From the pupil’s point of view, adults are always annoyed with you, saying that you’ve forgotten things or done something silly. They tell you off when you don’t do things but you might not have heard the initial instructions or warning. It feels like you only find out that something is wrong once you have already done it. Then adults spend ages asking you why you did things and telling you off when you had no idea that you had missed the information in the first place. It makes you feel like people are picking on you and trying to make you seem stupid.
It’s hard making and keeping friends. At school other kids wind you up because they know you will react and you seem to get the blame for everything. It’s pretty miserable and unfair. If you had something wrong that people could see, they would be more understanding but they can’t see that your brain isn’t receiving a perfect signal so you don’t get any sympathy at all!
How does it feel from a teacher’s point of view?
Pupils with ADHD can be very difficult to manage in the classroom so many teachers feel challenged by their behaviour. Teaching is pretty stressful anyway but when a pupil seems to be constantly fidgeting, getting out of their seat and interrupting, it disrupts the whole class. It’s not surprising that teachers often feel that one pupil is in danger of holding all the others back.
Facing mountains not molehills!
For pupils with ADD and ADHD, minor distractions, which don’t bother the other pupils, can be a real problem. Sometimes their work is very sloppy; their homework is late or forgotten altogether. Instructions seem to go in one ear and out the other so that pupils always seem to be forgetting things. Pupils with ADHD can be reckless and impulsive. Socially, they are awkward and can seem rude or aggressive without meaning to. Peers may sense that the pupil with ADHD is odd and quirky. The fact that most pupils over-react to teasing means they are an easy target and often get the blame, as they can’t stop if the teacher appears.
This information has been jointly produced by the Behaviour Support Project of Bracknell Forest Education Department and Bracknell Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.