Overview: In this episode, Aaron and Jamie discuss four ADDitude articles: a caregiver account of teacher ADHD training, the overlap between language disorders and ADHD in school evaluations, questions about academic rigor and online college for students with ADHD, and movement breaks as classroom and home supports. The hosts repeatedly flag the limits of the evidence—caregiver blogs, pre-post workshops, professional guidance, and testimonials rather than definitive studies. The episode is educational and not individual medical or clinical advice.
This Is What Happens When Teachers Finally Understand ADHD
- The article is a caregiver blog by Rebecca Brown, not a peer-reviewed study. Brown describes a middle school teacher telling her that her child with ADHD “just doesn’t care about doing well,” then describes her own graduate work on teacher training.
- In 2021, Brown looked at the top ten general education teacher-training programs in the U.S. and found no ADHD-specific classes. A few classes touched on disability or special needs more broadly, but not ADHD.
- Brown ran workshops with two groups of middle school teachers and surveyed them before and within five days after. Knowledge improved; teacher self-efficacy showed a small increase; attitudes changed in a statistically significant way, with fewer negative attitudes and more positive ones. The article does not report sample size or effect sizes, and it is a blog summary, so the hosts do not treat it as a large definitive trial.
- Before the workshop, teachers described students with ADHD as disruptive, hard to manage, affecting lesson pacing, and distracting other students. Afterward, some still said “distracting,” but added comments such as “can add depth of learning,” “come up with great ideas and connections,” and “sometimes add insight.” The hosts describe this as a wider frame rather than a total reversal.
- Brown says teachers are not villains: if training programs do not cover ADHD, teachers are left to interpret inattention, hyperactivity, and executive functioning challenges without a framework. The article cites a study where 63% of teachers reported stress interacting with students showing ADHD behaviors, and 80% found teaching those students challenging.
- The article also cites research on school intensifying ADHD symptoms through classroom behavior expectations and relationship challenges. Students described school as leaving them frustrated, angry, drained, or imprisoned.
- Workshop responses included some teachers seeing strengths alongside challenges: one said students with ADHD make the teacher more deliberate; another said they encourage varied lessons. The hosts note this is a pre-post workshop with two groups, not proof that one training fixes classrooms.
- Brown suggests families share information, consider a self-guided ADHD course, and ask principals about in-service training. She also says most teachers want to understand kids with ADHD. The hosts add that training is not the same as support: students still need accommodations, clear communication, and a team that looks at the individual. The article is educational, not a prescription.
Language Disorders vs. ADHD
- This ADDitude piece is by Megan Taylor Stephens, a public-school speech-language pathologist. She writes that a language disorder can affect vocabulary, grammar, narrative skills, reading and writing, understanding, speaking, and social communication.
- A student with a language disorder might struggle to answer open-ended questions in social studies, interpret a math story problem, follow multistep directions in PE, or learn a foreign language. ADHD can affect similar areas, but Stephens notes that a child with ADHD may excel in those same areas when the topic really interests them. The hosts emphasize this is not a simple “if they can focus on Minecraft, it’s ADHD” rule; evaluation has to look at patterns and context.
- ADHD also brings inattentiveness, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and often executive functioning challenges—starting tasks, finishing them, organizing materials, planning, and time management. Social skills can be affected too. A language disorder can look like not listening or not understanding.
- The article lists other factors an evaluation has to rule out: hearing or vision impairment, post-concussion syndrome, absence seizures, selective mutism, sleep disturbance, anxiety, mood disorders, and adverse childhood experiences. An emergent bilingual child may look delayed while going through normal second-language acquisition.
- Stephens describes a team process. It starts with a thorough developmental history from the family: language milestones, bilingual status, family history of speech-language delays, health issues or trauma, and last hearing and vision checks. The team then reviews educational data: grades, report-card comments, test results, attendance, and teacher checklists. The parent interview can make the team pivot or bring in different specialists.
- The team might do speech-language testing, testing by a school psychologist for ADHD—sometimes under a special education category like Other Health Impairment—another special education eligibility, several at once, a quick screening, or a referral to medical professionals. Comments like “He doesn’t follow directions” are important but do not tell you what is going on by themselves.
- Stephens says she has seen students initially suspected of a communication disorder, ADHD, autism, or a specific learning disability who turned out to have a different primary condition. The hosts note this does not mean those labels are wrong in general; it means evaluation is an investigation. Stephens says these are her own observations from more than 18 years as a speech-language pathologist in public schools, not a universal protocol.
How Much Academic Rigor Is Too Much?
- This is a Q&A with Jillian Lillibridge Heilman, a former director of student accessibility services at Connecticut College. A parent asks whether to push a child with ADHD into an AP class for college admission, even though the extra work feels “dopamine-draining.”
- Heilman’s advice is to match rigor to the student’s interests and fit. Many students with ADHD can thrive in AP or IB—Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate—when the subject genuinely engages them. When they are not engaged, they may procrastinate, struggle to start tasks, or self-sabotage out of frustration, overwhelm, or disinterest.
- She suggests asking the student whether they are excited by the curriculum, and visiting programs or reviewing coursework so the decision is informed. If it becomes mentally depleting rather than enriching after a semester or a year, it is okay to re-evaluate and pivot. A “plan B” can help a student feel supported rather than trapped, and stepping away should not be framed as failure.
- Heilman says there are many pathways to college success; a schedule full of AP or IB courses is not required for admission to a good school. The goal is for students to arrive at college curious, confident, and emotionally healthy, not burned out before they begin. The hosts note this is general guidance, not a study with outcome data.
- The same Q&A asks about online college for students with ADHD. Heilman says online learning can be excellent for some: flexibility, independence, autonomy, asynchronous work at your own pace, and less social anxiety in large classrooms. But the flexibility can also reduce opportunities to build time management, organization, and social engagement. Without built-in structure, some students struggle with procrastination, focus, or routines.
- In-person settings can provide more structure, routine, and accountability, plus connections with professors and peers. She suggests a hybrid approach—for example, two courses in person and two online—as a way to discover what works. The hosts note this is general guidance, not a specific accommodation plan or a comparison of colleges.
Movement Break Ideas
- This ADDitude article, updated in 2022, discusses movement breaks for hyperactive kids with ADHD. It describes hyperactivity as a brain-based biological disorder, not a choice, and says instructions to sit still tend to be followed only briefly. The article leans toward channeling movement rather than suppressing it.
- Classroom ideas include whole-class stretching or jogging in place with younger kids, having older students hand out supplies or deliver messages, alternating high- and low-energy lessons, and seating alternatives like standing at a raised table, pacing quietly while thinking, or sitting on pillows, armchairs, or the floor. One third-grade teacher describes letting a student sit on an exercise ball.
- At home, suggestions include a quick break from the dinner table, physical activity before school, and a rocking chair. There is also a parent quote about doodling, bendable pencils, origami, and educating teachers.
- The article cites a study saying boys with ADHD moved around the room about eight times as often as other boys and made twice as many arm motions. The article does not give authors, sample size, or publication details, so the hosts treat it as illustrative rather than definitive.
- The hosts note the teacher and parent stories are testimonials, not systematic evidence. The underlying point is that environment and fit matter. A movement option is not a reward for good behavior or a cure; it is one possible support that some students find helpful. Those decisions are usually best made with the student and the school team.
Podcast Transcript
Aaron: Welcome to Living on the Spectrum. I'm Aaron, and with me is Jamie. Today we're starting with a story that hit me as very concrete: a caregiver named Rebecca Brown writes in ADDitude about a middle school teacher telling her that her child with ADHD 'just doesn't care about doing well.' Brown didn't leave it there. She went on to study how teacher training handles ADHD. Jamie, what did she find?
Jamie: The piece is a caregiver blog, not a peer-reviewed study, so I want to flag that up front. Brown describes her own graduate work: in 2021 she looked at the top ten general education teacher-training programs in the U.S. and found no ADHD-specific classes. A few classes touched on disability or special needs more broadly, but not ADHD. She also ran workshops with two groups of middle school teachers and surveyed them before and within five days after.
Aaron: And the survey results? I think the attitude shift is the part that matters for families.
Jamie: Yes. She measured ADHD knowledge and teacher self-efficacy—basically a teacher's belief that they can help even a difficult student, and whether they'll keep trying when things get hard. Knowledge improved. Self-efficacy showed a small increase. Attitudes changed in a statistically significant way: fewer negative attitudes, more positive ones. But the article doesn't report the sample size or effect sizes, and it's a summary in a blog, so we shouldn't treat it as a big definitive trial.
Aaron: Still, the before-and-after comments are striking. Before the workshop, teachers described students with ADHD as disruptive, hard to manage, affecting lesson pacing, distracting other students. Afterward, some still said distracting—but added things like 'can add depth of learning,' 'come up with great ideas and connections,' 'sometimes add insight.' That's not a total reversal. It's more like a wider frame.
Jamie: Exactly. And Brown is careful to say teachers aren't villains. If training programs don't cover ADHD, teachers are left to interpret inattention, hyperactivity, and executive functioning challenges without a framework. The article also cites a study where 63% of teachers reported stress interacting with students showing ADHD behaviors, and 80% found teaching those students challenging. That's about the environment, not blaming individual teachers.
Aaron: There's also a point about school itself intensifying ADHD symptoms—classroom behavior expectations, relationship challenges. In that research, students described school as leaving them frustrated, angry, drained, or imprisoned. That's strong language, but it fits the idea that the setting matters.
Jamie: Yes. And the workshop responses show that when teachers go through an ADHD workshop, some start seeing strengths alongside challenges. One said students with ADHD make the teacher more deliberate; another said they encourage varied lessons. That's a nice reframe, though again, it's a pre-post workshop with two groups, not proof that one training fixes classrooms.
Aaron: So the everyday question is: what can families and schools do? Brown suggests sharing information, maybe a self-guided ADHD course, and asking principals about in-service training. She also says most teachers want to understand kids with ADHD. I like that it's framed as collaboration rather than a confrontation.
Jamie: Right. And I'd add the caveat that training is not the same as support. A workshop can improve knowledge and attitudes, but students still need accommodations, clear communication, and a team that looks at the individual. The article is educational, not a prescription.
Aaron: That leads to our next article, which is about how schools figure out what's actually going on when a child seems inattentive or doesn't follow directions. It's an ADDitude piece by Megan Taylor Stephens, a public-school speech-language pathologist. She writes about language disorders versus ADHD. Jamie, what's the overlap?
Jamie: A language disorder can affect vocabulary, grammar, narrative skills, reading and writing, understanding, speaking, and social communication. So a student might struggle to answer open-ended questions in social studies, interpret a math story problem, follow multistep directions in PE, or learn a foreign language. ADHD can affect similar areas—but Stephens notes that a child with ADHD may excel in those same areas when the topic really interests them.
Aaron: That's a useful distinction, but not a simple one. She's not saying, 'If they can focus on Minecraft, it's ADHD.' She's saying the evaluation has to look at patterns and context.
Jamie: Exactly. ADHD also brings inattentiveness, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and often executive functioning challenges—starting tasks, finishing them, organizing materials, planning, time management. Social skills can be affected too. But a language disorder can look like not listening or not understanding. And the evaluation has to rule out other things.
Aaron: The article lists a lot of those other things: hearing or vision impairment, post-concussion syndrome, absence seizures, selective mutism, sleep disturbance, anxiety, mood disorders, adverse childhood experiences. Also, an emergent bilingual child may look delayed while going through normal second-language acquisition. That's a lot of reasons not to jump to a label.
Jamie: Yes. Stephens describes a team process. It starts with a thorough developmental history from the family—language milestones, bilingual status, family history of speech-language delays, health issues or trauma, last hearing and vision checks. Then the team reviews educational data: grades, report-card comments, test results, attendance, teacher checklists. The parent interview can make the team pivot or bring in different specialists.
Aaron: And the team might do speech-language testing, testing by a school psychologist for ADHD—sometimes under a special education category like Other Health Impairment—another special education eligibility, several at once, a quick screening, or a referral to medical professionals. She's clear that comments like 'He doesn't follow directions' are important but don't tell you what's going on by themselves.
Jamie: That's the key. She's seen students initially suspected of a communication disorder, ADHD, autism, or a specific learning disability who turned out to have a different primary condition. That doesn't mean those labels are wrong in general; it means evaluation is an investigation. And she says these are her own observations from more than 18 years as a speech-language pathologist in public schools, not a universal protocol.
Aaron: I appreciate that. It's also a good bridge to the next piece, because parents are often making decisions before all the information is in. This one is a Q&A with Jillian Lillibridge Heilman, a former director of student accessibility services at Connecticut College. A parent asks whether to push a child with ADHD into an AP class for college admission, even though the extra work feels 'dopamine-draining.'
Jamie: Heilman's advice is to match rigor to the student's interests and fit. Many students with ADHD can thrive in AP or IB—Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate—when the subject genuinely engages them. But when they're not engaged, they may procrastinate, struggle to start tasks, or self-sabotage out of frustration, overwhelm, or disinterest. She suggests asking the student whether they're excited by the curriculum, and visiting programs or reviewing coursework so the decision is informed.
Aaron: And she says if it becomes mentally depleting rather than enriching after a semester or a year, it's okay to re-evaluate and pivot. A 'plan B' can help a student feel supported rather than trapped. Stepping away shouldn't be framed as failure. That feels like a really humane point for families who are worried about college.
Jamie: Yes. She also says there are many pathways to college success; a schedule full of AP or IB courses isn't required for admission to a good school. The goal is for students to arrive at college curious, confident, and emotionally healthy, not burned out before they begin. That's general guidance, not a study with outcome data, so it's best heard as professional guidance rather than a proven formula.
Aaron: The same Q&A also asks about online college for students with ADHD. Heilman says online learning can be excellent for some—flexibility, independence, autonomy, asynchronous work at your own pace, and less social anxiety in large classrooms. But the flexibility can also reduce opportunities to build time management, organization, and social engagement. Without built-in structure, some students struggle with procrastination, focus, or routines.
Jamie: Right. In-person settings can provide more structure, routine, and accountability, plus connections with professors and peers. She suggests a hybrid approach—say, two courses in person and two online—as a way to discover what works. Again, this is general guidance, not a specific accommodation plan or a comparison of colleges.
Aaron: The last piece I want to touch on is a practical one, because it's been around a while but families keep asking. It's an ADDitude article updated in 2022 about movement breaks for hyperactive kids with ADHD. The core idea: hyperactivity is described as a brain-based biological disorder, not a choice, and instructions to sit still tend to be followed only briefly. So the article leans toward channeling movement rather than suppressing it.
Jamie: It includes classroom ideas—whole-class stretching or jogging in place with younger kids, having older students hand out supplies or deliver messages, alternating high- and low-energy lessons, and seating alternatives like standing at a raised table, pacing quietly while thinking, or sitting on pillows, armchairs, or the floor. One third-grade teacher describes letting a student sit on an exercise ball. At home: a quick break from the dinner table, physical activity before school, a rocking chair. There's also a parent quote about doodling, bendable pencils, origami, and educating teachers.
Aaron: The article cites a study saying boys with ADHD moved around the room about eight times as often as other boys and made twice as many arm motions. But it doesn't give authors, sample size, or publication details. So it's illustrative, not something I'd hang a whole argument on.
Jamie: Agreed. The teacher and parent stories are testimonials, not systematic evidence. But the underlying point is consistent with what we've been saying: the environment and the fit matter. A movement option is not a reward for good behavior or a cure; it's one possible support that some students find helpful. Those decisions are usually best made with the student and the school team.
Aaron: That's a good place to land. The through-line today is that understanding beats guessing. Teacher training can shift attitudes, but it's not a fix by itself. Language and ADHD can look alike, so evaluation needs a team and a wide lens. Academic rigor is a fit question, not a prestige question. And movement supports are one tool, not a mandate.
Jamie: Nicely put. And I'd add: none of this is individual medical or clinical advice. These are educational summaries of what the articles report and what the authors suggest.
Aaron: Thanks for listening to Living on the Spectrum. Links to the original articles will be on the episode page. Take care, and we'll see you next time.
Jamie: See you next time.