4 Major Challenges for Middle School Children With ADHD
We’ve all gone through our ups and downs with our ADHD-induced child. Now that he’s gotten older, we’d assume that the ADHD symptoms will subside. But little do we know that it’s only the beginning. Your child’s ADHD symptoms are only going to get worse When they hit their puberty years. Middle School Children ADHD is where things get more challenging. There are more teachers to deal with, more homework and school-related stuff to complete, and a lot more complex social scenes. Apparently, your child faces new obstacles as they transition to middle school. It’s a whole new world. If your child isn’t equipped with the necessary tools, they will get overwhelmed with all the criticism and judgment that they face every day.
We wouldn’t want that to happen. So to help you get your child ready, here are the four main challenges that ADHD children are going to face and the corresponding solutions to help them overcome it.
4 Main Challenges Middle School Children ADHD
1.) Socially Fitting In
Challenge: Once your child reaches middle school, they will face a whole new challenge of having to socialise with new people and see where they fit in. Most of the time, an ADHD-diagnosed child will be seen searching for their place inside a social group. But they are often misunderstood and excluded from most social cliques that they want to be in.
Most of the time, an isolated adolescent feels frustrated and lonely. They are commonly the wallflowers – nomads who wander from group to group in search of an identity. This results into fear of making any false moves or even standing out from the crowd. They’re contented with just blending in, which is not at all a bad thing but can hinder their individual progress moving forward.
Solution: Motivate your child to view rejection as an opportunity to find other groups that will accept them for who they are. Inspire them not to stop looking for an identity that they can genuinely represent amongst the crowd of other adolescents. Always talk to them about middle school and make them aware of the different social challenges that they are going to face. Finally, encourage them to stand up for themselves. Tell them that it’s not about the social cliques that they need to deal with, but making a name for themselves.
2.) The Void Inside Their Backpacks.
Challenge: Because of their ADHD, getting things organised can be an extremely challenging task to handle. With all the homework and school activities that they need to do, their backpacks are always loaded with different paperwork, books, and files. Because of the large number of responsibilities, ADHD children tend to just push these things down on their bag and completely forget about it. So basically, your child’s backpack is also a portable trash bin filled with crumpled paper and lost homework.
Solution: It seems like your child’s problems with organising have taken a turn for the worse. If only you taught them how to organise their things properly. But it’s not too late! For them to be organised, they need your help. They are probably old enough to follow what you instruct them to do. So have them store different folders in their backpack, categorising each one for each school-related paperwork that they are always carrying.
You should label one folder for, say, “projects,” and the other one as “homework.” You should also supervise them for every activity they do in school by continually checking if their backpack is arranged and their folders are being filled appropriately. Before long, they will get organised for their own good, and they will slowly not rely on the folders anymore.
3.) Not Being Late for Class
Challenge: Most of the time, your child is always in a hurry to go to school. You commonly see them rushing to the door in desperate hopes of not being late. Or maybe they get out of the house early yet you’re still getting reports that your kid is consistently late in class. It will come off as odd in your case, knowing that your child is always on time at getting to school yet still arriving late for their class. You should get to the bottom of this and find out the reason why your child is slacking off on getting to their classes. Fortunately, you don’t have to look any further for the answer to your questions.
Solution: PROCRASTINATION is the main culprit of your kid’s woes in getting to class on time. It’s one of the primary symptoms of their ADHD diagnosis and can even get worse as they face more and more obligations. It can be hard to get them out of their procrastinating ways, especially if they were not supervised accordingly during their childhood days.
If your child is constantly getting late at going to school, you should regularly remind them about leaving early by waking them up and making sure that they get ready for school. Also, have a list of their class schedule so you’re always aware of where they should be at specific times of the day.
If they are leaving early yet are still getting late, it may be because they tend to have long stopovers on their way to their classrooms. Social distractions can be a contributing factor that hinders them from managing their time properly. You can’t personally supervise them since that would be super-awkward for them. The best thing you could do is to know someone in each of your child’s periods who share their next class to help accompany them to their next class. Keep in mind that it can have negative implications since that person you’re relying on won’t be there for them at all times, but it’s your best bet nonetheless. Just make sure that you constantly supervise your child and encourage them not to take time for granted.
4.) Dealing With More Homework & Other School-related Headaches
Challenge: Like what was said earlier, middle school is a whole different animal. It’s full of complexities and challenges that you’re child – and his ADHD – is going to cope up. School-related activities will get harder, homework will get longer, and projects will be a lot more complex and frequent than what your child has dealt with during their elementary days. Add their ADHD diagnosis to the equation, and you’ve got a perfect recipe for disaster, at least for their case. Once they reach middle school, unless they are properly managed and supervised earlier, they will tend to slack off due to the extreme amount of responsibilities they need to fulfill.
Solution: Dealing with more tasks will overwhelm any child – with or without ADHD. So to help your child cope up with the demands of middle school, you should encourage them to overcome the first challenge: SOCIALISE. Instead of studying on their own, encourage them to join a study group, or be with people who share the same burden. You can also tell them to ask their teachers for extended time on accomplishing time-sensitive activities, or chunk up deadlines so you can work towards helping them manage their assignments and submitting all of them on time. You can also contact each of your child’s teacher without them knowing. Let them know about your kid’s ADHD condition and make them aware of their difficulties in coping up with bundles and bundles of school-related activities. Making everyone aware of your child’s ADHD will give them a huge favour moving forward.
Conclusion
Your child is now in middle school, yet their ADHD is still there and is still causing havoc in their development. As a parent, you should help them overcome it and get them through this stage without any serious issues. Letting them know that you care for their welfare will be a huge confidence booster on their side. It will tell them that no matter what they do, and no matter how they will approach their adolescence, they can assure themselves that you are there for them no matter what.
