ADHD & Online Tuition - The Perfect Match?

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

The clue is in the name - attention. We need it for almost every action that we perform. Lucky for us adults, lots of our processes require less attention over time. Actions such as driving, walking and listening become far easier through years of repetition.

Other, more complex skills such as planning, organising and communicating require more deliberate practice to improve, but they also become far easier. Adults, especially teachers, can sometimes forget what it is like to live a life without decades of practice at a crucial skill - directing and maintaining our attention. 

ADHD is a significant barrier to improving this skill. What requires just a little bit of effort for a neurotypical individual might require a gargantuan effort from an individual with ADHD. Over the next few minutes, I hope that I can help you to understand, empathise with, but most importantly help students and young people affected by ADHD. 

What is ADHD?

The following information is obtained from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM 5).

There is some subjectivity to defining ADHD, as it cannot be categorically identified via a brain scan, blood test, or genetic testing. As such, it is diagnosed through a healthcare professional who would ask about symptoms, and then make a decision based on their severity and longevity.

The symptoms are split into two categories, or subtypes, of ADHD: predominantly inattentive or predominantly hyperactive/impulsive. On top of this classification, diagnoses can be mild, moderate or severe. Individuals can be diagnosed with a main subtype or with a combined type presentation.

This is important for educators and parents to be aware of as they will manifest in different ways, and therefore may require different forms of support. As always, the young person themself and their parents will be the expert on their own ADHD.

Symptoms of predominantly inattentive ADHD:

• Lack of attention to detail
• Difficulty focusing
• Difficulty listening
• Failing to complete tasks
• Avoidance of tasks that require continued focus
• Easily distracted
• Forgetfulness

Symptoms of predominantly hyperactive/impulsive ADHD:

• Interrupting or intruding on others
• Fidgeting
• Unable to sit still
• Excessive talking/lack of filter
• Restlessness

As you can see from reading over the symptoms, these are things that many people struggle with, to a lesser degree, every day.

This can lead to some people disregarding their own ADHD, delaying a diagnosis. In adults, these symptoms can look very different after many years of developing personal coping mechanisms.  (DSM-5 Criteria for ADHD: How Is Adult ADHD Evaluated? - ADDA, 2023)

Worldwide, ADHD affects just over 5%, or 1 in 20 people aged 18 or under.

That’s at least 1 student in every average classroom in the UK (Polanczyk et al, 2007). 

What Does it Feel Like?

For individuals around neurodiverse students, this can be the most important question of all.

Empathy is the most important building block for any relationship, and relationships, in turn, are one of the most important factors that affect learning (Hattie, 2008).

The definition can sometimes be harder to understand than the general feelings that may come with a special educational need (SEN). 

From my own experiences with students, frustration is one of the most prominent feelings that ADHD can bring. Students, in most cases, want to succeed, want to progress and want to thrive. When they lose focus and have to ask me to repeat the question, I hear the frustration in their voice. 

When they struggle to remember a piece of information from 5 minutes earlier in the lesson, I see the frown that crosses their face. Perhaps one of the most difficult parts of ADHD might be a self-awareness of your distractibility and the impact that has on your self-worth.

This feeling must only be amplified in an education system that expects students to sit still and concentrate for an hour at a time, 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. 

Upon researching this idea, I found supporting evidence to suggest that young people with ADHD tend to have an oversensitivity to their own, self-selected problem behaviours.

Unfortunately, in some cases, they see themselves as more bothersome than others do (Wiener et al, 2012). 

June Silny has written a great article about her own experiences with ADHD, particularly on her worst days. It is always best to hear first-hand about the experience of living with a SEN. If you have the time, you can read it here.

If not, I will summarise her key points for you. She discusses her struggle with some of the following feelings:

• Not being able to speak her mind as clearly as she’d like, and the frustrations that come with impaired communication
• Feeling alone and isolated, even around others
• Worry and overthinking
• Not being able to relax
• Overstimulation of the senses
• Lack of focus
• Self-doubt
• Internal conflict

Of course, we use the term neurodiversity for a reason. Those with ADHD also come to appreciate their differences. These individuals can be incredible creatives, thrive in busy, fast-paced environments and be fantastically spontaneous. Socially, we tend to value bubbly, charismatic people. Some individuals with ADHD enjoy the social benefits that their energy can bring them. 

(Positives of ADHD: 12 Amazing Superpowers, 2022; 6 strengths and benefits of ADHD, 2021)

What Can Schools Do?

If you have read my previous blog post on Dyslexia and online tuition, then I’ll be repeating a lot of the same advice in this section, as it remains true.

Identification and diagnosis are crucial for the school to progress toward support. Once a student has a diagnosis and an ‘education, health and care plan’, teachers can access best practices and recommended actions for individual students.

In a mainstream environment, this is often the fastest way for teachers to create good relationships and routines that enable ADHD students to thrive. Schools must provide extra support for ADHD students, but this support will not remove the students' differences.

It is crucial that routines are put in place so that the student can begin to celebrate their strengths and work with their weaknesses. A feeling of self-control is essential for a healthy sense of self-worth. 

How Might it Affect Online Tutoring Sessions?

Group Classes

For anyone who has sat through their fair share of Zoom meetings, it is universally understood that online meetings can, occasionally, be less than thrilling.

The temptation to turn off your camera and hang out the laundry, make a cup of tea or just stretch your legs can be great. Without the physical closeness of people around us, it can be more difficult to maintain your focus.

Why should this be any different for young people? How about young people who have a developmental disorder which limits their impulse control? I think you can imagine why online classrooms are even less suitable.

Some researchers looked at how students with ADHD got on during the pandemic when our whole education system was forced to move online. He et al (2021) found that ADHD students experienced reduced motivation and reduced ability to regulate their own learning behaviours.

In a direct comparison to neurotypical students, Tessarollo et al (2022) found that students with ADHD found distance learning more difficult. Please bear in mind that this would have been with group classes, where teachers might not have the time or ability to monitor and engage every student to a high level.

This environment makes it even easier for students to indulge in distractions while going unnoticed.

One-to-One

In 1-to-1 online tutoring, however, ADHD students might still struggle to stay focused - but the complete attention of the tutor naturally limits space for distraction. The temptation of opening a new tab and checking their own interests could be too much. Equally, their phone, if left nearby, might prove too much of a distraction if it goes off.

During extended tasks, particularly independent tasks, they will be far more likely to lose their focus. Personally, I enjoy the fact that online lessons can be more varied online, pulling in images, videos and research skills on top of the usual classroom activities.

This variety can regularly stimulate and benefit students who struggle with focus, with a lot more direction needed from the tutor however in managing class time. Depending on the person, sometimes the most effective way to harness focus is the use of a timer and segmenting into smaller tasks.

The most essential thing, before worrying about setting up the lesson or trying to use any digital tools to your advantage, is establishing a relationship between the tutor and student that is established on trust and positivity.

It is far easier to be distracted from ‘the weekly lesson with the tutor’ than it is to be distracted from ‘Megan who I know cares about me, my life and my progress’. The example is made up for effect, but I hope you understand the concept that familiarity can greatly encourage positive interaction. 

Please find more tips for different aspects of a tutoring session below. These can be implemented and suggested by tutors, parents and students alike.

Establishing a Routine

Routine is vital for ADHD students. Routines are what students can fall back on if they’ve gotten distracted and thus can be a comfort in lives that may feel more chaotic than usual. This means having a set time each week for the lesson and trying to stick to it as much as you can.

Within the lesson itself, there can also be a routine. For example, always beginning the lesson with 2 questions to recap content from the last lesson. 

Reading

Reading can be an activity that is extremely prone to disengagement. It would be wise to share the reading as a means of staying focused. If the lesson or content requires the tutor to read for an extended period, check on the student’s attention with regular, quick questions. 

It is better to make small adjustments for small periods of inattention than to get to the end of a chapter and realise it was pointless. Alternatively, the student can be getting on with an ongoing task such as highlighting unfamiliar words or writing down key facts/themes/events elsewhere in the classroom. 

Writing

Writing is a great activity as it is ongoing and tutors can easily monitor progress. Any extended writing tasks can benefit from written instructions and notes just above the activity. This means that the student can develop independence and can refer back to the task when needed. Be aware, also, that writing tasks involving many moving parts will be particularly difficult.

Completing it in chunks, with some collaboration and joint planning in between can make for a smoother writing experience. If there is a writing target, it would be best to focus on one at a time to avoid being overwhelmed. 

Discussion

One skill that most people have had plenty of practice with is talking. For this reason, verbal discussion can be a fantastic way of checking understanding or adding detail; more so than with neurotypical students. 

An extension of this can be for the tutor to act as a scribe, writing down noteworthy thoughts or details in the relevant lesson space. 

Media Variety

ADHD students can benefit hugely from incorporating a variety of different types of media, coloured themes and interactive explanations that are only possible in online lessons, as explained in another blog on creating a stimulating study period for students with SEN.

In addition, the use of time blocks to complete parts of a larger independent task in several smaller periods can prevent focus and motivation from dwindling - and the Sherpa classroom has a task timer built in!

This takes some special attention from experienced tutors to attend to the student’s learning styles (Visual, Aural, Reading & Writing and Kinaesthetic) and tendency to require novel stimulation of different types for the duration of a lesson.

For example, using word games, interactive animations, listening exercises and a final recap challenge to consolidate a complex topic into a solidified learning opportunity - keeping access to all resources through the notes and recording features.

Teaching Tools

From a tutor’s perspective, it is good to be aware of the student’s view and see where their cursor is which is built into Sherpa’s online classroom. 

If you’re focusing on a particular part of the lesson, zoom in so that the screen reflects that. Removing possible distractions will be a great help to students with ADHD.

You can ensure that you control the student’s view with the following setting in the Sherpa classroom called “Leading Mode” with “Read-Only” also able to limit interaction with the content until required:

In a lesson with more than one student, being in control of the mute and editing functions is also crucial for reducing distractions. These can be accessed via the following buttons: people - main room settings.

Outside of the Sherpa classroom, speech-to-text software can be fantastically useful. Google Docs, a free-to-use software, has a fantastic version of this called “Voice Typing”. 

This can be recommended for homework or extended tasks within the lesson and can be found under ‘Tools’ once you are in a Google document:

Key Takeaways

• ADHD is a developmental disorder that makes any task requiring attention more difficult. 
• Online learning is more difficult for students with ADHD. Make every effort to make the lesson as smooth as possible. 
• ADHD will manifest in different ways for different individuals. Get to know the person on the screen to understand what works best for your lesson. Parents often know best!
• Make use of the full range of digital tools on Sherpa to make the lesson as smooth as possible.

If you’re reading as a parent and you’re worried about getting a tutor who can address particular needs, switch on the “SEN experience" filter in your search and send a message to any tutor who looks like they can help!

Sometimes extra help is essential, and Sherpa will undoubtedly have a tutor who will do a fantastic job.

Additionally, read more from Sherpa’s blog on Dyslexia and online tuition, or general study tips for neurodivergent students through the links provided here.



References

• 6 strengths and benefits of ADHD. (2021, July 21). MedicalNewsToday. Retrieved August 20, 2024
• DSM-5 Criteria for ADHD: How Is Adult ADHD Evaluated? - ADDA. (2023, June 29). Attention Deficit Disorder Association. Retrieved August 14, 2024
• Hattie, J. (2008). Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement. Taylor & Francis.
• He S, Shuai L, Wang Z, et al. Online Learning Performances of Children and Adolescents With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing. 2021;58.
• Polanczyk, G., De Lima, M. S., Horta, B. L., Biederman, J., & Rohde, L. A. (2007). The worldwide prevalence of ADHD: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis. American journal of psychiatry, 164(6), 942-948.
• Positives of ADHD: 12 Amazing Superpowers. (2022, July 22). ADDitude. Retrieved August 20, 2024
• Tessarollo, V., Scarpellini, F., Costantino, I., Cartabia, M., Canevini, M. P., & Bonati, M. (2022). Distance Learning in Children with and without ADHD: A Case-control Study during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Attention Disorders, 26(6), 902-914.
• Wiener, J., Malone, M., Varma, A., Markel, C., Biondic, D., Tannock, R., & Humphries, T. (2012). Children’s Perceptions of Their ADHD Symptoms: Positive Illusions, Attributions, and Stigma. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 27(3), 217-242.