ADHD is one of the most common learning differences in children — and one of the most misunderstood. It is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects executive function, meaning children with ADHD may struggle with task initiation, working memory, emotional regulation, and impulse control.
Here, we’ll share strategies for supporting a child with ADHD at home and in school. We’ll cover practical ways to help them socially and academically, including:
- Organizational tools to manage tasks and track progress toward goals
- Multisensory learning environments to support how they process and retain new information
- Movement-based learning strategies that channel hyperactivity, not against it
- Techniques for emotional and behavioral regulation to help them stay in the best frame of mind for learning
We’ll also delve deeper into how ADHD affects children — and why each student needs an individualized approach rather than a one-size-fits-all strategy.
The expertise in this article comes from teachers and experts at Fusion Academy, a private middle and high school with over 80 campuses across the US and a comprehensive online learning program. Both options offer tailored teaching for students with ADHD and other learning differences. Find out more here.
How Does ADHD Manifest in Children?
ADHD affects children in different ways. There are four distinct subtypes of ADHD, and each can manifest differently depending on a child’s age and gender.
Let’s start by breaking down the subtypes:
Inattentive-Type ADHD
Inattentive-type ADHD shows up as difficulty sustaining attention and a tendency to avoid focused tasks. Children with inattentive ADHD may daydream, and they often seem to space out during conversations (importantly, this doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not listening). They can also struggle with forgetfulness, which leads to difficulty following instructions and a tendency to lose objects — like leaving pencil cases, coats, or homework items at school.
If you’re more familiar with the term “ADD” (attention deficit disorder) than “ADHD” (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder), know that ADD is an older term for inattentive-type ADHD. The language of ADHD and its subtypes comes from the DSM-5, the handbook used by healthcare professionals in the US as a guide to the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD and other learning differences.
Hyperactive-Impulsive Type ADHD
Hyperactive ADHD is often what people picture when they think of the condition — especially in young children, and particularly in boys. It manifests as excessive talking and fidgeting, discomfort with silence, difficulty resting, and impatience.
In younger children, this may look like trouble taking turns in games or conversations, leaving their seat during lessons, or running and climbing when it isn’t appropriate.
Combined-Type ADHD
Children are diagnosed with combined-type ADHD when they show symptoms of both inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity.
Beyond these core challenges, they may also experience sleep difficulties, struggles with sensory processing, and problems with working memory and recall. Over time, these difficulties can manifest as low self-esteem (something we’ll explore later on).
Unspecified-Type ADHD
When a child doesn’t meet all the criteria for a specific ADHD subtype but still experiences symptoms that impact their daily life, they’re categorized as having unspecified-type ADHD.
Along with the different subtypes, it’s important to remember that ADHD looks different in every child.
For example, Dr. Marta M. Shinn, Ph.D., explains how ADHD affects boys and girls differently.
Dr. Shinn is quick to bust the myth that ADHD only affects boys: “We do see ADHD in girls; it is more challenging to diagnose because their symptoms tend to be less overt.” Whereas parents and teachers might quickly suspect that a boy who shouts out and wriggles his way through lessons might have ADHD, a girl who’s anxious about her struggles to focus might fly under the radar for much longer.
What’s more, a child’s age shapes how ADHD manifests. Younger children might impulsively climb on classroom furniture to burn energy, while older children and adolescents may seem restless — or experience that restlessness internally. This can also make ADHD harder to identify.
You can listen to Dr. Shinn’s Learning Differently Podcast here.
How ADHD Impacts a Child’s Life and Learning
However their ADHD symptoms manifest, these learning differences can affect a child’s life both inside and outside the classroom. For example:
- Sustained attention: Difficulty focusing for a full class period can cause them to miss key concepts and fall behind classmates.
- Task initiation and prioritization: Trouble starting or organizing work makes it harder to complete assignments on time, which can impact grades.
- Emotional and behavioral regulation: Struggles with regulation can make it difficult to get in the right frame of mind for learning, disrupt the rest of the class, and lead to a breakdown of their relationships with teachers.
- Social interactions: Interrupting, talking over classmates, or struggling with eye contact can make it harder to build supportive friendships.
Again, ADHD affects children in different ways. Some may struggle in all of these areas, leading to failed classes and a loss of love for learning. Research reflects this reality: one study found that children with ADHD are 2.7 times more likely to drop out before high school graduation, while another found that students with ADHD are 3x more likely to repeat a grade.
For others, the challenges are harder to spot in the classroom but can manifest at home as anxiety and stress around homework and school attendance.
The most important thing to remember is that ADHD is not a reflection of a child’s capability.
As Dr. Shinn explains, “ADHD is not a reflection of intelligence; it’s a difference in executive function.” Children with ADHD don’t need to try harder — they need evidence-based accommodations that support the way they learn.
Supporting Children with ADHD
There are many strategies to support children with ADHD both at home and at school.
At home, they may need help completing routines, building confidence, and starting the day in a positive frame of mind. In school, they may need support that helps them focus, develop social skills, and process the busy, often distracting environment.
It often takes some trial and error to find what works best for an individual child — but these strategies are an effective place to start.
4 Strategies for Home
1. Create Clear Routines and Structures
Dr. Shinn sums it up perfectly: “Routine is what ADHD brains naturally resist. But structure is what they desperately need.”
Even if children with ADHD push back against routines, predictability supports their executive function and helps them manage the challenges of the condition.
At home, children need a routine presented in a way that works for them, not against them. This often looks like visual checklists that offer some flexibility and choice.
For example, an after-school checklist could include items like:
- Completing homework
- Practicing a musical instrument
- Laying out clothes for the next day
- Repacking school bags
- Taking a bath
The order doesn’t matter — the goal is simply finishing the school day and preparing for a smooth morning. A visual checklist shows a child what’s expected and how much is left to do, providing the right mix of autonomy and structure while building habits that ease stress for the entire family.
Dr. Shinn also notes that routine is particularly important for children when they move from elementary school to middle or high school:
“Your day as an elementary school student is routinized … But then you’re in sixth/seventh grade, and now you’ve got to do it. Students are ill-equipped to make that transition in general. If on top of that, you’re a student who has ADHD, now your cracks really show.”
While routines are always helpful, they become especially important during big transitions, like the move to a new school.
2. Recognize That ADHD and Anxiety Go Hand in Hand
Children with ADHD are very likely to struggle with their overall mental health — in fact, CDC data shows that 4 in 10 children with ADHD also have anxiety.
For example, if a child faces social challenges at school or gets stuck in a cycle of disruptive behavior, their confidence can start to erode. Many people with ADHD also describe the “shame cycle” of knowing they need to complete a task but being unable to focus, which only increases their anxiety.
ADHD is also widely underreported. Over 10% of children aged 3–17 have been officially diagnosed, but the true number is likely higher. That means many children attend school without the accommodations they need to support their learning — leading to more frustration, worry, and mental health struggles.
Recognizing how often ADHD and anxiety coexist is the first step to supporting children effectively. You’ll find more resources on how to help a child with anxiety here.
3. Offer Connection, Not Correction
Connecting with a child with ADHD is more important than correcting them. For example, if a child forgets an assignment until the last minute — it’s important to take a breath and avoid slipping into frustration.
While it’s easy for a parent or caregiver’s first response to be, “Why can’t you just remember this?” empathy is far more likely to help the child. A response like, “That’s tough. I forget things too,” removes blame, dismantles shame, and builds the atmosphere of trust that helps the child to regulate themselves at home.
4. Find a Point of Contact at School
When you’re the parent or caregiver of a student with a learning difference, there are times when you have to be your child’s advocate. ADHD is no different. It’s important to find a contact to:
- Discuss your child’s behavior and needs at home versus in the school environment
- Share any treatment plan they have from their pediatrician or your family’s healthcare provider
- Talk about options for additional support, special education provision, or behavior therapy
- Maintain open communication
This is particularly important if ADHD leads to problems for a child socially, for example, if they struggle with friendships or experience bullying. A school contact can help coordinate accommodations, share detailed feedback, and highlight the child’s progress — not just areas where they need more support, but also the “wins” and positive behaviors that deserve celebration.
4 Strategies for the Classroom
1. Prepare the Environment to Remove Distractions
Children with ADHD, especially those diagnosed with the inattentive or combined subtype, are often more distractible than their peers. They may have periods of hyperfocus, where they’re so absorbed in a task that they lose track of time, but they can also be thrown off by things other children barely notice — like a car passing by or the feeling of their socks in their shoes.
While it’s impossible to remove every distraction, teachers can prepare the learning environment to minimize them. For example: placing a clock at the back of the classroom, reducing the number of posters around the whiteboard, decluttering desks, or closing doors and windows to cut down on noise. These adjustments help students with ADHD focus for as long as possible during a lesson.
2. Organize and Prepare Learning Materials Clearly
Many children with ADHD struggle to break down tasks. Teachers can support them by presenting learning materials in clear, achievable steps and by starting lessons with a rundown of what’s ahead. This sets clear expectations from the start and gives students an entry point into a new topic or complex task.
Visual cues can also make a big difference — for example, including diagrams of each stage in a science experiment, or using color-coding in a language class to distinguish between speaking, listening, writing, and group work.
Together, these strategies make it easier for children with ADHD to overcome barriers to starting a new activity and to remain engaged.
3. Help the Child to Move During Class
Children with hyperactive-impulsive ADHD often process information better when they can move. Movement breaks are important, but ideally students need a learning environment where movement is continuous — not just an outlet before returning to sitting still.
Teachers can integrate movement into lessons by:
- Offering flexible seating that engages large muscle groups, like yoga balls, swivel chairs, or foot swings.
- Providing plush seating for added sensory input.
- Designing group work that requires students to get up and move around the room to find partners.
- Gamify learning so students move around while engaging with class material.
- Inviting students to the whiteboard or to examine physical resources up close.
4. Work with a Child’s Rhythm, Not Against It
Dr. Shinn notes that students with ADHD generally work better in “sprints, not marathons.” Ideally, teachers identify an ADHD student’s natural rhythm and focus time, and tailor lessons around those windows.
While students may still have to do additional work at home to consolidate the chunk of knowledge they covered during that “micro-lesson,” they leave the classroom with an understanding of the core concept, and they’re less likely to fall behind.
The key takeaway: accommodations for children with ADHD don’t have to be complicated. In fact, a learning environment that supports ADHD benefits all students.
As Dr. Shinn says:
“If we could figure out how to create educational systems specifically designed for individuals with ADHD and executive functioning challenges, we would be designing an education system that would work for all students.”
But despite this, the odds are still stacked against children with ADHD.
Why Students with ADHD Struggle at Traditional Schools
Even with accommodations, students with ADHD face challenges in traditional schools.
- Large classes are full of distractions. For students who already struggle with executive function, the sensory overload of a typical classroom makes the symptoms of ADHD even harder to regulate.
- Limited understanding from school staff. Many teachers are trained to reprimand behaviors that look disruptive — like fidgeting, forgetfulness, or calling out — but these are learning differences, not character flaws.
- Slow pace of support. It can take months to implement systems that help a child, only for them to change grades or for their ADHD symptoms to shift in new ways.
- One-size-fits-all accommodations. Standard strategies, like giving every student with a learning difference 30 extra minutes to complete tests. While these accommodations can be helpful for some children, they can also have no effect for others. For many, more time doesn’t mean more progress, it can just mean more time feeling stuck before their brain is ready to engage.
In many ways, the traditional school environment creates a perfect storm. Children with ADHD have unique needs, but the size and structure of most schools makes personalized learning difficult to provide.
Worst of all, as students get older, they start to recognize this — and when they realize the school system isn’t supportive, they often begin to withdraw.
How Fusion Academy Helps Students with ADHD
Fusion Academy is a nationally accredited private school for middle and high school students. Unlike traditional schools, our programs offer either one-to-one learning or very small group classes.
This one-to-one model is especially well-suited to children with ADHD. Teachers can adapt lessons in real time to the child in front of them, helping them stay focused, drawing on their interests, and allowing the movement they often need to learn effectively.
Fusion has small, tight-knit campuses — typically 100 students or fewer. This structure removes many of the distractions and pressures of a traditional school. Instead of a crowded, overwhelming learning environment, Fusion Academy offers a community where students with ADHD and other learning differences can feel comfortable, supported, and able to focus.
We also pride ourselves on the quality of the student and family experience. Many students with ADHD come to Fusion after struggling in a traditional school setting — whether with academic performance, feelings of isolation, or anxiety related to ADHD. Fusion’s personalized, empathetic, and communicative approach helps break these patterns and allows children to rediscover a love of learning.
Fusion’s programs for children with ADHD include:
- Full-time programs for middle school and high school in a full range of subjects.
- Classes for credit to make up a grade, get ahead, or tackle a difficult subject.
- Core and elective tutoring packages to supplement learning across 300+ courses.
- Specialized tutoring for students with learning differences and executive function challenges.
- Math and reading-specific tutoring packages, including unique remediation classes tailored to a student’s specific learning gaps.
- Summer programs to catch up, get ahead, or explore new interests.
Personalized, One-to-One Teaching
At Fusion, each child receives one-to-one attention from a teacher for the entire length of their class. This model creates a fully personalized learning experience.
The teacher can work with a student until they’ve mastered a concept, tailor lesson materials to their interests and goals, and adapt the pace to match their needs.
For example, let’s return to the strategies we discussed in the first part of this post, and look at how a Fusion teacher can prepare the learning environment for a student with ADHD.
Whereas students in large classes have to complete material at the same pace as their peers, Fusion teachers can introduce new concepts when the child is ready. If a child needs more time to understand the material, they can provide it. If a student grasps a concept quickly, they can accelerate the pace. And, if a student is particularly focused on one aspect of the curriculum, the teacher can provide more material to fuel their curiosity.
Fusion teachers can also respond to the student’s needs on a particular day.
Say a student with ADHD comes to a class having gone a few hours without a proper movement break. In this case, the teacher and student can cover the material on their feet — either standing at a whiteboard together or going through the lesson as a “walk and talk.”
What’s more, Fusion teachers are mentors who also support students in understanding how they learn best. For students with ADHD, this can look like:
- Walking them through the process of breaking down a complex task, so it gradually becomes easier for them to initiate tasks independently.
- Showing them how to take notes in a way that helps them focus during class and review the material later.
- Helping them with strategies to organize their calendars so they don’t overlook tasks or appointments.
In essence, Fusion teachers help students understand what their brains and bodies need to learn, instead of how to suppress those impulses for the duration of the lesson.
To learn more about our approach, take a look at our student testimonials, including several from students with ADHD.
How Personalized Learning Happens at Fusion
Fusion’s personalized learning model creates class schedules and lesson plans tailored to each student. These strategies are developed in several stages.
First, a new student and their family meet with the Head of School (the Fusion Academy equivalent of a principal). During this meeting, we discuss the child’s goals, previous school experience, ADHD challenges, and their academic strengths and weaknesses.
Then, we use two initial assessments during enrollment:
- MAP® testing: Developed by NWEA, this adaptive assessment covers Language Usage, Mathematics, and Reading. Questions adjust to the student’s performance, and the results help us identify which course content a student has already mastered.
- Mindprint Learning: A cognitive assessment that gives Fusion teachers insight into a student’s learning process, including executive function, reasoning, and processing speed.
The insights from these assessments are shared with the student’s future teachers, allowing them to tailor their lesson plans, materials, and learning environment. This creates a curriculum designed around each student’s unique needs.
Personalization also extends to the structure of a student’s daily schedule.
Students and their families can choose the days and times that best suit their needs. Fusion campuses are typically open from 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM, which leaves space for flexible scheduling that accommodates each student’s learning preferences and lifestyle.
For students with ADHD, classes can be scheduled around prolonged movement breaks. Fusion also offers an online alternative — Fusion Global Academy — with even greater flexibility. If a student learns better in the evening, for example, they can opt to take classes after the traditional school day ends. This flexibility is key to helping students succeed and feel supported.
As a student settles into Fusion, our approach evolves to match their progress. Teachers collaborate by sharing notes and discussing strategies, creating a wider ecosystem of support that follows the child throughout their time at Fusion.
Alongside this personalized approach in school, we provide daily feedback to keep communication open with families. Fusion teachers send regular reports by email to let parents know what was covered in the class and how the child engaged with the material.
Fusion’s Supportive Homework Café
Fusion Academy campuses have two dedicated Homework Cafés where students can complete assignments, get extra help, and connect with peers.
We offer:
- The Quiet Homework Café: A structured space where students work on their assignments individually or in groups. Teachers are available for support, and the space is overseen by the Director of Student Life. Time here is built into each student’s schedule, equal to the time they spend in class.
- The Social Homework Café: A lively space for lunch, student clubs, events, and presentations — giving students a chance to relax, connect, and build friendships.
Students can choose the environment that makes it easiest for them to concentrate and learn. Some children with ADHD thrive when surrounded by peers, while others need silence and additional support from teachers. The Homework Café helps them discover what works best for them.
Time in the Homework Cafés also means students can complete coursework on campus — so homework doesn’t have to go home. For families used to nightly battles over projects and assignments, this eases evening stress and lets students fully decompress when the school day ends.
Learn More About Fusion Academy
This post highlighted Fusion Academy’s personalized teaching approach and programs for students with ADHD and other learning differences. But Fusion also offers:
- A vibrant social experience with clubs and events that span a wide range of interests.
- Field trips, volunteering, and service opportunities to connect with the wider community.
- A global community that fosters friendships and engagement beyond the classroom.
- Post-secondary counseling services to leverage a child’s unique strengths, interests, and aptitudes as they explore their options for the future.
Contact us today to see how we can personalize a learning program for your child.
