mom was a piano teacher.
I was very fortunate to have amusical home growing up.
And at one of my mom's annualpiano recitals, somebody gave me
a drink of a soda that has a lotof caffeine.
And according to my mother, andI actually remember this as
well.
(03:36):
I was about three, they watchedme run laps around the recital
hall for about 45 minutes afterjust a few sips of a caffeinated
drink.
And then I collapsed and fellasleep out of exhaustion.
But I was just very uh quicklymoving child.
I was a quick thinker, quickreader, um, and a very bodily
(03:59):
active, so busy brain, busybody.
That's how I would explainmyself.
And my parents were working sohard to find ways of parenting
and helping me learn at a veryyoung age because they realized
that uh they thought I wasprobably more hyper than most
children my age, which I was.
(04:20):
And along the lines, someonesuggested, hey, what about some
piano lessons?
My mom, being a piano teacher,was a little hesitant, I
believe, because I was so veryyoung, but I loved music, I was
often singing, and of course,being a child of the late 80s, I
(04:41):
had a purple cassette tapeplayer that had a microphone,
and I loved listening tocassette tapes and playing and
creating my own little world formyself, and so music was a big
part of my life.
Piano was not out of the realmof something I would love to do.
So my mom very bravely decidedshe would give it a shot.
(05:06):
That resulted in me absolutelyfalling in love with the piano
and dragging my mom to the pianoevery day.
I would go find her and drag herto the piano and just beg for
another little lesson or anothertime practicing together.
And it truly calmed my brain, itgave my fingers something to do,
(05:29):
and I became a very differentkid.
I was still hyperactive for afew more years.
Um, but I remember, even at thatyoung age of three, how
differently I felt because mybrain was very busy, my body was
very busy, and playing the pianorequired me to sit and think
(05:52):
about what I was doing, and myfingers had to move in certain
ways, and I absolutely loved it.
I truly, truly did.
I went on to learn violin andeventually organ as well, but
piano was always my first love,and I think it's because I had
(06:13):
that instantaneous connectionand that feeling of, oh, I
really love this, and it givesme something to really think
about while I'm doing it.
I think I was very bored, andI've noticed this in a lot of my
students as well.
When my students start to fidgetor maybe have some behavioral
(06:35):
problems, my first thought is Iwonder if they're bored.
And that's a big misconception,I think, of ADHD kiddos is we
think that the behaviors aresimply because they're impulsive
or because they lack emotionalregulation, which is totally a
(06:56):
very logical thought with ADHDand with other neurotypes as
well, like autism.
But for ADHD kids, our brainsare so active that we very
easily become bored.
So I thought I could share somedifferences in ADHD and girls
(07:17):
versus boys from research I havedone, from articles I've read,
and very, very scientificjournals, but also from a lot of
experience in teaching.
And I bet you have seen some ofthese examples as well in your
own students.
As I mentioned before, it'sstill quite common for boys to
(07:39):
be diagnosed at a younger agethan girls.
That was true when I was veryyoung, and it's still true now.
They are improving the testingand diagnostic criteria that we
measure these things with.
So it is improving, and girlsare starting to be tested
earlier, but by and large, thereare still lots more boys being
(08:04):
diagnosed earlier than girls.
And there are several reasonsfor that.
Boys are typically morehyperactive than girls at a
younger age.
And because of that, ironicallyenough, it's a little easier for
practitioners and parents tosee: okay, this is a typical
(08:25):
level of activity for afive-year-old boy, and this is
an extreme level ofhyperactivity for a boy to kind
of see that very wide variance.
Whereas in young girls, that isnot always there, and it seems
like it would be the opposite,but for girls, it shows up quite
(08:47):
differently.
In boys, it might be that veryhyperactive, rough and tumble
play where they're veryimpulsive.
For girls, it could be that theytalk a lot, or they're perceived
as talking a lot.
And for boys, it might be thatthey get very easily excited and
they have trouble calming down.
(09:08):
For girls, it might be thatthey're considered highly
emotional, they're easily upset,or very sensitive.
And that is just one of theways, a few of the ways, that
ADHD can look very differentbetween boys and girls.
And this actually reminds me ofsomething I read in Temple
(09:30):
Grandin's book, Visual Thinking,just this week, as I was
rereading one of the chapters.
She has this really excellentperspective on the use of
labels.
Labels are the diagnosis names,like ADHD, autism, dyslexia.
And she goes into this reallywonderful monologue about how I
(09:52):
wonder, she wonders if labelshave become almost too wide to
be helpful.
I think that can be the casewith ADHD.
We used to have two differentdefinitions and diagnosis for
ADHD.
We used to have ADD in additionto ADHD, and that was attention
(10:15):
deficit disorder without thehyperactivity.
Now it's all just under one bigumbrella of ADHD, kind of like
they have done away with thediagnosis of Asperger's, and
everything is just under theumbrella of autism.
It's quite similar.
So for ADHD, we have twodifferent typical diagnosis
(10:36):
paths.
One is the impulsivehyperactivity, which tends to be
more of the younger boys, andthe other is the attention
deficit, which tends to be thegirls.
You can also have a blended,which is what I had.
I had both hyperactivity and anattentive.
(10:57):
As I have gotten older, um, ifyou've ever met me in person or
even just from listening to thepodcast, I'm not bouncing off
the walls.
I'm not hyperactive physically.
I do typically have a good bitof energy, um, but I'm not a
hyperactive physically as aperson.
(11:17):
I am very hyperactive mentally.
My brain is always going.
Um, I don't know if you knowthis about ADHD years, but our
brains don't really shut offeven when we're sleeping.
So a lot of people with ADHDwill have a lot of trouble with
sleep disorders or sleeping andeven dreaming about their work.
(11:39):
So they wake up and they feellike they've been working all
night.
So if that's you, I understandbecause I often feel that way.
So I'm not always constantlymoving, I'm not jittery anymore.
Um, unless I drink too muchcoffee, and then there's, you
know, it's worth it because Ilove my Italian espresso.
(12:00):
But I'm not jittery anymore.
It's just a mental umhyperactivity for me, and um
more struggling to stay focusedon tasks and just kind of
regulate myself uh through thosethings.
And I've learned how to cope asan adult, as most people with
ADHD do.
As we look at our students withADHD, um it's so easy to say
(12:27):
they can't sit still, they'renot focusing.
And this is one of the largestmyths around ADHD.
And honestly, it's one of themost false myths around ADHD,
and especially for our studentswith Aud, which are autism and
ADHD, when somebody is movingwhen they're learning, like if
(12:51):
you have a student who'sstruggling to sit still on the
piano bench while they'replaying, or you have a student
who is constantly kicking theirlegs against your piano while
you're talking, did you knowthat some students feel the need
to move while they think?
It's like a physical impulse,almost like an ADHD version of
(13:15):
stemming, what stemming is forpeople with autism, where they
need to move to think.
Often when I'm on the phone fora long time with a like a
conversation, I will pace orwalk around my house and do
things.
I struggle to sit while I'm onthe phone because I think better
if I'm moving.
It's such a funny thing, but Ireally do.
(13:38):
So your students who are movinga lot, they might need to move
and it stimulates activity intheir brain.
So maybe brainstorm some waysthat you can help them achieve
some kind of bodily movement inthe lesson.
I've had some teachers uh tellme that my suggestions have
(14:00):
worked for them in this area,um, and it's because I suggest
really odd things.
Sometimes it's the odd thingsthat work, okay?
And one of those is sitting onan exercise ball instead of a
piano bench for doingactivities.
I don't really recommend thisfor when students are playing
the piano because you can'tadjust the height of an exercise
(14:21):
ball for students to stillmaintain really good posture and
be at the correct height for theinstrument and seeing their
music.
But if you're doing an extraexercise, like an activity or
like a theory activity,something where they don't need
to be at that perfect height forthe piano, an exercise ball
(14:42):
could be a great way for them tohave some bodily movement while
they're learning.
You can also get a wobblecushion, and that sounds like
such a weird thing, I know, butit's a small inflatable cushion
that sits on top of your pianobench, and kids can kind of rock
back and forth on it.
(15:03):
I'm gonna link my favorite ADHDthings below and in the
description so that you cancheck them out.
But I love these things and sodo my students.
Another thing that really,really helps my students with
ADHD, especially my youngstudents aged three to six, is a
footstool at the piano that'smade for piano lessons.
(15:27):
I did not even know this was athing until several years ago.
I've had a pedal extender formany years and I use those all
throughout graduate school.
But did you know that there arelittle benches that are for
students' feet to sit on?
It's amazing.
The one I have is great becauseit has a removable shelf for the
(15:51):
students' feet, and you canadjust it for students who need
a little more height or whostudents who are taller.
And having a place for theirfeet can be very, very helpful.
Another myth of ADHD is thatkids with ADHD cannot focus.
(16:13):
It is true that their attentionspans might be shorter, but did
you know that students with ADHDare actually capable of very
long periods of hyperfocus?
Hyper focus is the opposite ofdistraction.
And when you think abouthyperfocus, that's something
that students with autism arewell known for being able to
(16:38):
zone in and hyper-focus onsomething for a long period of
time.
If it's something they enjoy, ifit's something they're in tune
to.
The same is true for ADHDstudents.
Another myth of ADHD is thatthey often very quickly become
overwhelmed.
(16:59):
Now, this is not completely amyth, but there's a really good
reason for it.
A kind of co-myth with this isthat the reason that they get so
overwhelmed doing activities ornew concepts or something that's
a little challenging is becauseof a lack of intellectual
capability.
(17:20):
That is 1000% false.
ADHDers are actually very earlyreaders and they tend to speak
think very quickly, and theytypically will test higher in
certain things and other groupsof students, and typically their
IQs are pretty high.
(17:40):
They're very creative thinkers,very good problem solvers, and
they're also very stubborn andpersistent to a fault.
So they will figure somethingout, they're very, very good
problem solvers.
So students might getoverwhelmed, but it's not due to
a lack of intellectual abilityat all.
(18:04):
You might also think about umthe little phrase I said earlier
when you think about ADHD (18:08):
busy mind, busy body.
And that really encapsulatesADHD quite well.
Yes, there are some realchallenges with teaching ADHD
students.
Like they might easily loseinterest in a piece of music,
(18:28):
and they might get bored due toa lack of a challenge, they
might struggle to understand thenext steps, like what to
practice next or how topractice, but none of these
indicate that they're notcapable, just that they need a
little help, and actually, oneof the most ironic things that
(18:49):
ADHDers need is structure.
I love structure, and I am anadult with raging ADHD some
days.
I thrive in a structuredenvironment and with structure.
I actually really struggleduring the summertime to get a
lot of things done.
I always have a very lengthylist, a very detailed list of
(19:14):
all these things I want toaccomplish in the summer.
Things to do with my studio, toorganize my digital resources,
to organize my physical library,to do inventory, to create
resources, lots and lots ofthings.
And I do accomplish a good bitof those, but my goodness,
(19:35):
somehow I am way more productivein a busy season of life than I
am when it's slow.
Isn't that so weird?
When I think back to my scheduleduring graduate school,
particularly when I was adoctoral student, and I was
teaching 65 lessons a week as afull-time doctoral student,
(19:58):
taking classes, taking privatelessons, having to go to studio
classes myself, practice threeto four hours a day, do all of
the writing and research that'srequired of that level of
education, as well as perform atjuries and do accompanying.
How did I get so much done?
I I don't know.
(20:20):
Um, I I don't miss that busyschedule in case you're
wondering.
But I have given a good bit ofthought to that over the years,
that I think ADHDers work verywell under a deadline, and it
just sort of kicks our braininto gear.
So if you have ADHD and you tendto wait until the last minute to
(20:41):
do something, but it actuallyproduces a really good result,
you may have something in commonwith Mozart because I think he
was also ADHD.
I I remember reading severalaccounts of his life in music
history classes and books wherehe would wait until an opera was
due or wait until the lastminute.
So I'm not encouraging you to belike Mozart, but I am saying
(21:04):
lots of famous people have beenADHDers, so I think we're in
good company.
If I can give you one piece ofadvice about your students with
ADHD, it is to keep that phrasein mind: busy mind, busy body.
How can you ensure that yourADHD students' brains and bodies
(21:27):
are being fully exercised attheir lessons?
When a student has a neurotypelike ADHD, the tendency might be
to try to make things easier forthem in the lesson, to not upset
them or not cause any overwhelm,just to take things easy.
But when we do that, we'reactually depriving them of the
(21:51):
joy of working through achallenge.
ADHD students love a challenge,they thrive on problem solving,
and they're actually quitecompetitive with themselves.
I have had several dozens ofADHD students during the last
many years, and I've had a fewstudents where I've had to say
(22:13):
things like, you know, I'm notsure if you're ready for that
yet.
That's pretty difficult.
And so many of them will say,Oh, I can do it.
Let me show you.
And you know what?
They do.
We love good self-motivation,and ADHD students are no
different, they just need helpfiguring out how to stay
(22:35):
motivated, but they're very,very capable students.
We also have to keep in mindthat students with ADHD are more
than just their label.
I would like to encourage you tosee beyond the labels of your
students.
Many teachers are a bitapprehensive to take on ADHD
(22:58):
students because they have heardso many of these myths or maybe
had other students thatstruggled with impulse control
or attention or behavioraloutbursts or fill in the blank.
But each student is so verydifferent.
And I would like to reallychallenge you to see, know, and
(23:18):
learn your student for who theyare.
They are more than just theirlabel, they're more than just
ADHD.
And if you let them, they canshow you what ADHD is like for
them, and you can learn what abrilliant creative musician you
have in front of you.
(23:40):
To conclude today's episode, Iwant to leave you with a tiny
teaching tip.
And this is a kind of silly one,but I just discovered the joy
that is an erasable highlighter.
Where have these been all of mylife?
I love erasable pens, but mygoodness, an erasable
(24:02):
highlighter just is a gamechanger for me.
I found these over the summer,and since then I have purchased
them for all of my virtualstudents.
I have sent them to friends.
I have bought some for myselfand multiple colors.
They are so cool.
My virtual students arereporting back that they are
loving them for highlightingthings in their music,
(24:26):
particularly like where we'restopping that week, if it's a
longer piece and we need to stophalfway through and then pick it
up the next week and learn therest.
They're loving that they canerase it so it doesn't mess up
their music permanently.
And some of my students lovehighlighting the trouble and
bass clef to remember left andright hand, that kind of thing.
(24:48):
But then they can erase it ifthey feel confident in that
area.
It is just so cool.
So if you know about erasablehighlighters, you are you are in
on the joy, but if you don't yetknow about them, this is your
tip to go to the description andgrab some on Amazon because they
(25:09):
are not to be you know dramatic,but they are potentially life
changing.
That is it for today's episodeon ADHD.
Thank you so much for tuning in,and I will look forward to
sharing again with you nexttime.
This is episode 14 of the Creative Piano Pedagogy
Podcast, and I'm your host,Elizabeth Davis Everhart.
So glad you've tuned in.
Thanks for taking time tolisten.
If you have a chance and youenjoy the show, even if this is
your first episode listening, itwould mean so much if you could
leave a nice review on Apple orSpotify podcast app,
(00:25):
specifically on the Apple one,because that will help encourage
all the SEO things to direct theshow to more people who like it.
And it would just be a hugehelp.
It only takes a few seconds toleave a rating and a comment.
So that would be muchappreciated.
(00:46):
This is a new month.
It's October, probably myfavorite month in the year.
And we have a very funfall-themed monthly email headed
your way this week to your inboxon Wednesday.
It will include our freebie ofthe month.
I try to give freebies on eachemail, and it's been a while
(01:07):
since we've sent out an email.
So I'm excited to share thatwith you.
If you're not sure if you're onthe email list, just head down
to the description and go aheadand pop your email at that link
where you can join.
And if you're already on thelist, don't worry, it will not
duplicate and add you again.
It'll just ensure that you're onthe email list.
(01:28):
Today we are talking all aboutone of my favorite neurotypes,
ADHD.
Attention deficit, hyperactivitydisorder.
It's quite a mouthful.
In this new series, we've beentalking about myths and
misconceptions, things we mayhave heard or even thought were
(01:50):
true about disabilities andneurodiversity, and maybe things
we've thought could be true, buthave learned after meeting real
students that they're not quiteas accurate as we thought.
Today it's going to be a littledifferent theme because I'm
going to share from a personalperspective about ADHD.
(02:11):
I haven't really talked aboutthis much on the podcast, but I
was diagnosed as ADHD about agethree, which is very, very young
for a girl to be diagnosed withADHD, and especially a girl in
the early 90s when ADHD was justbecoming a popular diagnosis,
(02:34):
and it was still much morecommon for boys to be diagnosed
than girls, particularly at sucha young age.
So I thought I would share alittle bit about what I remember
about ADHD and my experiencesand how that transfers to my
teaching and my students, inhopes that this might help you
(02:54):
with some of your students,especially those who maybe
you're not sure if they do haveADHD or they haven't shared, but
you have your suspicions.
And so maybe I can share a fewthings that will not only
encourage you, but give you anew perspective.
So I was very hyper-active as ayoungster.
(03:15):
My mom was a piano teacher.
I was very fortunate to have amusical home growing up.
And at one of my mom's annualpiano recitals, somebody gave me
a drink of a soda that has a lotof caffeine.
And according to my mother, andI actually remember this as
well.
(03:36):
I was about three, they watchedme run laps around the recital
hall for about 45 minutes afterjust a few sips of a caffeinated
drink.
And then I collapsed and fellasleep out of exhaustion.
But I was just very uh quicklymoving child.
I was a quick thinker, quickreader, um, and a very bodily
(03:59):
active, so busy brain, busybody.
That's how I would explainmyself.
And my parents were working sohard to find ways of parenting
and helping me learn at a veryyoung age because they realized
that uh they thought I wasprobably more hyper than most
children my age, which I was.
(04:20):
And along the lines, someonesuggested, hey, what about some
piano lessons?
My mom, being a piano teacher,was a little hesitant, I
believe, because I was so veryyoung, but I loved music, I was
often singing, and of course,being a child of the late 80s, I
(04:41):
had a purple cassette tapeplayer that had a microphone,
and I loved listening tocassette tapes and playing and
creating my own little world formyself, and so music was a big
part of my life.
Piano was not out of the realmof something I would love to do.
So my mom very bravely decidedshe would give it a shot.
(05:06):
That resulted in me absolutelyfalling in love with the piano
and dragging my mom to the pianoevery day.
I would go find her and drag herto the piano and just beg for
another little lesson or anothertime practicing together.
And it truly calmed my brain, itgave my fingers something to do,
(05:29):
and I became a very differentkid.
I was still hyperactive for afew more years.
Um, but I remember, even at thatyoung age of three, how
differently I felt because mybrain was very busy, my body was
very busy, and playing the pianorequired me to sit and think
(05:52):
about what I was doing, and myfingers had to move in certain
ways, and I absolutely loved it.
I truly, truly did.
I went on to learn violin andeventually organ as well, but
piano was always my first love,and I think it's because I had
(06:13):
that instantaneous connectionand that feeling of, oh, I
really love this, and it givesme something to really think
about while I'm doing it.
I think I was very bored, andI've noticed this in a lot of my
students as well.
When my students start to fidgetor maybe have some behavioral
(06:35):
problems, my first thought is Iwonder if they're bored.
And that's a big misconception,I think, of ADHD kiddos is we
think that the behaviors aresimply because they're impulsive
or because they lack emotionalregulation, which is totally a
(06:56):
very logical thought with ADHDand with other neurotypes as
well, like autism.
But for ADHD kids, our brainsare so active that we very
easily become bored.
So I thought I could share somedifferences in ADHD and girls
(07:17):
versus boys from research I havedone, from articles I've read,
and very, very scientificjournals, but also from a lot of
experience in teaching.
And I bet you have seen some ofthese examples as well in your
own students.
As I mentioned before, it'sstill quite common for boys to
(07:39):
be diagnosed at a younger agethan girls.
That was true when I was veryyoung, and it's still true now.
They are improving the testingand diagnostic criteria that we
measure these things with.
So it is improving, and girlsare starting to be tested
earlier, but by and large, thereare still lots more boys being
(08:04):
diagnosed earlier than girls.
And there are several reasonsfor that.
Boys are typically morehyperactive than girls at a
younger age.
And because of that, ironicallyenough, it's a little easier for
practitioners and parents tosee: okay, this is a typical
(08:25):
level of activity for afive-year-old boy, and this is
an extreme level ofhyperactivity for a boy to kind
of see that very wide variance.
Whereas in young girls, that isnot always there, and it seems
like it would be the opposite,but for girls, it shows up quite
(08:47):
differently.
In boys, it might be that veryhyperactive, rough and tumble
play where they're veryimpulsive.
For girls, it could be that theytalk a lot, or they're perceived
as talking a lot.
And for boys, it might be thatthey get very easily excited and
they have trouble calming down.
(09:08):
For girls, it might be thatthey're considered highly
emotional, they're easily upset,or very sensitive.
And that is just one of theways, a few of the ways, that
ADHD can look very differentbetween boys and girls.
And this actually reminds me ofsomething I read in Temple
(09:30):
Grandin's book, Visual Thinking,just this week, as I was
rereading one of the chapters.
She has this really excellentperspective on the use of
labels.
Labels are the diagnosis names,like ADHD, autism, dyslexia.
And she goes into this reallywonderful monologue about how I
(09:52):
wonder, she wonders if labelshave become almost too wide to
be helpful.
I think that can be the casewith ADHD.
We used to have two differentdefinitions and diagnosis for
ADHD.
We used to have ADD in additionto ADHD, and that was attention
(10:15):
deficit disorder without thehyperactivity.
Now it's all just under one bigumbrella of ADHD, kind of like
they have done away with thediagnosis of Asperger's, and
everything is just under theumbrella of autism.
It's quite similar.
So for ADHD, we have twodifferent typical diagnosis
(10:36):
paths.
One is the impulsivehyperactivity, which tends to be
more of the younger boys, andthe other is the attention
deficit, which tends to be thegirls.
You can also have a blended,which is what I had.
I had both hyperactivity and anattentive.
(10:57):
As I have gotten older, um, ifyou've ever met me in person or
even just from listening to thepodcast, I'm not bouncing off
the walls.
I'm not hyperactive physically.
I do typically have a good bitof energy, um, but I'm not a
hyperactive physically as aperson.
(11:17):
I am very hyperactive mentally.
My brain is always going.
Um, I don't know if you knowthis about ADHD years, but our
brains don't really shut offeven when we're sleeping.
So a lot of people with ADHDwill have a lot of trouble with
sleep disorders or sleeping andeven dreaming about their work.
(11:39):
So they wake up and they feellike they've been working all
night.
So if that's you, I understandbecause I often feel that way.
So I'm not always constantlymoving, I'm not jittery anymore.
Um, unless I drink too muchcoffee, and then there's, you
know, it's worth it because Ilove my Italian espresso.
(12:00):
But I'm not jittery anymore.
It's just a mental umhyperactivity for me, and um
more struggling to stay focusedon tasks and just kind of
regulate myself uh through thosethings.
And I've learned how to cope asan adult, as most people with
ADHD do.
As we look at our students withADHD, um it's so easy to say
(12:27):
they can't sit still, they'renot focusing.
And this is one of the largestmyths around ADHD.
And honestly, it's one of themost false myths around ADHD,
and especially for our studentswith Aud, which are autism and
ADHD, when somebody is movingwhen they're learning, like if
(12:51):
you have a student who'sstruggling to sit still on the
piano bench while they'replaying, or you have a student
who is constantly kicking theirlegs against your piano while
you're talking, did you knowthat some students feel the need
to move while they think?
It's like a physical impulse,almost like an ADHD version of
(13:15):
stemming, what stemming is forpeople with autism, where they
need to move to think.
Often when I'm on the phone fora long time with a like a
conversation, I will pace orwalk around my house and do
things.
I struggle to sit while I'm onthe phone because I think better
if I'm moving.
It's such a funny thing, but Ireally do.
(13:38):
So your students who are movinga lot, they might need to move
and it stimulates activity intheir brain.
So maybe brainstorm some waysthat you can help them achieve
some kind of bodily movement inthe lesson.
I've had some teachers uh tellme that my suggestions have
(14:00):
worked for them in this area,um, and it's because I suggest
really odd things.
Sometimes it's the odd thingsthat work, okay?
And one of those is sitting onan exercise ball instead of a
piano bench for doingactivities.
I don't really recommend thisfor when students are playing
the piano because you can'tadjust the height of an exercise
(14:21):
ball for students to stillmaintain really good posture and
be at the correct height for theinstrument and seeing their
music.
But if you're doing an extraexercise, like an activity or
like a theory activity,something where they don't need
to be at that perfect height forthe piano, an exercise ball
(14:42):
could be a great way for them tohave some bodily movement while
they're learning.
You can also get a wobblecushion, and that sounds like
such a weird thing, I know, butit's a small inflatable cushion
that sits on top of your pianobench, and kids can kind of rock
back and forth on it.
(15:03):
I'm gonna link my favorite ADHDthings below and in the
description so that you cancheck them out.
But I love these things and sodo my students.
Another thing that really,really helps my students with
ADHD, especially my youngstudents aged three to six, is a
footstool at the piano that'smade for piano lessons.
(15:27):
I did not even know this was athing until several years ago.
I've had a pedal extender formany years and I use those all
throughout graduate school.
But did you know that there arelittle benches that are for
students' feet to sit on?
It's amazing.
The one I have is great becauseit has a removable shelf for the
(15:51):
students' feet, and you canadjust it for students who need
a little more height or whostudents who are taller.
And having a place for theirfeet can be very, very helpful.
Another myth of ADHD is thatkids with ADHD cannot focus.
(16:13):
It is true that their attentionspans might be shorter, but did
you know that students with ADHDare actually capable of very
long periods of hyperfocus?
Hyper focus is the opposite ofdistraction.
And when you think abouthyperfocus, that's something
that students with autism arewell known for being able to
(16:38):
zone in and hyper-focus onsomething for a long period of
time.
If it's something they enjoy, ifit's something they're in tune
to.
The same is true for ADHDstudents.
Another myth of ADHD is thatthey often very quickly become
overwhelmed.
(16:59):
Now, this is not completely amyth, but there's a really good
reason for it.
A kind of co-myth with this isthat the reason that they get so
overwhelmed doing activities ornew concepts or something that's
a little challenging is becauseof a lack of intellectual
capability.
(17:20):
That is 1000% false.
ADHDers are actually very earlyreaders and they tend to speak
think very quickly, and theytypically will test higher in
certain things and other groupsof students, and typically their
IQs are pretty high.
(17:40):
They're very creative thinkers,very good problem solvers, and
they're also very stubborn andpersistent to a fault.
So they will figure somethingout, they're very, very good
problem solvers.
So students might getoverwhelmed, but it's not due to
a lack of intellectual abilityat all.
(18:04):
You might also think about umthe little phrase I said earlier
when you think about ADHD (18:08):
busy mind, busy body.
And that really encapsulatesADHD quite well.
Yes, there are some realchallenges with teaching ADHD
students.
Like they might easily loseinterest in a piece of music,
(18:28):
and they might get bored due toa lack of a challenge, they
might struggle to understand thenext steps, like what to
practice next or how topractice, but none of these
indicate that they're notcapable, just that they need a
little help, and actually, oneof the most ironic things that
(18:49):
ADHDers need is structure.
I love structure, and I am anadult with raging ADHD some
days.
I thrive in a structuredenvironment and with structure.
I actually really struggleduring the summertime to get a
lot of things done.
I always have a very lengthylist, a very detailed list of
(19:14):
all these things I want toaccomplish in the summer.
Things to do with my studio, toorganize my digital resources,
to organize my physical library,to do inventory, to create
resources, lots and lots ofthings.
And I do accomplish a good bitof those, but my goodness,
(19:35):
somehow I am way more productivein a busy season of life than I
am when it's slow.
Isn't that so weird?
When I think back to my scheduleduring graduate school,
particularly when I was adoctoral student, and I was
teaching 65 lessons a week as afull-time doctoral student,
(19:58):
taking classes, taking privatelessons, having to go to studio
classes myself, practice threeto four hours a day, do all of
the writing and research that'srequired of that level of
education, as well as perform atjuries and do accompanying.
How did I get so much done?
I I don't know.
(20:20):
Um, I I don't miss that busyschedule in case you're
wondering.
But I have given a good bit ofthought to that over the years,
that I think ADHDers work verywell under a deadline, and it
just sort of kicks our braininto gear.
So if you have ADHD and you tendto wait until the last minute to
(20:41):
do something, but it actuallyproduces a really good result,
you may have something in commonwith Mozart because I think he
was also ADHD.
I I remember reading severalaccounts of his life in music
history classes and books wherehe would wait until an opera was
due or wait until the lastminute.
So I'm not encouraging you to belike Mozart, but I am saying
(21:04):
lots of famous people have beenADHDers, so I think we're in
good company.
If I can give you one piece ofadvice about your students with
ADHD, it is to keep that phrasein mind: busy mind, busy body.
How can you ensure that yourADHD students' brains and bodies
(21:27):
are being fully exercised attheir lessons?
When a student has a neurotypelike ADHD, the tendency might be
to try to make things easier forthem in the lesson, to not upset
them or not cause any overwhelm,just to take things easy.
But when we do that, we'reactually depriving them of the
(21:51):
joy of working through achallenge.
ADHD students love a challenge,they thrive on problem solving,
and they're actually quitecompetitive with themselves.
I have had several dozens ofADHD students during the last
many years, and I've had a fewstudents where I've had to say
(22:13):
things like, you know, I'm notsure if you're ready for that
yet.
That's pretty difficult.
And so many of them will say,Oh, I can do it.
Let me show you.
And you know what?
They do.
We love good self-motivation,and ADHD students are no
different, they just need helpfiguring out how to stay
(22:35):
motivated, but they're very,very capable students.
We also have to keep in mindthat students with ADHD are more
than just their label.
I would like to encourage you tosee beyond the labels of your
students.
Many teachers are a bitapprehensive to take on ADHD
(22:58):
students because they have heardso many of these myths or maybe
had other students thatstruggled with impulse control
or attention or behavioraloutbursts or fill in the blank.
But each student is so verydifferent.
And I would like to reallychallenge you to see, know, and
(23:18):
learn your student for who theyare.
They are more than just theirlabel, they're more than just
ADHD.
And if you let them, they canshow you what ADHD is like for
them, and you can learn what abrilliant creative musician you
have in front of you.
(23:40):
To conclude today's episode, Iwant to leave you with a tiny
teaching tip.
And this is a kind of silly one,but I just discovered the joy
that is an erasable highlighter.
Where have these been all of mylife?
I love erasable pens, but mygoodness, an erasable
(24:02):
highlighter just is a gamechanger for me.
I found these over the summer,and since then I have purchased
them for all of my virtualstudents.
I have sent them to friends.
I have bought some for myselfand multiple colors.
They are so cool.
My virtual students arereporting back that they are
loving them for highlightingthings in their music,
(24:26):
particularly like where we'restopping that week, if it's a
longer piece and we need to stophalfway through and then pick it
up the next week and learn therest.
They're loving that they canerase it so it doesn't mess up
their music permanently.
And some of my students lovehighlighting the trouble and
bass clef to remember left andright hand, that kind of thing.
(24:48):
But then they can erase it ifthey feel confident in that
area.
It is just so cool.
So if you know about erasablehighlighters, you are you are in
on the joy, but if you don't yetknow about them, this is your
tip to go to the description andgrab some on Amazon because they
(25:09):
are not to be you know dramatic,but they are potentially life
changing.
That is it for today's episodeon ADHD.
Thank you so much for tuning in,and I will look forward to
sharing again with you nexttime.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!