ADHD toolkit

This practical and accessible toolkit is designed to help teachers and teaching assistants to support key stage 3 and key stage 4 students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the mainstream classroom. ADHD toolkit presents an overview of what ADHD is, how it is diagnosed and how it can be treated. It provides a variety of strategies and printable resources to help learners with ADHD thrive in your classroom.

What’s included?

This 43-page toolkit includes:

• an overview of the three types of ADHD: combined, hyperactive-impulsive and predominantly inattentive
• a checklist of ADHD symptoms
• a summary of the ADHD treatment available, including types of medication and therapeutic support
• an explanation of how ADHD affects the brain, including impacts on executive functioning
• an overview of how ADHD affects girls and women
• comorbid conditions that can occur with ADHD, such as autism and Tourette syndrome
• classroom strategies for managing ADHD
• tips and templates for rewarding students’ success
• a CPD PowerPoint for staff training, parents’ evenings and senior leadership meetings.

How does it support students with ADHD?

ADHD toolkit helps teachers to recognise behaviours that may be indicative of the three main symptoms of ADHD: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. It offers advice on seating arrangements, turn-taking skills and conflict resolution, with reminders to praise students and showcase their strengths. It also provides classroom strategies to support executive functioning weakness, and teaching strategies for supporting students with memory skills, organisation skills and writing tasks.

For students, the toolkit offers self-regulation techniques, tips on how to avoid getting distracted, and planning tools such as timetables and activity planners.

The toolkit also suggests sensory supports such as fidget toys that can be beneficial for learners with ADHD and highlights the importance of regular healthy snacks, and of staying hydrated to combat the side effects of ADHD medication.

About the writer

ADHD toolkit was written by Elizabeth Swan. Lizzy draws upon lived experience and upon professional expertise from over 20 years as a qualified teacher, SENDCo and headteacher in secondary schools and special schools. She exploits her postgraduate study of psychology to present the ‘best bets’ from research-informed approaches to supporting children and young people with ADHD.