
Celebrating Dyslexia Awareness Month!
October 8, 2026
Celebrating ADHD Awareness Month!
October is ADHD Awareness Month, a time that organizations around the world share information about ADHD and its treatments. It is a great time to explore myths, common signs, strategies to positively impact symptoms, and resources, as well as to celebrate strengths. More than 22 million people in the United States have an ADHD diagnosis. It is one of the most common conditions in childhood impacting 1 in 9 children (11.7%).
Understanding Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can be confusing because it is not actually a deficit in attention, it doesn’t always involve hyperactivity, and it doesn’t lead to difficulty in all environments or with all tasks. It is critical to distinguish between myths and facts to avoid stigma and avoid delays in receiving proper care.

Common Myths About ADHD
MYTH: ADHD is not a real medical condition
FACT: ADHD is highly hereditary. If you have ADHD your children have about a 35% chance of acquiring it. For children diagnosed with ADHD there is a 50% likelihood that one of their parents has it. Other factors: difficulties during pregnancy, prenatal exposure to alcohol/tobacco, significant low birth weight, premature delivery, high lead levels, and postnatal brain injury.
FACT: Brain imaging illustrates differences in brain development between people with ADHD and those without it.
MYTH: Individuals with ADHD don’t have the ability to focus
FACT: Although individuals with ADHD may often have trouble with focusing, they may also focus intensely (hyperfocus) on something they find very interesting. This dichotomy reflects an inherent difficulty with effectively regulating attention.
MYTH: All children with ADHD are hyperactive
FACT: Not all children with ADHD have hyperactivity as a symptom. For students who have hyperactivity as a symptom, it often lessens as they age or even goes away. There are 3 types of ADHD: 1) ADHD-predominantly inattentive presentation, 2) ADHD-predominantly hyperactive/impulsive presentation, 3) and ADHD-combined presentation. Individuals with ADHD-inattentive presentation primarily exhibit difficulties with sustained attention and executive functioning.
MYTH: ADHD only impacts boys
FACT: Although boys are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD, this is largely attributed to symptoms being overlooked in girls. One reason for this is because girls tend to be less hyperactive and have less trouble with impulse control.
So, what is it?
ADHD is a broad condition with 3 subtypes impacting individuals across the lifespan that is characterized by a pattern of difficulties regulating attention, emotions, and behavior that causes barriers in some environments (e.g. at school).
What Should I Look For?
ADHD symptoms are not always easy to spot and can present differently between individuals. Common signs that a student may be struggling with symptoms of ADHD are:
Younger Students:
- Not slowing down enough to do things carefully
- Having trouble following directions
- Having trouble remembering things that were just taught
- Fidgeting, trouble staying seated, talking during quiet times
- Getting upset over minor things
- Working slowly and failing to finish in a reasonable amount of time
- Rushing through work
- Messy work and careless mistakes
Older Students:
- Trouble prioritizing (making sure important things get done)
- Forgetting to write down assignments
- Trouble returning homework
- Getting sidetracked from tasks that aren’t interesting
- Hard time making friends
- Taking risks without considering consequences
Remember, ADHD can often present differently for girls. Signs that a student may be struggling even if they are getting good grades include chronic procrastination followed by late-night bursts of work, frequent self-criticism, anxiety tied to performance, trouble keeping track of belongings, social overwhelm, shifting friendships, and strong creativity paired with inconsistent output.
If you can name it, you can tame it: If your student is exhibiting signs of ADHD, consider a comprehensive evaluation to put a name to the difficulty and to begin the process of taming struggles using recommendations aligned with your child’s specific learning profile.
Strategies to Support Learners
General practices I recommend for supporting your student with ADHD are:
- Make it visual (create visuals for processes that are primarily happening inside the mind)
- Make it smaller (break tasks into smaller steps)
- Schedule effectively (place non-preferred tasks before preferred tasks, follow preferred tasks with something that is preferred or neutral, tasks requiring executive functioning may come easiest between 8:00am-12:00pm)
- Make it motivating (incorporate rewards)
Strategies for skill development to mitigate ADHD symptoms:
- Whether through executive functioning coaching, interventions at school, or support at home, build your child’s executive functioning skills (e.g. planning, prioritizing, time management, and organization)
- Leverage structure and routines by incorporating visual schedules, using checklists, and using interval work periods for independent work
- Explicitly teach Habits of Attention to support sustained engagement by providing direct instruction using acronyms like SLANT (Sit-up, Listen, Ask/Answer questions, Nod your head, & Track the talker)
- Build emotional regulation skills by teaching coping strategies and mindfulness skills. Students with ADHD often respond quickly and have large emotional responses that may be bigger than expected for a given situation
Don’t Forget the Superpowers
Celebrate and leverage your child’s unique strengths. Students with ADHD often have wonderful strengths sometimes referred to as superpowers. These can include hyperfocusing, creativity, pattern recognition, innovative problem-solving, a high energy level, intuitiveness, a tendency to act decisively in chaotic environments, a deep sense of empathy, and a strong sense of justice.
Resources for Families
To learn more about ADHD and strategies for support, check out these resources:
- Driven to Distraction by Hallowell and Ratey explores ADHD from childhood through adulthood through strengths, practical guidance, and attention regulation
- ADHD 2.0 by Hallowell and Ratey explains the unique way of thinking experienced by individuals with ADHD
- Smart But Scattered by Dawson and Guare explains why intelligent children can struggle with everyday organization, focus, and behavior and provides step-by-step strategies for support
- CHADD.org Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is a nonprofit organization that has a mission of empowering all people affected by ADHD
Thank you to Bradley Paramore, Psychologist at Springer Diagnostic Center, for sharing these insights.



