I have a love/hate relationship with September. I love that school starts again and we ease our way back into the routines and rhythms of fall, but with each new school year comes a bit of anxiety for me. With all my children having ADHD I find myself worrying about how their school year is going to go. Will the teacher see my child for who they really are and not just their challenges? Will my child make friends, or will they be picked on for the things that make them unique and amazing but that don’t fit the norms? Over the years I’ve discovered that there is one thing I can do right away in September that sets the stage for a strong and successful year.
Each year (every new semester, actually) with the permission of my kids, I take the time to write an email to all their teachers and any support staff that may be working with them to introduce us and open lines of communication. I start off by bragging about my child and listing many of the wonderful things that I enjoy about them or that they are good at or interested in. I want the teachers to be excited about teaching my child and I want to help them see their strengths and the things that make them fascinating and fun.
Next, I will talk about their diagnosis and the things that get in their way at school. Since each of my children have different presentations of ADHD this is a specific list to identify their unique challenges. This section of my email includes a polite request for any simple accommodations that would be very helpful for the teachers to implement to support them. If that section is a bit wordy, I’ll do a quick bullet point summary of our requests after that. And the last section is all about thanking them for their support and letting them know that I’m always available if they have any questions or concerns.
I have had very positive results from this simple step. Most of the teachers email me back thanking me for the information and letting me know how useful that was. It’s made it much easier throughout the year to check in with them and follow up on missing assignments or other concerns that I have, and I notice that the teachers seem very comfortable approaching me with any of their concerns as well.
Here’s a sample of an email I sent for one of my high school students just this year.
Hello Everyone,
I’m Rebecca’s mom and Rebecca has asked me to reach out to each of you as the semester starts, to open lines of communication and set her up for success. For those who already know her, this is a just a quick reminder of some of the things that are important for you to remember about her throughout the year.
If you’re meeting Rebecca for the first time, I’m sure you will enjoy having her in your class. She is very creative, personable, and kind. She loves nature, creating art, singing, and reading. She is currently enjoying reading the Brandon Sanderson epic fantasy series “The Stormlight Archives” and will talk to you about it for hours if given the chance. She is bright, articulate and has a great sense of humour.
Rebecca also has Inattentive ADHD which often impacts her schoolwork. It can make it difficult for her to focus, be motivated in classes she isn’t interested in and most notably, to stay organized, remember to complete assignments and get them turned in on time. We are working on building skills and creating systems that will help her to stay on track but there are few things that you could do that would really help Rebecca to be successful.
Rebecca has a very difficult time remembering instructions that are given verbally – especially many steps at a time. Whenever possible, it’s far better if the instructions for an assignment to be written down with clear expectations, deadlines, and parameters and, preferably, included on Google classroom in case the paper copy (if there is one) goes missing. Frequent reminders about upcoming deadlines, tests or quizzes would be appreciated and if they could also be emailed to Rebecca and cc’d to me that would be a tremendous help as we work on tracking assignments, and time management for planning homework and study time. Having a quiet place with minimal distractions and extra time on tests would also be a welcomed support.
On days where focus is a struggle it would also be much appreciated if accommodations could be given whenever possible to allow for things like frequent breaks, a different (less distracting) place to work (could be within the classroom or somewhere else in the school as available and appropriate), or for Rebecca to be able to request something in the moment if a need arises (headphones for minimizing distractions, fidgets to increase her ability to pay attention come to mind as possibilities).
We recognize it is not always possible to provide every accommodation when requested, but we would appreciate it so much if the attitude and the default position is to say yes as often as possible when Rebecca identifies that she’s having difficulty focusing and is advocating for herself.
Quick summary:
- Written instructions are preferred and hopefully added in Google Classroom
- Frequent reminders of upcoming due dates, quizzes, and tests – preferably emailed and cc’d to me.
- Access to accommodations on days when Rebecca struggles to focus.
- A quiet space and extra time to write tests whenever possible
If you have any questions about ADHD in general or about how it impacts her specifically, I would be happy to talk more with you. I am an ADHD coach and have 6 children with various presentations of ADHD. I have a lot of lived experience with the wide variety of impacts it can have on students and I am always happy to offer support wherever I can.
Looking forward to getting to know you more in the coming months. Thank you for all you do as an educator and for working with us this year to ensure Rebecca’s success. You are deeply appreciated!
Warmly,
Tammy Barclay
I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions about this leave them in the comments below and if you try this for yourself let me know how it went. Wishing you a wonderful school year with your kids!