How to Thrive as a Teacher With Attention Deficit Disorder

Teachers are often seen as people who need to match a societal ideal. What does that even mean anymore? No one really meets all the criteria. As an educator, I found myself trying to fit in like a square peg in a round hole. I struggled to find school communities where my creativity was fostered and my personality was accepted. It took me almost two decades to learn what type of school community I would flourish in as an educator. Through my search, I reflected on my needs and started to understand that finding a space that would meet those needs was critical for my success.

As an educator, I have learned through trial and error about classroom instruction and building relationships with students. I can tell you that none of this was possible until I had a better relationship with and understanding of myself. On an April afternoon when I was 39 years old, I sat in a doctor’s office and learned things about myself that explained more to me about my own behaviors and needs as a person than I could have fathomed before. I found out that I had attention deficit disorder (ADD).

Now I always tell myself and others that an ADD diagnosis doesn’t define who we are—it just impacts how we do things. Really, it’s a condition I’ve had my entire life, but I failed to see the symptoms until a moment when I realized that I was in over my head with life and needed more support.

In being honest with myself about my neurodivergent diagnosis, I have been able to not only build myself up as a more developed educator, but also have empathy for my students and serve them better.

Listen to Yourself to be an Agent of Change

As educators, there are times where we forget to stop to listen to ourselves, and we do this out of pure passion for and dedication to our school communities. We definitely aren’t in our profession for the money and it’s not about the summers off. We’re in it because we want to ignite change in the communities that we serve. But, we can’t make that happen until we understand ourselves and others around us. 

The following school year after my ADD diagnosis, I got a fresh start. The reality was that my brain functioned differently and I processed information differently. I needed to organize my life better in order to be there for everyone—my family and my school. Through some of my own soul searching, I left my administration role and went back to the classroom. 

I took time to sort out my options, and went back to teaching at an alternative education high school. I felt like if anyone could better understand life transitions, empathy, and giving someone another chance in success, it could be me. I also found a school community and district with leadership that was emphatic of my neurodivergent needs. With all of this at my fingertips, I was better able to manage my lifestyle and find balance while serving students. 

How I EMPOWERED MYSelf

I empowered myself through working on my executive functioning skills and ability to manage my thoughts.

Understand your cognitive distortions and learn how to manage them. We all have cognitive distortions—irrational thinking patterns that cause stress. I had to learn to combat jumping to conclusions, “shoulding”, and predictive thinking. I struggled with catastrophizing and discounting the positive. I had to learn how to train myself to understand that these thoughts weren’t serving me well. Through journaling and replacing distorted thoughts with realistic perspectives, I learned how to shift my thoughts and “talk to myself”appropriately.

Set goals for yourself that are realistic and achievable. Being passionate about the work that I do, I had an issue with creating and taking on projects. It overwhelmed and exhausted me, which completely led me into burnout. When I set goals, I needed to remember that I’m not superhuman.

Find ways to organize your time. Schedules are key in order for me to get things done. I need to learn to balance work, home, kids and school. Using my Google calendars, Google folders and a paper planner was helpful. Also, thinking about my time and prioritizing the things that need to be done was most important with my self- organization. I also had to learn how to say no or tell people that I'm busy. That was always very hard for me to do, but strong boundaries results in a better schedule and use of my time. 

Declutter your spaces. I know it sounds simple, but it isn't. We accumulate so much “stuff” in our classrooms and homes. I'm a person who is scared to throw away anything because of the assumption that I might need it later. I had to learn to let things go and clean up what was left. This doesn’t just mean physical spaces (our Google drives can get very messy). Sit down and organize your folders and materials. You can save yourself so much time and grief from searching for files. 

I’m not a therapist. The only expertise I can provide here is being a neurodiverse educator in my field for more than 20 years. Over the last five years, our field has been challenging for all involved. When we can learn to make space for ourselves and organize our lives for work and rest, it makes a big difference.

I was burnt out at one point in my career and almost left the field. I had to learn to make choices that served me and my family better. Being honest with myself helped me be authentic with others. I think this is how an educator should be able to function in the world today.