October 6, 2025 • 21 mins
October is officially Hectic Month™️ (Black History Month, Mental Health Day, Halloween... all of it), but nestled in the mix is something super important: ADHD Awareness Month.
And look, if you’re thinking, “Well, I don’t have any diagnosed ADHD students,” think again. Not only is it likely that you do (diagnosed or not), but what helps ADHD students thrive is actually just good teaching for everyone.
In this episode, I’m giving you a front seat to 5 simple, powerful shifts you can make today to better support your neurodivergent students.
These are the real-deal takeaways from ADHD coach and teacher Andy Hayes’ masterclass inside The Behaviour Club, and they’re already making waves in classrooms across the club.
What you’ll learn:
- Why ADHD students hear 10,000 more negative messages than their peers, and how to change the story
- What task initiation actually looks like (and how to scaffold it without overhauling your lesson plans)
- Why novelty isn’t fluff, it’s fuel for the ADHD brain
- How visual routines support executive functioning and make your classroom calmer
- The high-impact way to celebrate strengths over struggles (no tokenism, no fluff)
Mentioned in this episode:
Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!
RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:
- Shop all resources
- Join The Behaviour Club
- My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management
- The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
- Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'
Connect with me:
- Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
- Check out my website
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
Oh, hi there, teachers.
Welcome to the UnteachablesPodcast.
I'm your host, Claire English,and I am just a fellow teacher,
a toddler mama, and a big oldbehaviour nerd on a mission to
demystify and simplify thatlittle thing called classroom
management.
The way we've all been taught tomanage behaviour and classroom
manage has left us playing crowdcontrol, which is not something
(00:23):
I subscribe to because we're notbouncers, we're teachers.
So listen in as I walk youthrough the game-changing
strategies, and I mean thethings that we can actually do
and action in our classroomsthat will allow you to lean into
your beautiful values as acompassionate educator and feel
empowered to run your room witha little more calm and dare I
(00:43):
say it, a lot less chaos.
I will see you in the episode.
Hello there, teachers, welcometo the Unteachables Podcast.
Thank you for joining me herefor another day.
We're in October, which is wild,but this month is absolutely
(01:04):
chokers.
It is hectic October.
We've got so many differentthings happening.
We've got Black History Month,we've got World Mental Health
Day, World Teachers Day has justpassed on Sunday, but I'm
celebrating you like let's justsay that this is our month as
well.
We've got Halloween coming up atthe end of the month.
The spooky season is upon us.
(01:26):
And the one thing that I reallywant to talk about in today's
podcast episode, it is also ADHDAwareness Month.
So in today's podcast episode, Iwanted to talk you through some
powerful, just doable ways torecognize ADHD Awareness Month
in your classroom and supportyour students who have an ADHD
(01:49):
profile who are ADHDindividuals.
Now, I don't want anybodysitting there thinking, oh, you
know what?
Like I actually don't have anystudents with ADHD in my class,
or you know, I don't teachanybody who has a specific plan.
That does not matter.
It's really important thatyou're listening to the
following tips because not onlyare chances very high that you
(02:10):
are supporting students who areneurodivergent, but uh what is
good for students with ADHD isactually good for every single
student.
It's just good teachingpractice.
So the things that I'm going tobe talking through are going to
benefit you for every singlestudent in your classroom.
But of course, we're looking atthis through the lens of ADHD
Awareness Month.
(02:30):
And it is the perfect time forus to kind of move beyond some
stereotypes that have beenestablished with ADHD students,
build some understanding, buildsome empathy, and just kind of
support them in a better way, ina more meaningful way within
your classroom.
Kind of, you know, boost thatculture of inclusion in your
classroom.
(02:51):
So here are five powerful anddoable ways that you can, I want
to say, celebrate ADHD in yourclassroom this month, or bring
awareness to or recognize ADHDin your classroom.
All of the following are takenfrom this month's training
inside of the Behavior Club.
I welcomed Andy Hayes, who is anADHD coach.
(03:13):
He's a teacher himself, he's anADHD individual himself.
So I welcomed him into theBehavior Club this month.
I wanted him to come in andpresent.
I wanted to give him theplatform and the voice to be
able to present on ADHD.
And he did a brilliant job.
And these are just a fewtakeaways from that masterclass.
If you are in the behavior club,go and watch it.
It's brilliant.
(03:33):
And of course, then you get allof the resources that I'm
talking about as well to goalong with that.
So let's dig in.
Number one takeaway on how youcan, you know, really bring
light to students with ADHD inyour classroom is to give their
inner critic a break.
One of the most powerful thingsthat Andy shared in this
(03:55):
masterclass was that by age 12,many ADHD students have heard up
to 10,000 more negative commentsthan their peers.
Just think about what that woulddo to their confidence.
And he brought up a really goodpoint, which is, you know, think
about what, like the words ofADHD.
It's a disorder and it's adeficit.
(04:16):
So if you have been labeled withADHD, you're coming at it from a
place of, I have a deficit, likeI've got a disorder.
There's something wrong with mewhen that is not the case is a
neurodivergence.
So I think the the just the factthat they're slapped on a label
that has those two words in it,their inner critic is going to
(04:36):
be, you know, going wild andthey are seen in a certain way.
I think, especially young boyswith ADHD, they're looked upon
in a certain way.
So the best way that we can tryto give their inner critic a
break is just to catch thepositive in any way that we can.
Whether it's just a little like,hey, great job on the way out,
(04:58):
or a non-verbal to put your, youknow, your thumb up and to say,
like, you know, well done, or uhto explicitly name something
that they've done really well.
And looking at things outside ofjust, hey, you went really well
in that assignment, you know,like what are the other skills
and the other strengths thatstudents bring to us that we can
celebrate?
I love so if you're in thebehavior club or you've
(05:19):
purchased them, I've got mypositive post-its, and on those,
and they are something you canprint out.
Um, they're a really great wayto leave just unexpected like
reinforcements or you know,beautiful like positive comments
on the desk of a student, in thebook of a student, giving it to
them on the on the way out ofthe classroom.
(05:39):
And they're just really subtle,quick, but they're also super
meaningful.
Um, if you don't have thoseprintable post-its, just grab a
post-it and then scribble a noteon there saying, Hey, great job,
or you know, I love the way thatyou're able to focus today, or,
you know, all of those thingsthat might kind of get
overshadowed by some of thebehaviors that we might see, or
(06:01):
some of the other ways that ADHDmight be presenting itself in
the classroom.
If we can try to find thoseglimmers of amazing positive
work that these students do, notonly is it going to do a wonder
for their confidence, but it'sgoing to help us develop the
rapport that specifically ADHDbrains need in order to have
(06:21):
that buy-in to then work reallywell for us and engage with us.
Because that is another featureof the ADHD brain.
It needs to have that buy-in,that novelty.
There needs to be that dopamine.
And if we're able to providelike little hits of that with
leaving a little note on theirdesk or catching the positive in
(06:43):
some way, then it's going to dowonders for our students and our
rapport.
The next thing I wanted to speakabout was task initiation.
Because for the ADHD brain,getting started is often the
hardest part.
And executive functioningchallenges that are quite common
with ADHD profiles can make, youknow, those open-ended or
(07:05):
unstructured tasks really,really overwhelming.
So when it comes to supportingADHD students in the classroom,
really supporting that taskinitiation with clarity, but
also again with a little bit ofthat novelty because that's
going to give them the bestchance of not shutting down on
tasks, but like taking thosefirst little steps into getting
started.
(07:25):
I love to do this by visuallygiving students some structure
and some choices and like aclear, manageable first step.
And I do this in a way that, youknow, is really visual and it's
got novelty.
And I really feel like thatmakes a world of difference.
The one resource that I do usefor this, and the one that's
available inside of the club ifyou're inside of the club, or
you can make your own, that'salso fine, or you can just like
(07:46):
prop pop some prompts up on theboard, or maybe write one of
these down on a poster note andput it on your student's desk if
they're really struggling withtask initiation.
There's no right or wrong way todo this.
It's just about giving them thatinto the task.
The kinds of things you can askthem to do is draw a progress
bar and shade one section oncethey start.
(08:07):
You know, just write your name,date, and title at the top of
the page just to get started,pen to paper.
Um, write down the firstquestion or the heading into
your book, doodle a box to holdyour first paragraph or idea,
highlight or underline keywordsin the instructions, circle the
verbs that tell you what to do.
Um write just the first sentenceand then count those words to
(08:28):
celebrate.
Set a three-minute timer andthen brain dump your ideas as
quickly as you can.
Um, write three steps and tickthe first one off when you're
done, or write a mini goal forthe next five minutes.
Those are the kind of thingsthat I have on my Smooth Start
menu to just help with that taskinitiation because it is so
(08:49):
overwhelming for some students.
So if we're able just to give areally explicit small first step
to provide them with that in, itcan do wonders for getting us to
get them involved.
The next thing is to gain buy-inthrough novelty because the ADHD
brain thrives on novelty anddopamine.
And if interest doesn't sparkwith the lesson or with whatever
(09:13):
they're doing, the brain's notstarting up.
And so adding some novelty orplay or challenge can really
switch the brain onto whatyou're trying to do in the
classroom.
So I just like to make sure thatI'm adding some movement or
brain breaks, thinking about howI'm switching up, you know, how
I present my material.
A really good example of that isI like think just think about my
exit routine.
(09:34):
I will sometimes do exittickets.
Sometimes I'll do my exit doorspresentation.
So they get to choose a door towalk through, and then that door
leads them to a task.
Um, it's not a PowerPoint slide,by the way, they're not actually
walking through doors.
Um, but like, you know,sometimes I'll do an exit slip
on a post-it note.
Like there's different ways thatthey can like access the
learning, and it's kind ofkeeping a little bit of novelty
(09:56):
there, a little bit ofexcitement there.
I'm not saying that you need tolike make every lesson really,
really fun.
It's just about keeping a littlebit of novelty to allow students
to get involved in that andtheir brains to switch on.
And if you're not able to addnovelty in the lesson, if it is
just like a pretty stockstandard lesson, just try to
(10:17):
chuck in a three-minute chat, athree-minute brain break, a
movement break.
Get them to like, you know,stand up and shake it out,
whatever it is.
The most important thing here isfor us to just understand a
little bit about the brain, thethe brain of an ADHD student a
little bit better, because whenwe're able to understand, hey,
like it thrives on novelty, it'syou know, really hungry for
(10:39):
dopamine, if I'm not interestingthem, if there's no novelty
there, if I've got no challengethere, then if a student's
disengaged, then there might bea reason for that.
I think that just understandingthe brain better will help us to
support ADHD students better.
So that's why I wanted to talkabout the novelty aspect.
So I'm not saying you have to dolike a song and dance every
(11:00):
single lesson, but just beingaware that if you would like to
engage a student who does havean ADHD profile a little bit
more, you can inject some ofthat stuff and just give it a go
and see if that helps you toengage them.
Uh, number four, making routinesvisual, predictable, and crystal
clear.
(11:21):
This is why I talk about what isgood for students who are, you
know, neurodivergent.
What is good for them is goodfor every single student because
clear routines that are visualand predictable and crystal
clear will always reduceanxiety.
It'll always build trust, itwill always support
independence, working memory,and it is just good teaching
practice and it's going to helpus with our classroom management
(11:44):
so much.
It's going to help us have thosecalm lessons that we are
craving.
So, specifically for studentswho are neurodivergent, yes,
routines, predictability, havingthat clarity.
It's always going to be reallyhandy.
So just get your routines downand use visuals to reinforce
them.
Tools like task cards andlearning maps are brilliant
(12:05):
because when students walk in,they know exactly what they're
going to be doing.
Timers are really, reallyimportant because that's going
to, number one, increase thetask clarity.
But there's also that timeblindness that comes with ADHD.
So allowing students to see howmuch time they've got left, what
time is left in the lesson andin the task is really handy.
(12:26):
Um, learning maps, for me, to behonest, are like a huge
non-negotiable because it justsupports all of the students
that are in our class so somuch.
So just give those a go.
Just think like, are my routinesvisual?
Is everything predictable?
When students walk into mylesson, do they know what to
expect?
Is this reducing thedysregulation of some of my
(12:48):
students with a more, you know,complex profile?
Whether it is because they haveADHD or because they are, you
know, struggling with uhdisorganized attachment or
whatever it might be, routinesare golden, visual, predictable,
crystal, clear.
The fifth one, the final one,and this is a beautiful one to
(13:08):
end on because it's just allabout celebrating strengths and
not just struggles.
In the beginning, I spoke abouthow ADHD, like students will be
diagnosed with ADHD and they aregoing to see in their mind
deficit and disorder.
And that is not what we want forthem to be labeling themselves
(13:29):
at.
And if we're going to becompletely honest, teachers, and
it just happens because whensomething is in our minds, then
that kind of becomes the waythat we respond to the world.
When we see a student's got ADHDand we have our own perception
of what ADHD means in aclassroom of 30 students that
we're trying to teach, sometimesthat can automatically, without
(13:51):
us even realizing it, impact theway that we approach these
students, treat these students.
It is just the way that it is.
So we have to be reallycognizant of focusing on the
strengths of ADHD and really,you know, supporting our
students to see their strengthsas well.
If we are able to take theunique strengths of an
(14:13):
individual with ADHD, we aregoing to be able to really help
them to build their confidence.
We're able to build rapport withthem better, we're able to
engage them better in thelearning.
It can be life-changing just forus to be able to go, hey, like
look at the strengths that youhave, rather than going, you've
got ADHD deficit disorder, andlike kind of adding to those
(14:35):
10,000 negative, more negativecomments that students with ADHD
receive by the time they're 12years old.
Um, so you know, really helpyour class celebrate the unique
strengths and superpowers thatcome with not just having ADHD,
but just being an individualhuman that isn't a robot, that
isn't just going to, what's thatthing?
(14:55):
Like tell a fish to climb a treeand obviously the monkey's gonna
win.
I don't know what the what theanalogy is, right?
But it's so true.
Like when we set a standard forevery single student in our
classroom and say, like, theonly thing that matters in here
is that you get an A, it's notgoing to work for any of our
students, let alone students whoare neurodivergent.
So make it your mission to just,especially in ADHD Awareness
(15:19):
Month, but of course every dayof the year, just to notice and
name the strengths of yourstudents, whether it is that
they were participating or thatthey were really kind, that they
showed confidence, or, you know,they were really good friends or
teammates, or they were reallydetermined, or they had some
really interesting ideas oranything that might support them
(15:43):
to see the strengths and thebeautiful things about what they
bring to the classroom and thecommunity.
The more we can do that, themore engaged they're going to
show up and be because they'regoing to go, hey, like my
teacher sees me for more thanthe deficit and the disorder.
Like my teacher sees me for mystrengths and my ability to, you
(16:06):
know, like get everybody talkingor my strengths to be a good
friend, or my strengths toactually nail an essay if that
is their strength.
Like that is also reallyimportant.
But uh, a really good way that Ido this is through my
celebration cards.
I don't like to give, you know,like tangible rewards or
(16:26):
anything like that.
I try to do everything I can toboost their intrinsic
motivation.
But the one kind of tangiblething that I do give are these
um celebration cards.
They're really high novelty,which is great for the ADHD
brain, and they're really highimpact in a class.
I love them because uh it can bereally cheesy.
(16:48):
It's really, really cheesy.
And my middle schoolers, youknow, my year eights, oh Miss,
you're so embarrassing, but theyabsolutely love them.
So I just have uh the ones thatI've got inside of the club at
the moment are brand new.
So I did redo them in theclassroom prior to this.
I had just like four differentcards with different characters
on them.
(17:09):
Um, but now I've got 40different characters that all
kind of celebrate differentunique strengths.
So I've got, I'm just looking atthe cards here.
So I've got like the powerfulpineapple, you push through
challenges, or the participationpotato, you smashed the lesson
by joining in.
The cool cucumber, you stayedchill like a champ.
So if they're like, you know,wanting to work on their
(17:30):
regulation and you can celebratethem for that.
Uh, the epic egg, you crackedthe learning wide open.
The confident corn, you poppedup with some awesome ideas.
So uh these cards, there's 40 ofthem, there's a lot of them.
If you are in the club, you candownload them.
If not, I'll pop the link in theshow notes for you because
they're a lot of fun.
(17:52):
I uh print about print out abunch, I keep them in a folder,
and I'll just hand them out,whether it's students leaving
the room, whether it's likepopping them in their books
after a lesson, like I'll justhand these out like wild.
Like I won't wait until like anaward day or anything like that.
It's just another kind ofversion of a positive post-it.
It's just another way toacknowledge and recognize the
(18:12):
strengths that your students arebringing.
But I feel like any way, and bythe way, one of my behavior
clubbers came to me, she's like,oh my gosh, like there was one
student who I have beenstruggling with all year.
I started using these cards, andafter one week, he started to
respond really positively to me.
He was asking, when am I, youknow, like, oh, am I gonna get
the participation potato?
(18:33):
So all of that to say, you don'thave to use these cards.
I'm just trying to give you anexample of how we can celebrate
the student strengths and notjust the struggles, and we can
highlight the brilliant thingsthat they're bringing to our
classroom, regardless of thechallenges that they might have
in that kind of reallytraditional kind of educational
(18:54):
setting.
But recognizing ADHD AwarenessMonth really can just be as
simple as creating littlemoments of novelty, of clarity,
of connection, of celebrationthroughout the day.
And this can be done every dayof the year.
But when I'm talking about ADHDAwareness Month, I want to talk
about it on the podcast reallyexplicitly.
(19:14):
But, you know, making ourclassrooms a place where
neurodiverse students don't justsurvive, they thrive can really
be as simple as just putting insome really awesome routines
that are consistent, like areally good entry routine, a
really good exit routine, areally great routine for
transitions.
That's it.
Uh, you know, making sure you'vegot a system for recognizing the
(19:35):
strengths of your students,whether it's the celebration
cards or a post-it note on theirdesk or just whatever it might
be.
But at the end of the day, justseeing our students with ADHD as
the wonderful, unique, brillianthumans that every single student
that comes into our classroomis.
And I really hope that thisepisode has given you just a few
(19:56):
ideas on how you can supportstudents with ADHD because I get
that a lot.
Um, like, oh my gosh, I've gotthis student, he's got, you
know, an IEP and it's got he'sgot ADHD on there, I don't know
how to support him.
And I think often these plansare written by people who aren't
teachers themselves and they'renot really able to articulate
how the needs translate into amainstream classroom setting.
(20:19):
So if you take one thing awayfrom this episode and make it
this, what is good forneurodivergent students is good
for every single student.
Consistency, clarity,celebration, uh, all of those
things.
And just having that, likeholding that empathy of uh their
brains are different, they'rewired differently, and they need
(20:41):
certain things in order to sparkthat interest, that learning,
that engagement.
And I think you'll then just begolden and you'll be able to
work towards supporting themevery single day in whatever way
you can.
Okay, I hope that was helpful.
I am sending you all the bestfor the rest of the week.
Happy World Teachers Day.
You are freaking brilliant, andI will see you on the next
(21:04):
episode.
Bye for now.
Oh, hi there, teachers.
Welcome to the UnteachablesPodcast.
I'm your host, Claire English,and I am just a fellow teacher,
a toddler mama, and a big oldbehaviour nerd on a mission to
demystify and simplify thatlittle thing called classroom
management.
The way we've all been taught tomanage behaviour and classroom
manage has left us playing crowdcontrol, which is not something
(00:23):
I subscribe to because we're notbouncers, we're teachers.
So listen in as I walk youthrough the game-changing
strategies, and I mean thethings that we can actually do
and action in our classroomsthat will allow you to lean into
your beautiful values as acompassionate educator and feel
empowered to run your room witha little more calm and dare I
(00:43):
say it, a lot less chaos.
I will see you in the episode.
Hello there, teachers, welcometo the Unteachables Podcast.
Thank you for joining me herefor another day.
We're in October, which is wild,but this month is absolutely
(01:04):
chokers.
It is hectic October.
We've got so many differentthings happening.
We've got Black History Month,we've got World Mental Health
Day, World Teachers Day has justpassed on Sunday, but I'm
celebrating you like let's justsay that this is our month as
well.
We've got Halloween coming up atthe end of the month.
The spooky season is upon us.
(01:26):
And the one thing that I reallywant to talk about in today's
podcast episode, it is also ADHDAwareness Month.
So in today's podcast episode, Iwanted to talk you through some
powerful, just doable ways torecognize ADHD Awareness Month
in your classroom and supportyour students who have an ADHD
(01:49):
profile who are ADHDindividuals.
Now, I don't want anybodysitting there thinking, oh, you
know what?
Like I actually don't have anystudents with ADHD in my class,
or you know, I don't teachanybody who has a specific plan.
That does not matter.
It's really important thatyou're listening to the
following tips because not onlyare chances very high that you
(02:10):
are supporting students who areneurodivergent, but uh what is
good for students with ADHD isactually good for every single
student.
It's just good teachingpractice.
So the things that I'm going tobe talking through are going to
benefit you for every singlestudent in your classroom.
But of course, we're looking atthis through the lens of ADHD
Awareness Month.
(02:30):
And it is the perfect time forus to kind of move beyond some
stereotypes that have beenestablished with ADHD students,
build some understanding, buildsome empathy, and just kind of
support them in a better way, ina more meaningful way within
your classroom.
Kind of, you know, boost thatculture of inclusion in your
classroom.
(02:51):
So here are five powerful anddoable ways that you can, I want
to say, celebrate ADHD in yourclassroom this month, or bring
awareness to or recognize ADHDin your classroom.
All of the following are takenfrom this month's training
inside of the Behavior Club.
I welcomed Andy Hayes, who is anADHD coach.
(03:13):
He's a teacher himself, he's anADHD individual himself.
So I welcomed him into theBehavior Club this month.
I wanted him to come in andpresent.
I wanted to give him theplatform and the voice to be
able to present on ADHD.
And he did a brilliant job.
And these are just a fewtakeaways from that masterclass.
If you are in the behavior club,go and watch it.
It's brilliant.
(03:33):
And of course, then you get allof the resources that I'm
talking about as well to goalong with that.
So let's dig in.
Number one takeaway on how youcan, you know, really bring
light to students with ADHD inyour classroom is to give their
inner critic a break.
One of the most powerful thingsthat Andy shared in this
(03:55):
masterclass was that by age 12,many ADHD students have heard up
to 10,000 more negative commentsthan their peers.
Just think about what that woulddo to their confidence.
And he brought up a really goodpoint, which is, you know, think
about what, like the words ofADHD.
It's a disorder and it's adeficit.
(04:16):
So if you have been labeled withADHD, you're coming at it from a
place of, I have a deficit, likeI've got a disorder.
There's something wrong with mewhen that is not the case is a
neurodivergence.
So I think the the just the factthat they're slapped on a label
that has those two words in it,their inner critic is going to
(04:36):
be, you know, going wild andthey are seen in a certain way.
I think, especially young boyswith ADHD, they're looked upon
in a certain way.
So the best way that we can tryto give their inner critic a
break is just to catch thepositive in any way that we can.
Whether it's just a little like,hey, great job on the way out,
(04:58):
or a non-verbal to put your, youknow, your thumb up and to say,
like, you know, well done, or uhto explicitly name something
that they've done really well.
And looking at things outside ofjust, hey, you went really well
in that assignment, you know,like what are the other skills
and the other strengths thatstudents bring to us that we can
celebrate?
I love so if you're in thebehavior club or you've
(05:19):
purchased them, I've got mypositive post-its, and on those,
and they are something you canprint out.
Um, they're a really great wayto leave just unexpected like
reinforcements or you know,beautiful like positive comments
on the desk of a student, in thebook of a student, giving it to
them on the on the way out ofthe classroom.
(05:39):
And they're just really subtle,quick, but they're also super
meaningful.
Um, if you don't have thoseprintable post-its, just grab a
post-it and then scribble a noteon there saying, Hey, great job,
or you know, I love the way thatyou're able to focus today, or,
you know, all of those thingsthat might kind of get
overshadowed by some of thebehaviors that we might see, or
(06:01):
some of the other ways that ADHDmight be presenting itself in
the classroom.
If we can try to find thoseglimmers of amazing positive
work that these students do, notonly is it going to do a wonder
for their confidence, but it'sgoing to help us develop the
rapport that specifically ADHDbrains need in order to have
(06:21):
that buy-in to then work reallywell for us and engage with us.
Because that is another featureof the ADHD brain.
It needs to have that buy-in,that novelty.
There needs to be that dopamine.
And if we're able to providelike little hits of that with
leaving a little note on theirdesk or catching the positive in
(06:43):
some way, then it's going to dowonders for our students and our
rapport.
The next thing I wanted to speakabout was task initiation.
Because for the ADHD brain,getting started is often the
hardest part.
And executive functioningchallenges that are quite common
with ADHD profiles can make, youknow, those open-ended or
(07:05):
unstructured tasks really,really overwhelming.
So when it comes to supportingADHD students in the classroom,
really supporting that taskinitiation with clarity, but
also again with a little bit ofthat novelty because that's
going to give them the bestchance of not shutting down on
tasks, but like taking thosefirst little steps into getting
started.
(07:25):
I love to do this by visuallygiving students some structure
and some choices and like aclear, manageable first step.
And I do this in a way that, youknow, is really visual and it's
got novelty.
And I really feel like thatmakes a world of difference.
The one resource that I do usefor this, and the one that's
available inside of the club ifyou're inside of the club, or
you can make your own, that'salso fine, or you can just like
(07:46):
prop pop some prompts up on theboard, or maybe write one of
these down on a poster note andput it on your student's desk if
they're really struggling withtask initiation.
There's no right or wrong way todo this.
It's just about giving them thatinto the task.
The kinds of things you can askthem to do is draw a progress
bar and shade one section oncethey start.
(08:07):
You know, just write your name,date, and title at the top of
the page just to get started,pen to paper.
Um, write down the firstquestion or the heading into
your book, doodle a box to holdyour first paragraph or idea,
highlight or underline keywordsin the instructions, circle the
verbs that tell you what to do.
Um write just the first sentenceand then count those words to
(08:28):
celebrate.
Set a three-minute timer andthen brain dump your ideas as
quickly as you can.
Um, write three steps and tickthe first one off when you're
done, or write a mini goal forthe next five minutes.
Those are the kind of thingsthat I have on my Smooth Start
menu to just help with that taskinitiation because it is so
(08:49):
overwhelming for some students.
So if we're able just to give areally explicit small first step
to provide them with that in, itcan do wonders for getting us to
get them involved.
The next thing is to gain buy-inthrough novelty because the ADHD
brain thrives on novelty anddopamine.
And if interest doesn't sparkwith the lesson or with whatever
(09:13):
they're doing, the brain's notstarting up.
And so adding some novelty orplay or challenge can really
switch the brain onto whatyou're trying to do in the
classroom.
So I just like to make sure thatI'm adding some movement or
brain breaks, thinking about howI'm switching up, you know, how
I present my material.
A really good example of that isI like think just think about my
exit routine.
(09:34):
I will sometimes do exittickets.
Sometimes I'll do my exit doorspresentation.
So they get to choose a door towalk through, and then that door
leads them to a task.
Um, it's not a PowerPoint slide,by the way, they're not actually
walking through doors.
Um, but like, you know,sometimes I'll do an exit slip
on a post-it note.
Like there's different ways thatthey can like access the
learning, and it's kind ofkeeping a little bit of novelty
(09:56):
there, a little bit ofexcitement there.
I'm not saying that you need tolike make every lesson really,
really fun.
It's just about keeping a littlebit of novelty to allow students
to get involved in that andtheir brains to switch on.
And if you're not able to addnovelty in the lesson, if it is
just like a pretty stockstandard lesson, just try to
(10:17):
chuck in a three-minute chat, athree-minute brain break, a
movement break.
Get them to like, you know,stand up and shake it out,
whatever it is.
The most important thing here isfor us to just understand a
little bit about the brain, thethe brain of an ADHD student a
little bit better, because whenwe're able to understand, hey,
like it thrives on novelty, it'syou know, really hungry for
(10:39):
dopamine, if I'm not interestingthem, if there's no novelty
there, if I've got no challengethere, then if a student's
disengaged, then there might bea reason for that.
I think that just understandingthe brain better will help us to
support ADHD students better.
So that's why I wanted to talkabout the novelty aspect.
So I'm not saying you have to dolike a song and dance every
(11:00):
single lesson, but just beingaware that if you would like to
engage a student who does havean ADHD profile a little bit
more, you can inject some ofthat stuff and just give it a go
and see if that helps you toengage them.
Uh, number four, making routinesvisual, predictable, and crystal
clear.
(11:21):
This is why I talk about what isgood for students who are, you
know, neurodivergent.
What is good for them is goodfor every single student because
clear routines that are visualand predictable and crystal
clear will always reduceanxiety.
It'll always build trust, itwill always support
independence, working memory,and it is just good teaching
practice and it's going to helpus with our classroom management
(11:44):
so much.
It's going to help us have thosecalm lessons that we are
craving.
So, specifically for studentswho are neurodivergent, yes,
routines, predictability, havingthat clarity.
It's always going to be reallyhandy.
So just get your routines downand use visuals to reinforce
them.
Tools like task cards andlearning maps are brilliant
(12:05):
because when students walk in,they know exactly what they're
going to be doing.
Timers are really, reallyimportant because that's going
to, number one, increase thetask clarity.
But there's also that timeblindness that comes with ADHD.
So allowing students to see howmuch time they've got left, what
time is left in the lesson andin the task is really handy.
(12:26):
Um, learning maps, for me, to behonest, are like a huge
non-negotiable because it justsupports all of the students
that are in our class so somuch.
So just give those a go.
Just think like, are my routinesvisual?
Is everything predictable?
When students walk into mylesson, do they know what to
expect?
Is this reducing thedysregulation of some of my
(12:48):
students with a more, you know,complex profile?
Whether it is because they haveADHD or because they are, you
know, struggling with uhdisorganized attachment or
whatever it might be, routinesare golden, visual, predictable,
crystal, clear.
The fifth one, the final one,and this is a beautiful one to
(13:08):
end on because it's just allabout celebrating strengths and
not just struggles.
In the beginning, I spoke abouthow ADHD, like students will be
diagnosed with ADHD and they aregoing to see in their mind
deficit and disorder.
And that is not what we want forthem to be labeling themselves
(13:29):
at.
And if we're going to becompletely honest, teachers, and
it just happens because whensomething is in our minds, then
that kind of becomes the waythat we respond to the world.
When we see a student's got ADHDand we have our own perception
of what ADHD means in aclassroom of 30 students that
we're trying to teach, sometimesthat can automatically, without
(13:51):
us even realizing it, impact theway that we approach these
students, treat these students.
It is just the way that it is.
So we have to be reallycognizant of focusing on the
strengths of ADHD and really,you know, supporting our
students to see their strengthsas well.
If we are able to take theunique strengths of an
(14:13):
individual with ADHD, we aregoing to be able to really help
them to build their confidence.
We're able to build rapport withthem better, we're able to
engage them better in thelearning.
It can be life-changing just forus to be able to go, hey, like
look at the strengths that youhave, rather than going, you've
got ADHD deficit disorder, andlike kind of adding to those
(14:35):
10,000 negative, more negativecomments that students with ADHD
receive by the time they're 12years old.
Um, so you know, really helpyour class celebrate the unique
strengths and superpowers thatcome with not just having ADHD,
but just being an individualhuman that isn't a robot, that
isn't just going to, what's thatthing?
(14:55):
Like tell a fish to climb a treeand obviously the monkey's gonna
win.
I don't know what the what theanalogy is, right?
But it's so true.
Like when we set a standard forevery single student in our
classroom and say, like, theonly thing that matters in here
is that you get an A, it's notgoing to work for any of our
students, let alone students whoare neurodivergent.
So make it your mission to just,especially in ADHD Awareness
(15:19):
Month, but of course every dayof the year, just to notice and
name the strengths of yourstudents, whether it is that
they were participating or thatthey were really kind, that they
showed confidence, or, you know,they were really good friends or
teammates, or they were reallydetermined, or they had some
really interesting ideas oranything that might support them
(15:43):
to see the strengths and thebeautiful things about what they
bring to the classroom and thecommunity.
The more we can do that, themore engaged they're going to
show up and be because they'regoing to go, hey, like my
teacher sees me for more thanthe deficit and the disorder.
Like my teacher sees me for mystrengths and my ability to, you
(16:06):
know, like get everybody talkingor my strengths to be a good
friend, or my strengths toactually nail an essay if that
is their strength.
Like that is also reallyimportant.
But uh, a really good way that Ido this is through my
celebration cards.
I don't like to give, you know,like tangible rewards or
(16:26):
anything like that.
I try to do everything I can toboost their intrinsic
motivation.
But the one kind of tangiblething that I do give are these
um celebration cards.
They're really high novelty,which is great for the ADHD
brain, and they're really highimpact in a class.
I love them because uh it can bereally cheesy.
(16:48):
It's really, really cheesy.
And my middle schoolers, youknow, my year eights, oh Miss,
you're so embarrassing, but theyabsolutely love them.
So I just have uh the ones thatI've got inside of the club at
the moment are brand new.
So I did redo them in theclassroom prior to this.
I had just like four differentcards with different characters
on them.
(17:09):
Um, but now I've got 40different characters that all
kind of celebrate differentunique strengths.
So I've got, I'm just looking atthe cards here.
So I've got like the powerfulpineapple, you push through
challenges, or the participationpotato, you smashed the lesson
by joining in.
The cool cucumber, you stayedchill like a champ.
So if they're like, you know,wanting to work on their
(17:30):
regulation and you can celebratethem for that.
Uh, the epic egg, you crackedthe learning wide open.
The confident corn, you poppedup with some awesome ideas.
So uh these cards, there's 40 ofthem, there's a lot of them.
If you are in the club, you candownload them.
If not, I'll pop the link in theshow notes for you because
they're a lot of fun.
(17:52):
I uh print about print out abunch, I keep them in a folder,
and I'll just hand them out,whether it's students leaving
the room, whether it's likepopping them in their books
after a lesson, like I'll justhand these out like wild.
Like I won't wait until like anaward day or anything like that.
It's just another kind ofversion of a positive post-it.
It's just another way toacknowledge and recognize the
(18:12):
strengths that your students arebringing.
But I feel like any way, and bythe way, one of my behavior
clubbers came to me, she's like,oh my gosh, like there was one
student who I have beenstruggling with all year.
I started using these cards, andafter one week, he started to
respond really positively to me.
He was asking, when am I, youknow, like, oh, am I gonna get
the participation potato?
(18:33):
So all of that to say, you don'thave to use these cards.
I'm just trying to give you anexample of how we can celebrate
the student strengths and notjust the struggles, and we can
highlight the brilliant thingsthat they're bringing to our
classroom, regardless of thechallenges that they might have
in that kind of reallytraditional kind of educational
(18:54):
setting.
But recognizing ADHD AwarenessMonth really can just be as
simple as creating littlemoments of novelty, of clarity,
of connection, of celebrationthroughout the day.
And this can be done every dayof the year.
But when I'm talking about ADHDAwareness Month, I want to talk
about it on the podcast reallyexplicitly.
(19:14):
But, you know, making ourclassrooms a place where
neurodiverse students don't justsurvive, they thrive can really
be as simple as just putting insome really awesome routines
that are consistent, like areally good entry routine, a
really good exit routine, areally great routine for
transitions.
That's it.
Uh, you know, making sure you'vegot a system for recognizing the
(19:35):
strengths of your students,whether it's the celebration
cards or a post-it note on theirdesk or just whatever it might
be.
But at the end of the day, justseeing our students with ADHD as
the wonderful, unique, brillianthumans that every single student
that comes into our classroomis.
And I really hope that thisepisode has given you just a few
(19:56):
ideas on how you can supportstudents with ADHD because I get
that a lot.
Um, like, oh my gosh, I've gotthis student, he's got, you
know, an IEP and it's got he'sgot ADHD on there, I don't know
how to support him.
And I think often these plansare written by people who aren't
teachers themselves and they'renot really able to articulate
how the needs translate into amainstream classroom setting.
(20:19):
So if you take one thing awayfrom this episode and make it
this, what is good forneurodivergent students is good
for every single student.
Consistency, clarity,celebration, uh, all of those
things.
And just having that, likeholding that empathy of uh their
brains are different, they'rewired differently, and they need
(20:41):
certain things in order to sparkthat interest, that learning,
that engagement.
And I think you'll then just begolden and you'll be able to
work towards supporting themevery single day in whatever way
you can.
Okay, I hope that was helpful.
I am sending you all the bestfor the rest of the week.
Happy World Teachers Day.
You are freaking brilliant, andI will see you on the next
(21:04):
episode.
Bye for now.
Popular Podcasts
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
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.