Managing ADHD in students can be one of the most impactful mental health actions you can take. Left untreated, ADHD symptoms can rapidly deteriorate academic performance, impair social development, and cause a great deal of undue stress — especially for teens who have enough to manage on their own already.
Thankfully, ADHD resources in Florida are abundant, and they can help your child or teenager find lasting relief.
Need professional support to help with ADHD? Find an Elite DNA location near you to talk to our behavioral and mental health experts.
Understanding ADHD
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental condition that can lead to substantial impairment in your child or teen’s life that causes changes in the brain’s neurochemistry, leading to a number of downstream effects. While the exact cause of ADHD is unknown, studies show that ADHD tends to run in families, though a number of factors may also contribute to the disorder.
ADHD leads to lower levels of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a messenger within the brain that helps to regulate your motivation and attention, and people with ADHD can struggle with being able to control their attention the way other people can. These challenges can quickly stack up to interfere with daily living, though there are several effective treatment options to help people achieve a lasting recovery.
The signs and symptoms of ADHD may appear as early as age four, though many children won’t face substantial challenges until years later. By the age of 12, students with ADHD are typically showing clear signs of inattentiveness or hyperactivity that are starting to interfere with their education and social lives.
The symptoms of ADHD are typically broken into two categories:
Inattentiveness
The core symptoms of inattentiveness revolve around an inability to pay attention, stay focused, or manage daily tasks. Some of the most common symptoms students experience in this category include:
- Making careless mistakes
- Difficulty remaining focused
- Not listening when spoken to directly, or absentmindedness
- Not following through on instructions
- Difficulty staying organized
- Avoidance of tasks that require sustained mental effort
- Misplacing important materials or items
- High distractibility
- Forgetful of daily tasks
These symptoms can have a strong negative effect on schoolwork – and may often lead to students falling behind or struggling to keep up with their peers.
Hyperactivity and Impulsivity
The second cluster of ADHD symptoms cluster around impulsive behavior and a high level of physical activity. Common symptoms include:
- Fidgeting or squirming in their seat
- Getting up from a seat when they are expected to be seated
- Running or climbing in situations where it is inappropriate to do so
- Inability to entertain oneself quietly
- Feeling uncomfortable sitting still for extended periods
- Talking excessively
- Interrupting others, blurting out answers, or being unable to wait their turn in conversation
- Difficulty taking turns
- Frequently butting into conversations or using other people’s things without permission
These symptoms can quickly become disruptive in the classroom and negatively affect school performance.
Managing ADHD in Students
As challenging as the symptoms of ADHD can be, there are several effective treatment options to teach children how to manage symptoms, minimize distractions, and develop routines that support self-control. Learning these skills early may even help prevent symptoms of adult ADHD, as children can find effective strategies for preventing challenges with executive functioning that can last a lifetime.
Some of the best tools for managing ADHD include:
Medication Management
Medication management is a fast and effective way of reducing ADHD symptoms and getting students back on track. There are a number of different medications developed specifically to treat ADHD, including both stimulant and non-stimulant options that have similar rates of effectiveness.
A psychiatrist or psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner who does medication management not only helps find the right medication for ADHD for your child, but collaboratively track progress over time, adjusts medications or dosages as necessary, and can make changes to help manage unwanted side effects or symptoms that continue to be problematic.
Therapeutic Options
Talk therapy for ADHD with a mental health professional can provide several cognitive and behavioral strategies for students to help keep track of important tasks, develop time management skills, and reduce overall stress levels.
Typically, talk therapy is combined with medication management approaches in order to help children get the most benefit from treatment. Studies investigating combined medication and therapeutic options have shown:
- Substantial improvements in social skills compared to medication alone
- Large reductions in inattentiveness and hyperactivity compared to medication alone
- Improvements in academic efforts compared to medication alone
Working with a therapist can help your child develop strategies that they can use well into their adult lives. This builds the capacity to deal with ADHD symptoms even if children decide to stop taking ADHD medication as adults.
ADHD Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)
An IEP is a legal document that makes specific recommendations to support your child’s unique academic needs. Children with ADHD can struggle with big tasks, taking on too many projects, or being too distracted in conventional classroom settings to succeed academically and intellectually. An IEP can help create a clear path to supporting your child in their education – and provide you with professional guidance on the specific services or modifications your child needs to succeed.
IEPs come from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which states that parents of children with disabilities such as ADHD play an important role in creating an education plan for their children. Children who receive an IEP are guaranteed to get additional support and services to achieve their educational goals.
ADHD Support for Children and Teens
Strong support structures can make a huge difference in your child’s ability to manage their ADHD symptoms on a day-to-day basis. These support structures spread across several different domains, each playing an important role in supporting your child with ADHD:
Family Support
Working with a mental health professional can help family members learn to be more helpful and supportive of their child with ADHD. This could mean making modifications to how you assist your child with homework, how you approach difficult tasks with your child, or how you respond to impulsive behavior.
Family involvement is a key aspect of ADHD support for teens, as it instills key principles of mental health recovery in the place that matters most to your child: the home.
ADHD School Support
Schools in Florida are required to provide certain modifications for students with disabilities such as ADHD. This process typically begins with starting an IEP, but working with your school directly can help start the process straight away.
This might mean giving your child extra time to complete certain tasks, allowing extra breaks for children who struggle to sit still, or additional support from educators or mental health professionals to help your child stay organized.
Community Support
Community organizations such as CHADD provide an abundance of resources for children with ADHD and their parents. Visiting their website can provide you with ADHD tips, connect you or your child with ADHD support groups, or provide you with more education about this neurodevelopmental disorder.
Start Treatment with Elite DNA
If you’re feeling overwhelmed with helping your child with ADHD find the tools they need to succeed, reach out to Elite DNA to speak to one of our mental health specialists about the treatment options available to you and your child.
Starting treatment young can prevent your child from falling behind in school, equip them with skills and coping tools to last a lifetime, and break down the process of ADHD recovery into simple, manageable steps that can kickstart a lifetime of healing and success.
Don’t let your child’s challenges hold them back any longer. Call our team today to get started with targeted, evidence-based treatment options from a team that truly cares and find the ADHD resources in Florida that your child needs to thrive.
Find an Elite DNA location near you to get in touch with the mental health experts who can help your student cope with ADHD.
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