ADHD and the Modern School System
By Zackary J. Schlegel, M.S., LCMHCA
School. Just that one word can encompass so many different emotions for so many different people. For some, school means a place of learning, relationships, and fondness. For others, school is akin to prison, only bringing to light bad memories of bullies or embarrassment. In either cas, the single word of school has so many implications, especially here in America where it takes up 12 years of our lives. Even more, had a person decided to go to college or university. So, one would think, with us being required to attend for a dozen years of our lives, such a system would be equipped to form for us, to accommodate for our needs so we may better learn what the system has to teach us. For some this is their reality, however, for those with ADHD, the opposite is true in almost every way.
ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, is a condition many have heard of, but few truly understand. Even those diagnosed sometimes struggle to fully grasp how far such a condition changes everyday functioning. Now, despite the word Disorder, ADHD only describes a deviation from the norm rather than a profound dysfunction. At least in most cases. One of these exceptions is the American school system. This is because the American public school system is standardized. In another way, public school is set up in a “one size fits all” format. Where students are given the same materials regardless of personal attributes and are expected to fit the described mold. A child with ADHD will naturally find this difficult as they were never meant to fit into such a mold.
See, the ADHD brain is wonderful at observation and perception, due to a tendency to quickly switch focus from one thing to the next. This is a wonderful skill to have in say driving or surveying. Were a space designed to accommodate such a skill, ADHD would be less of a disorder and more of an evolution of the human condition. But when such a person is asked to sit in a classroom for 6-7 hours and focus on a singular person or topic, this is where a skill turns to a curse. The modern public school system isn’t designed to help someone with ADHD learn in an engaging way. When someone with ADHD tries to do a task they are uninterested in, the result is simple, it just doesn’t happen. This isn’t a result of laziness or a lack of motivation, but rather the consequence of executive dysfunction. Think of it less as a choice not to focus, and more as an inability.
ADHD, like all other mental conditions, is not a measure of a person’s worth or their ability to live a full, happy life. Nor does it mean that a person with ADHD is fundamentally unable to survive in day-to-day life. However, it does mean that such a person needs certain accommodations and understandings that aren’t inherent to the average person. A child with ADHD needs understanding and guidance when it comes to tasks they are uninterested in. If a child hates reading, rather than reprimanding them for disliking reading, find alternate ways that make the reading engaging for them. For someone with ADHD, being forced into a mold is not only mentally exhausting, but it can lead to inner turmoil and low self-esteem. ADHD doesn’t have to mean dysfunction, it doesn’t have to mean disorder, it can instead mean accommodation. It just takes all of us to make the world a more welcoming and warmer place for everyone.
