“Okay everyone, get into groups of four…”

For some students, those words mean:

Great! We get to work with our friends.

For a student with ADHD, they can sometimes mean:

Who am I working with? Where do I sit? What are we doing? Who's talking? When is it my turn? Wait… what was the task again?

Have you ever looked at a student with ADHD and thought:

“But you did this perfectly yesterday…”

Yesterday they started independently.

Yesterday they remembered the instructions.

Yesterday they completed the work.

Today?

They can't get started.

They've forgotten what they're doing.

They're frustrated before they've even begun.

It can look like they're not trying.

You know the moment.

Lunch ends, students return to the classroom and the energy in the room feels completely different.

Some students are restless. Others appear tired, distracted or reluctant to begin. Instructions need to be repeated, small frustrations become bigger and tasks that felt manageable in the morning suddenly seem much harder.

As teachers, we've all experienced it.

You explain the task, the student is looking straight at you, nodding along… and moments later they ask, "What are we doing?"

It can be easy to assume they weren't paying attention.

“Put your book away.”
“Pack up your things.”
“Come and sit on the mat.”

You’ve said it once.
Then twice.
Then five more times.

And somehow… it still doesn’t seem to land.

If this feels familiar, you’re not alone.

There are students in every classroom who don’t draw attention.

They follow instructions.
They stay quiet.
They appear to be coping.

On the surface, they’re “fine.”

But sometimes, they’re the ones working the hardest.

The holidays have arrived… but your brain might not have.

Even though the term has ended, it’s common to still feel “on.”

By March, something shifts.

The fresh-start energy of Term 1 begins to fade.
Routines are established. Expectations are clearer.
And yet… engagement dips.

Term 1 can feel like a marathon disguised as a fresh start.

New classes. New needs. New expectations —all layered on top of tired nervous systems, summer disruptions, and the pressure to “hit the ground running.”

If resilience feels thin right now — in your students or yourself — that’s not a failure. It’s information.

The language we use in the classroom doesn’t just describe behaviour — it shapes how we respond to it.

When it comes to motivation, students with ADHD often don’t respond in the way we expect.

We often think of “focus” as sitting still, eyes forward, hands folded. But for many students—especially those with ADHD—focus doesn’t look like stillness. In fact, it’s the opposite.

Ever found yourself thinking, “Why does this student keep doing that?” Or feeling frustrated when a child doesn’t respond to your usual strategies?

Executive functioning challenges often go hand-in-hand with ADHD — impacting planning, focus, emotional regulation, and task completion. But with the right strategies, we can help students thrive in and beyond the classroom.

When a student with ADHD interrupts, fidgets, or goes off-task, it’s easy to see what’s going wrong. But what if we trained our eyes to look for what’s going right?