School can be challenging for any parent to navigate, and even more so when your child has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
One of the most important first steps is building a good relationship with your child’s teacher. Since teachers change from year to year, this connection benefits both the teacher, as well as your child. Good collaboration and communication matters whether your child is newly diagnosed, starting a new school year, or already has an education plan like a 504 or IEP.
Whether you’ve just learned that your child has ADHD or had a couple of years under your belt, here are a few tips and strategies for talking to your child’s teacher about it:
1. Introduce your child
At the beginning of the school year, or as soon as you have a new diagnosis, reach out to your child’s teachers. Open houses and meet-the-teacher nights at the beginning of the school year offer a great opportunity to do this. Or if you’ve received a diagnosis mid-year, do an initial reach out to share what you’ve learned and provide any documentation that might be helpful.
During this time, you can talk about some strengths and things that have worked well when your child has faced challenges.
2. Schedule a meeting, but not the first week
Then schedule a meeting to talk through everything. If it’s the beginning of the school year, refrain from scheduling it during the first coupe of weeks. It’s often hectic and the teacher is getting to know everyone. Waiting until the second or third week gives everyone time to adjust and allows the teacher to become familiar with your child. When scheduling this meeting, it is important to ensure that key people can attend. Some important roles that may be present include: classroom teachers, support personnel, and school counselors or administrators (principal or assistant principal).
3. Discuss accommodations and supports
Work as a team to establish a combination of supports and accommodations that your child might need. CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a great resource for you to review supports in the educational setting.
One support to highlight is a daily report card (DRC), a common behavioral tool that can be a “secret weapon” for classroom success. Students with ADHD do best with specific, positively stated, targeted goals and frequent feedback throughout the day. A DRC should include 3-4 targeted goals for which your child gets visual feedback on a regular basis (such as every hour). Here is an example of one.
4. Establish regular communication
Be clear with the teacher about how often you would like to communicate, what you would like to know, and the best ways to reach you (calls, emails, text, etc.). Some parents prefer to have regular updates – positive and negative – so that they are not surprised at parent-teacher conferences. It can be helpful to schedule these quick update meetings in advance – about every four to six weeks.
5. Anticipate future needs
You know your child’s behavior best and know what has worked and what has been difficult for them in the past. Anticipate problems that may arise and offer some solutions based on what has been successful with other teachers. Being an effective collaborator with your child’s educational team will greatly benefit you and your child’s educational experience.
Following these steps will help you establish a working partnership with your child’s teacher. If you’re looking for further guidance, our Family Resource Center or the National Resource on ADHD may be able to assist you in finding additional resources.
Ready to schedule an appointment? Call 513-636-4336 or visit our website for more information.
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