Back-to-School Planning for ADHD Success Begins Now
Summertime is the best time of year for many children with ADHD. The summer offers a chance for your child to have a flexible structure with little cognitive demand and expectations. Summers offer opportunities for socialization, outdoor play and being in nature. Returning to school for a child with ADHD is stressful, resulting in overwhelming cognitive overload. But there is a level of planning you can initiate to help your child succeed. And right now is the ideal time to start thinking about transitioning back to school.
Cheryl Chase, PhD is an ADHD behavioral specialist and recently gave a webinar, “Mapping a Smoother Back-to-School Transition”, on the Attitude Magazine platform.
Her discussion was prescient as she offered important ideas for parents to consider now. Her ideas are summarized below.
The back-to-school period is a neurological transition, not just a behavioral one.
The changes imposed on a child early in the school year is taxing on their brain. Children with ADHD are adjusting to a sudden increase in executive-function demands, sensory, emotional, and social challenges that can be overwhelming. Experiencing all simultaneously explains why children may struggle during the first weeks of school with the sudden overload.
Parents should anticipate this temporary difficulty, and approach your child with patience and compassion. You can work to reduce unnecessary cognitive burdens while providing structure and predictability. This way children can have a smoother beginning with greater success and harmony.
Expect a three-week adjustment period
Rather than expecting children to "settle in" after the first day or two, Dr. Chase recommends anticipating approximately three weeks of adjustment.
She describes the adjustments as:
Week 1: Jolting Change from Summer
New school routines are dramatically different from summer routines. This will result in:
Fatigue from emotional and cognitive overload will
Increased anxiety
Increased forgetfulness with worsening overall ADHD symptoms.
Expect these changes in your child, and accept them. They will be temporary and improve. Don’t demand that your child pulls it all together on their own. Validate their frustrations and reassure them that they will feel more confident soon.
Week 2: Friction
During the 2nd week of school, as the academic and social demands increase, your child may have an escalation in their anxiety and stress. Some signs you may notice include:
Emotional outbursts
Homework resistance
Increase in sibling and family conflicts
Parents often become discouraged during this time. Again, approach your child with patience and compassion and be curious. Ask them to explain the stressors they are feeling. Validate their concerns without imploring your child to ‘do better’.
Week 3: Stabilization
Routines become more automatic
Emotional regulation improves
Cognitive demands begin to feel manageable
Knowing this timeline helps parents avoid interpreting temporary struggles as signs that the year is already going badly. When this stabilization phase initiates, you will be rewarded for having compassion, patience and advocating for your child with the teacher.
After-school meltdowns signal depleted mental energy
Many children "hold it together" during school and then may fall apart once at home.
Dr. Chase explains that irritability, emotional outbursts, exhaustion, and zoning out are expected. These signs simply reflect that your child's mental bandwidth has been exhausted after maintaining attention, following rules, and regulating emotions all day.
Instead of immediately asking about homework or beginning chores, you can allow time to decompress. An important way to mitigate these expected meltdowns is to implement an early and consistent bedtime starting now, in late July.
Modify the environment, not the child
One of Dr. Chase's signature concepts is to not force the child to figure out how to adjust to the school year.Rather, you can consider, “How can we make the environment fit my child's brain?”
Some answers include:
Request classroom accommodations and 504 plans
Provide visual reminders at home and in the classroom that clarify expectations and routines
Use written planners consistently in school and at home
Reduce distractions during homework - create a space in your home with no electronic screens
Advocate for movement breaks at school and have these points in a written 504 plan
Create breaks for movement during homework
Communicate regularly with teachers-before problems escalate
This shifts the focus from changing the child to creating conditions in which they can succeed in school and at home.
Build confidence through early success
Parents can intentionally create easy wins during the first weeks by:
Celebrating your child’s effort. Look for moments to specifically praise your child’s small wins, even if they are struggling overall
Avoiding criticism over inevitable early mistakes.
Early positive experiences can shape a child's attitude toward the rest of the school year. In the beginning of the school year, you can overlook obvious areas of improvement your child needs to make. There will be time for this as the semester proceeds. Focus on celebrating successes early on.
Work with teachers early
Rather than waiting until problems develop, be proactive in communicating with teachers early on at the start of school year.
Share with the teacher what motivates your child. Tell the teacher what accommodations have worked well in previous years. Also, you can inform the teacher specific executive function challenges your struggles with, along with their preferred methods of communication. Finally, let the teacher know the subtle signs your child may show when they're becoming overwhelmed.
Early collaboration often prevents minor issues from becoming larger concerns.
In summary, Dr. Chase reminds us that the transition to school is stressful and challenging for a child with ADHD. Know that their potential outbursts, fatigue, and frustrations are not their fault. These symptoms will indeed go away over the first few weeks.
Try to start implementing the same morning routines at home during the rest of the summer that you will employ once the school year begins. And try to get your child on an early and consistent bedtime schedule.
Enjoy the rest of the summer!
Share with me any questions or challenges that arise. I am always happy to hear from you!
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