Characteristics

Strengths

Like everyone, people with ADHD have strengths and challenges. In breaking with an all too standard deficit model of disability, let us start with the positive attributes before moving into challenges. Here are some of them:

• Creativity: A study published in the Journal of Attention Disorders found that children with ADHD showed higher levels of divergent thinking, a key component of creativity, compared to non-ADHD children (White et al., 2018).
• Hyperfocus: A study published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology found that children with ADHD showed significantly greater task persistence and sustained attention when engaged in exciting activities than non-ADHD children (Kofler et al., 2013).
• Enthusiasm: A review article published in the Journal of Attention Disorders found that people with ADHD often have intense interests and passions, which can be a source of motivation and engagement (Sibley et al., 2014).
• Flexibility: A study published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology found that children with ADHD showed greater behavioral flexibility and adaptability in response to changing task demands than non-ADHD children (López-Vicente et al., 2014).
• Intuition: A study published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology found that people with ADHD may have a stronger intuition and gut feelings, sometimes leading to accurate and efficient decision-making (Bunford et al., 2015).
• Persistence: A study published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology found that children with ADHD showed more remarkable persistence and determination on complex tasks when motivated by rewards or positive feedback (Jacobson et al., 2011).
• Spontaneity: A study published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology found that children with ADHD showed greater impulsivity and sensation-seeking behavior, which can sometimes lead to spontaneous and enjoyable experiences (Faraone et al., 2003).
• Multitasking: A study published in the Journal of Attention Disorders found that adults with ADHD showed remarkable multitasking ability and cognitive flexibility when given explicit instructions and feedback. (Kramer et al., 2009)

Challenges

The effects of ADHD on psychological and behavioral functioning can also provide challenges that can be pervasive, with a significant impact on quality of life across all domains. For example, students with ADHD run a higher risk of incurring accidental injuries than their peers who do not have ADHD, which is logical given the needs around inattention and impulsivity. Additionally, people with ADHD have a higher rate of sleep disturbances and substance abuse (Hallahan et al., 2019).

Executive Function Deficits

Researchers have begun exploring what psychological processes underlie these and others that we discussed earlier in this chapter. This research consistently points to executive function deficits, resulting in diminished behavioral inhibitions. Executive function is the cognitive process that organizes thoughts and activities, prioritizes tasks, manages time efficiently, and makes decisions. Executive function skills are the skills that help us establish structures and strategies for managing projects and determine the actions required to move each project forward. In other words, it is about how we behave toward our future goals and which mental abilities we need to accomplish them. The term is closely related to self-regulation – executive functions are things you do to yourself to change your behavior. By employing your executive functions effectively, you are hoping to change your future for the better. Individuals with executive dysfunction often struggle to analyze, plan, organize, schedule, and complete tasks at all – or on deadline. They misplace materials, prioritize the wrong things, and get overwhelmed by big projects (Hallahan et al., 2019).

Executive function is judged by the strength of the following seven skills (Additudemag.com, 2023):

1. Self-awareness: Self-directed attention
2. Inhibition: Also known as self-restraint
3. Non-Verbal working memory: The ability to hold things in your mind; essentially, visual imagery refers to how well you can picture things mentally.
4. Verbal working memory: Self-speech or internal speech; most people think of this as their “inner monologue.”
5. Emotional self-regulation: The ability to take the previous four executive functions and use them to manipulate your emotional state; this means learning to use words, images, and self-awareness to process and alter your feelings.
6. Self-motivation: How well you can motivate yourself to complete a task without immediate external consequences.
7. Planning and problem-solving: Experts sometimes think of this as “self-play” — how you play in our minds to develop new ways of doing something. By taking things apart and recombining them in different ways, you are planning solutions to your problems.

Anyone who exhibits the classic symptoms of ADHD will have difficulty with all or most of these seven executive functions. Essentially, ADHD is an executive function deficit disorder (EFDD); other times, you may hear the term “neurodiverse.” The umbrella term “ADHD” is another way of referring to these issues. These seven executive functions develop over time, generally in chronological order. Self-awareness starts to develop at around age two, and by age 30, planning and problem-solving should be fully developed in a neurotypical person. Those with ADHD are about 30% to 40% behind their peers in transitioning from one executive function to the next. Therefore, it makes sense for children and adults with ADHD to have trouble dealing with age-appropriate situations – they are thinking and acting in ways that are like much younger people (Additude.com, 2023).

To illustrate, problems with inhibition in someone with ADHD lead to impulsive actions, while problems with emotional regulation lead to inappropriate outbursts. They might overreact to negative or positive experiences. On hearing good news, they might scream. Likewise, they are often quick to show their temper when frustrated. In the classroom, this presents itself while switching tasks or transitions. When they cannot regulate their behavior and emotions, sometimes others view them as rude, leading to difficulty maintaining friendships. Other times they may not be able to focus on tasks that are not inherently exciting (e.g., schoolwork), resulting in lower academic achievement for students with ADHD than their non-ADHD counterparts.

Other Difficulties

Other common characteristics that impact students with ADHD in the classroom involve difficulty remembering and using information, planning, and acquiring new skills and knowledge in reading, oral and written language, and mathematics. The work of students with attention difficulties may appear messy, as students often rush through assignments, struggle with attention to detail, and make careless mistakes. Students with attention problems may have problems with working memory, leading them to make mistakes. They may also have difficulty with such things as focusing on classroom activities, staying on task, completing assignments, adhering to classroom rules, and following the teacher’s instructions accurately. These problems may make them inefficient learners, causing them to fall behind their peers and affecting their ability to learn basic skills – particularly in reading, mathematics, and science – that are necessary for more complex learning in later grades (Hallahan et al., 2019).

In the Classroom

Schools are typically designed with a “one-size-fits-all” approach to education, where students are expected to sit still for long periods, focus on one task at a time, and follow a rigid schedule. However, this environment can be particularly challenging for students with ADHD, who often struggle with sustained attention, organization, and impulse control. For example, a typical school day may consist of back-to-back classes that require sitting still and listening to lectures, which can be difficult for students with ADHD, who may struggle to stay focused for long periods. Furthermore, traditional teaching methods may not always be practical for students with ADHD, who often learn best through hands-on activities, visual aids, and other interactive methods. However, these types of activities may be limited in schools due to time constraints, budget constraints, or a focus on standardized testing.

In summary, schools are often not set up to support the needs of students with ADHD by utilizing a strengths-based approach. Instead, students with ADHD are left to experience academic struggles, low self-esteem, and behavioral issues. This is because schools prioritize a traditional, standardized approach to education, which may not be optimal for students with ADHD. However, some schools have recently become innovative, as they have added sensory pathways, a series of physical exercises that guide children along a particular route, incorporating visual cues to prompt specific movements. These pathways often include sensory play and physical activity, which (according to research) can positively impact cognitive development, academic performance, brain development, and self-regulatory behavior. In addition to promoting physical activity, sensory pathways engage multiple senses, such as sight, touch, and spatial awareness, to help children improve their balance, coordination, and other fundamental movement skills. Sensory pathways promote children’s physical and cognitive development by incorporating sensory stimulation into movement-based activities (Sarkar & Webster, 2018). Educators, parents, and other stakeholders must continue to work together to identify and implement strategies such as sensory pathways to help students with ADHD succeed in the classroom and beyond.