Distracted Thoughts

I go for a swim every Sunday morning. I’m not sure why I started there. Probably because that’s where I started thinking about writing this. But that being the case I could quite easily have started when I was looking at the hot honey Jaffa Cakes in Tesco that I hadn’t gone in to buy but had caught my eye en route to the eggs. I slipped towards it then. I suppose I could start from the drive to the massive antique shop or a couple of times when I was in there too, the idea drifted in and out like a desperate jellyfish trying hard not to get stuck on the shore. It has some sense of shape but little direction and every chance of being pecked to bits by angry seagulls. Now I’ll go back to the swimming pool, that is a useful place to start.

I always feel better after the swim. It is hard work but I get out of the water tired and not nursing a recurrence of an old sporting injury. But despite it’s obvious benefits I don’t think I could do it more than once a week, largely because it is probably the most challenging hour of my week, and that’s why I’m starting there. I don’t mean the physical action of swimming is a challenge, certainly not like the woman who was going the wrong way round the lane this week and doing a style that can only be described as a “frog in a blender” stroke. Swimming is mechanical, it’s repetitive and as such is where my brain is free, it is allowed to take control, which it does, every, single, time. All I ask it to do is one simple task. Remember how many lengths I’ve done.

Let me be clear, I am perfectly capable of counting to 40. It’s not something I’ve had much trouble with for a number of decades. But for that hour it becomes a challenge as for the 90 seconds it takes to get from one side of the pool to the other, a number that was in my mind at the start of that length will have gone by the time I reach the other. Ninety seconds. That’s all. And to be honest one way is even, one odd, there’s even a clock there so I could work it out. But no. I can’t stay on top of this one task because when I swim I can’t stay on top of my brain.

That’s ADHD for you, or in old money ADD (though when it was ADD I didn’t know I had it). You are in a constant battle with yourself to fit between the lines, to stick to the script, to be good. That’s really the point of this whole mess of a piece of writing. I’m trying to write it giving my brain free reign but I won’t describe all of the thoughts and ideas that interrupt as I go (and so far, in this sentence alone I have thought about whether or not there is a model of the computer character Jet Set Willy that could be printed on my daughter’s 3D printer, what I’m going to watch when I do the ironing later, which episodes of Bagpus I can genuinely remember and how I’m going to find a collection of Jules Verne’s novels in French) just know that it’s happening. I want to open the door a little to help if you are wondering why that child in your class, or your family acts like they do. It might even give you some insight into your spouse though I think to my family my brain remains an enigma all these years on. Sorry.

If I don’t have a clear singular focus I won’t. It’s that simple. It effects me with everything and I have to fight every minute of every day to stay on task. There is no respite, there never has been, it’s just now I know how to work with it. But frankly it’s exhausting and sometimes it feels overwhelming. I’m not sure I remember exactly how that affected me as a student. I know the prospect of homework when I got home was intolerable, I wasn’t lazy, I often exceeded the expectations but it had to be in my own time, on my own terms otherwise it would end up perfunctory. These days we call it masking and it’s well understood. But the reality for that child is, they may have done five or six lessons during a day but it will feel like far more and jumping straight into more will inevitably result in conflict or avoidance. As adults we need to be far more understanding of this, there are organisational challenges for a young person with ADHD which is something we can help as parents and professionals but it is also critical that we recognise that it might be that sometimes that hour online or gaming, or drawing might be desperately needed. I didn’t know at the time but playing Sensible World of Soccer while listening to Tommy Boyd on Talk Radio was my daily respite.

That lack of focus is also a challenge in a classroom. It can have multiple results and I can only mention those that affected me in particular, but hopefully by explaining them it will again offer an insight. If my mind is not employed in a clear direction it can go. For me, in school it was one of two ways, completely creative on paper (which I was) or creative in attempting to be funny (which I wasn’t). In Mr Andrew’s Biology lessons I would challenge myself with lists. All the First Division teams, then their captain, manager, ground, sponsor anything. In Mr Carr’s Physics I created an entire comic called Physics weekly featuring the exploits of fictionalised versions of my favourite teachers. In Mr Barry’s maths lessons it was a newspaper with spoof stories where the maths and science departments featured heavily. Elsewhere it was amusing songs or ghost stories but it kept my mind from wandering and meant that when a task that the teacher wanted me to complete was there I would get it done. I never failed to do my work, though I suspect I didn’t do it as well as I could have. I found my own way to cope, it wasn’t fantastic but it got me through school. There will be thousands of “me”s in schools around the country who need an outlet but don’t have it. “Can you give them a fidget?” Don’t get me started on fidgets. I hate them but that’s a different discussion. (Drifted again but I’m back) Quality first teaching and reasonable adjustments do both certainly make an enormous difference but the truth is, understanding is the number one source of help. “You ok? Know what you’re doing?” Has so much more impact than, “why haven’t you started?” It’s the little prompts and reminders that can make the difference. Of course this might not be enough and there is no harm in gradually upping the ante. But strong expectations and supportive prompting can make a world of difference.

Just remember your lesson could be brilliant. It could be chunked and there could be fabulous scaffolding for each task but maybe today that focus is just not sticking. It’s not a reflection on you, how interesting your lesson is or how engaging you are. Today they just can’t do it. Knowing you’ve acknowledged it could really make the difference to that student and might turn them back to your lesson. “That’s a cracking picture of an owl but it’s not part of the water cycle, can we get that done now.”

The other issue I struggle with (and it has got worse as I have got older) is talking during a presentation. I loathe it. It’s one of my real hates. People who chat at the back of CPD sessions while someone is trying their hardest at the front. Oh and god forbid they talk to me. It stresses me more than anything. In school I was the same, it really put me off and could derail my focus completely. I was and am very even tempered but just imagine that student who is a bit impulsive, has a quick temper. When that other student who can’t control their chat during your explanation starts talking to the student next to them in between you and the hot headed ADHD student they may react and their reaction is what draws your attention. From there the race to the bottom has begun and in their mind they are the injured party.

I recognise I have drifted and waffled but that’s the point of this. I’m writing as I think. Disconnected, distracted, dysfunctional. I fight every minute of every day and it’s hard work, but I get it, I’m an adult who has spent a disproportionate amount of my working life studying, thinking about and working with young people with adhd so I suppose I see everything through that lens. It’s also important to mention here that I’m not talking about the other side of the ADHD coin, the hyperactivity side, that poses different challenges and thankfully I don’t have to deal with both. But there are times when I finish a day and I feel like I’ve lost, that I’ve fought against my brain and it’s won and we are both slumped in our respective corners unable to look at each other. Again, I’m an adult and I know what’s happening, that child that has ‘masked’ all day might crash or desperately seek distraction other than school, they might need that time ring-fenced for them rather than fought against.

A short mention of instructions or conversations. If you have ADHD you can find social interaction a massive challenge. Even the most simple conversation is fraught with danger. I notice everything and nothing, it is critical I stay focused on what the person I’m speaking to is saying. The words, always the words. A facial expression can change a conversation in a second. You begin the interpretation spiral, then the tone of the conversation changes in my mind and by the end a simple discussion about the weather could have become an implied instruction to creosote the shed with a hint of threat that you hadn’t already done it (and to have formulated a whole plan of how to do it too). While at the same time not noticing that the other person was holding a didgeridoo. I am led to believe it can be frustrating living with someone like that. But in the classroom it’s worth knowing that sometimes a student might miss your meaning or be focused on one thing you said that you thought was throw away. It’s worth taking a second to think that maybe they didn’t get it and they weren’t being rude.

Finally (is it or is there something I’ve forgotten. I’m not sure. I had a list but it’s not where I thought I had put it.) Sleep. It’s a growing problem for all sorts of reasons and more and more young people struggle with it. For me, as a kid it was hard. I struggled with it. To a degree I still do but not in quite the same way (I can’t lie in, if I wake, I’m up, regardless of time - weighted blankets are magic). I’d lie awake panicking that I’d be exhausted the next day, I read books over and over again, rearranged my bedroom, wrote pretentious political statements that thankfully went unread, listened to late night phone ins, when I got a television in my bedroom (with a single ear earphone that stretched from one end of my room to the other that my parents never knew about) I discovered a love for Hammer Horror and to a lesser extent Prisoner Cell Block H. (Note: I’ve just been onto YouTube to play the theme, then look for the music that played underneath ceefax from about 2am both of which I could still sing/hum perfectly). Oh and in those dark, quiet lonely hours with nothing to do you think and thinking can lead to overthinking and catastrophising and anxiety. There were days I was exhausted and had a headache and of course that will not have helped my focus, there will be students who feel that too and may opt out of learning inside or worse outside of school.

Living with ADHD can be a challenge but equally it can be an absolute game changer in the right direction. Young people with it often don’t know how to manage it and therefore don’t know how to ask for the help to manage it or articulate when they are struggling. Don’t get me wrong. They make bad choices, and choices not as a result of their neurodivergence but it’s also worth knowing that as an adult it’s useful to take that second to ask the question are you ok with that? Are you sure you meant that? Did you understand what I just said? Are you ok?

I’m not going to draft this. Because that is pretty much the way I completed much of my education. If I’ve focused so hard to finish the task why would I do it again to redraft or check? As an adult, in my working life I do and I had to train myself to do it, it’s far, far harder for a teenager. Though apparently I’ve not yet trained myself to double check the sink for cutlery after washing up. I’ve done it, next task now, why check?

However I am going to force myself to write an organised summary as a reward for those non-ADHD who have made it this far. These are some key points for teachers (and parents) to keep in mind when supporting children with ADHD:

Lack of focus is not laziness. Children with ADHD often want to do well but find sustained attention mentally exhausting.

Clear, single tasks help. When instructions are simple and focused, students with ADHD are more likely to engage.

Use supportive prompts. Questions like “Are you okay?” or “Do you know what you need to do?” are often more effective than “Why haven’t you started?”

Expect mental fatigue. After concentrating all day, some students may struggle with homework or additional tasks and may need time to decompress.

Provide safe outlets for attention. Some students manage their focus by drawing, doodling, or writing; these strategies can help them stay mentally engaged.

Check understanding. Students with ADHD may misinterpret instructions or focus on the wrong detail. A quick clarification can prevent problems.

Be aware of distractions. Noise or talking nearby can derail focus and may trigger frustration in some students.

Understand that focus varies day to day. Even well-planned lessons will sometimes be difficult for a student with ADHD to engage with.

Small moments of understanding matter. A quick check-in or acknowledgment can help a student regain focus and feel supported.