Classroom Help for a Child With ADHD
Written by the Inclusive Developmental and Therapy Center therapy team — our Speech & Language Therapist, psychology and ABA staff. Clinical reviewer for this site: Dr Muhammad Suffyan, MB BS (GMC 8023727) · Updated August 2026; this page has changed since our last clinical review.
The report says he does not try, she talks too much, he never finishes, she is a disturbance. Sometimes that is ADHD wearing a behaviour comment. Sometimes it is a boring lesson, a language problem, or a child who cannot hear. Do not start with a label. Start with what the teacher actually sees, then ask for changes that cost almost nothing.
You do not need a disability certificate for the list below. The speech version of this page is classroom help for unclear speech. The general map is classroom support. This one is attention, movement and getting work started.
What to ask for this week
- Sit them where the teacher’s face is easy, not by the door or a window. Corridor traffic is a lesson of its own. Front-side, not always dead centre if that feels like a stage.
- One instruction, then wait. “Open the book to page 12” is one job. A spoken list of four is a memory test. Write it on the board.
- Less copying, more doing. Copying from the board is where ADHD and slow handwriting die. Tick questions in the book, a photocopy, or answers only. Copying from the board.
- A start, not a lecture. Stand near them for the first two minutes of independent work. Prompt the first line. Then step back. Extra time to begin beats extra time they will not use at the end. Board exams: extra time.
- A legal way to move. A job: hand out books, a stretch after two questions, standing at the back to write. Fidgets that become toys are not a plan. Movement that is a job is.
- Do not take break as punishment. The child who cannot sit already has too little chance to reset. Keeping them in at break makes the next lesson worse.
- Homework that matches the brain at 4pm. Shorter, timed, one subject. Homework battles. Tuition piled on top of an unfinished school day is not support — tuition overload.
Give the teacher a sentence they can use on Monday: “He starts the page if he sits near you and you stay for the first two minutes. He does not start if the instruction was a list of four.” That is usable. “He has ADHD” is not.
What not to ask for yet
A different curriculum, a full-time shadow teacher, or exemption from every test. Those are later conversations when seating and instructions have been tried for ten school days and written down. A shadow who does the work is not an accommodation. It is a crutch.
If the real problem is that they cannot read the paper, that is dyslexia or language, not only ADHD. If they are bright in conversation and lost on the page, say that. If they are exhausted and snore, say that too — mouth breathing and sleep impersonates inattention.
A letter, not a fight
Copy the letter to school, put two asks in, trial them for ten days. Teenage boys: ADHD in teenagers. Medication is a doctor’s page: ADHD medication. We do not prescribe.
Inclusive Developmental and Therapy Center in Model Town, Multan. A consultation is Rs 1,500 and lasts up to 50 minutes. Bring the teacher’s exact words. Those are the goals.
Frequently asked questions
Does my child need a diagnosis before the school will help?
Not for seating, one instruction at a time, or a two-minute start prompt. Those are teaching. A diagnosis can help later for exams or a formal plan. Start with what the teacher can try this week. See a letter to school.
The teacher says they are lazy. Are they?
Usually not. Not starting, not finishing, and melting down after school often mean the work is too long in that form, or the instruction vanished. Try a shorter task and a start prompt before anyone decides it is character. Read ADHD.
Should we hire a shadow teacher?
Only as a short scaffold with a fade, and only after seating and instructions have been tried. A shadow who writes the answers has failed. Shadow teachers explains when it helps and when it is the wrong buy.
What about extra time in exams?
Useful when they know the work and run out of clock. Useless when they cannot start or cannot read the paper. Extra time in Pakistani board exams is the process page. Ask the school what they already allow in class tests this term.
Can you speak to the school?
After an assessment, we can give you a short summary to share. We do not turn up uninvited. Direct calls only with your say-so. For schools is training, not a private report on one child.
Could it be hearing or sleep instead of ADHD?
Yes. Glue ear, mouth breathing and chopped-up sleep all look like inattention. Mention snoring, an open mouth at night, and “he hears when he wants to” to a doctor as well as to us.