ADHD, also known as attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, has been known to be a struggle for anyone who has and manages it. As a student at capital who has ADHD I can say it can be very difficult to concentrate on certain tasks.

This topic can be reaching importance to us specifically as we are teenagers in high-school. Attention is hard and we don’t always have an excellent attention span. As a senior in high school, it is my main priority to try and focus so i can walk at graduation. Not only that but some teachers can go heavy on the work and not being able to concentrate on tasks makes the workload worse for us as it stacks up.

As i had interviewed a student and teacher from capital high-school, I got their input on what it’s like to have ADHD and the accommodations that should be provided. I had an interview with Alexander Walters, getting his input on tasks and how they cooperate with his ADHD.

“Focusing can be really difficult, as well as procrastination. It’s hard to summarize the experience of having ADHD in schools, because everyone’s is so different, but handling certain textures and sounds are really hard too and the noises and lights of/in the school can be really overwhelming.  For me, I use Google Calendars to mark the important dates, like graduation and use the Schoology “Upcoming” section to just follow it like a list.

I allow myself time to get distracted for a few before finishing my work. Also, for me, recognizing that having a few missing assignments is okay and won’t kill my grade really helps. I don’t have a high standard for my grade, like keeping all A’s and just do what I can handle.”

As though the school is okay with accommodations, it’s important to recognize what accommodations need to be met. I had talked with my math teacher, Louis Avden, at Capital High School. As math is one of my worst tasks to focus on when in school I find that he has helped make it a safe and caring learning environment.

“I do accommodate students with ADHD. I am flexible with expectations around certain behaviors. For example, I may excuse note-taking for a student who is watching the lesson but does not write anything down if that is not how they learn. I also give preferential seating to students who need to fidget more than others; I will often seat them against a wall or near the back. I may also shorten assignments for students for whom a longer assignment is counter-productive. I don’t know how much accommodation other teachers are doing, but in general, I think students with ADHD should be accepted and celebrated, and we should develop new expectations that work for each student.”

 Although ADHD is a struggle and there are a lot of downsides, there shouldn’t be a stigma to represent those with ADHD. We are all unique and who knows maybe it could be something you work with rather than against. What will the ADHD rates for new incoming students hold? Will there be better accommodations? We may never know the answer to these questions.