The Help I Want by Jason, a 9 year old with ADHD

To Sit in a Quiet Place

“I don’t want to bother anyone but I like to sit in a place where it’s quieter and not that much like going on around me.  It’s ok if I’m in the back or kind of by myself because I’m more comfortable if I can focus better and also I make a lot of noise and I don’t want to bother other people.  When there’s too much noise around me I either get mad or I get distracted and start messing around so it’s better to just let me sit alone and then I kind of don’t have those problems as much. I know I can be pretty annoying because I move a lot and with the noise thing too so it’s probably better for others kids honestly too.  I know I can distract other kids a lot.”  

“Sometimes it helps me to function and to do my work to sit by my teacher because sometimes it feels like I’m just like in some other world and I don’t know what to do so when she’s near me it reminds me of what to do. I prefer to sit, like, at a table with her because I think I do my work better. When I’m distracted I like for her to allow me to come sit by her also because it’s quieter and that helps me a lot. I like to be able to go work at her table if I need to but I have to be truthful and say that I don’t like if teachers get close to me too much all the time if I don’t feel comfortable with them because sometimes it makes me feel, like, a little awkward. I like it better when they let me go over to them when I need to be next to them.”

Help to Follow the Rules

“A lot of teachers keep reminding me of the rules and telling me stuff like how I hurt someone or am doing things that are bad for the classroom community.  I already understand the rules and already feel sad when I hurt someone.  Actually when they just keep repeating it I feel even more sad and embarrassed.  I don’t mean to sound rude or something but I already know that.  I would rather the teacher just remind me to calm down or give me a chance to calm myself down.  That’s actually the problem, I get so mad and frustrated and then it’s really hard to follow the rules when I feel like that all at once.”

Directions I Can Remember

“I can’t understand a bunch of instructions at a time.  Sometimes I don’t remember or understand one.  When people tell me a lot of things to do at once, I don’t know where to start, it all just sounds like blah, blah, blah in my head.  Don’t get me wrong, I want to do them, I just feel, like, overwhelmed.  I need teachers to understand that I am trying to do them even though sometimes it looks like I’m not because I get distracted and start doing something else.  Just like remind me and then I’ll focus and that helps me get back on track.  I always have a lot of random stuff in my head so it makes it hard to do everything someone’s telling me to do.  I think if teachers wouldn’t make such confusing statements it would be easier for me.  Like maybe write it on a paper or let me do it alone.”

Help Me Learn about Stuff I’m Interested in

“I am very interested in a lot of things and want to learn and be smart.  I wish I could learn about things that I’m interested in and already curious about.  I ask my mom a lot of questions and we watch videos together about all kinds of random stuff like volcanoes, Martin Luther King, the planets, the Pilgrims, and a lot of things.  I also really like to build stuff and to figure out how things work.  I wish my mom could homeschool me so that I could learn more because I feel like school is repeatedly Math, Writing, and Reading.  I know that’s important but I want to learn about things too.”  

If you have a strategy or strategies that you are already successfully using or find one that you would like to share, please tweet about it with the hashtag #ADHDGlobalConvo.

I Can Learn When I’m Moving: Going to School With ADHD was written with a lot of help from Jason and is full of kid approved, research based best practices for ADHDers that benefit ALL learners. Available on Amazon https://bit.ly/icanlearnwhenimove

Nicole provides flexible, custom professional development for schools and districts. Her passion is supporting teachers so that they can better support children with ADHD. Be sure to subscribe at NicoleBiscotti.com and follow Nicole on Twitter at @BiscottiNicole