I take my pills, why do I have to do more, and what might that be?

Problem is, after some years of being adhd, you likely don’t have great studying skills, you might be behind in your basic math skills (making learning more complex math extremely difficult when you make mistakes in multiplication), your reading may be behind level, or even something as straight forward as your exam taking skills – yes, it takes skill to answer questions efficiently and read questions carefully and organize your time usefully.

Medication is never perfect, nor does it work 24 hours a day. In kids we often have to reduce medication in the evening so appetite returns (we don’t want you wasting away) so focus can be difficult just when you have homework to complete.

So, what does this extra help look like?

It might be a math tutor to help you catch up. It could be some reading about adhd you need to do (or your parents), or it might even be some youtube videos that help you get better organized so you can find things.

“My Brain Needs Glasses” and “My Brain Still Needs Glasses” are highly recommended for kids to read.

It might be a counsellor who can help you take the areas you most struggle with and suggest strategies to manage those difficult areas or teach you to be more focused (yes, counselling can improve adhd symptoms, not just work round them)

Did you know that something as simple as note taking in class helps you pay attention better, and the act of summarizing these notes before exams (perhaps onto cards) will help you remember better. Sitting at the front of the class makes it easier to pay attention, the distractions being behind you. Oddly, using a fountain pen can help your writing and thus make your notes more legible)

Research has shown us that counsellors can help us focus better – who knew? That you can learn to not interrupt, to pay attention to others better, and learn to keep your temper.

Schools that are skilled in working with kids with adhd can help you succeed, and besides, you already figured out that kids with adhd aren’t boring, like so many ordinary kids.

A lot of kids with ADHD have done poorly in school and yet are far above average intelligence and schools that challenge bright kids are a lot more fun to attend. Teachers who themselves have adhd can be particularly adept (good) at not being boring and making learning fun and interesting and can be especially good at helping get concepts across to students who don’t get it on the first explanation.