I am not a psychologist. I am not a counselor nor do I have the ability to diagnose anything. What I am is a teacher, a mother, and a child of the King. That being said, I have a unique perspective on ADHD and its many eccentricities. What I have learned about this topic has been through education and experience as a teacher and mother.

Before I go into “Executive Function” let me tell you a story. See if this scenario sounds familiar:

You started out the homeschool day perfect-or a least you set it up to be perfect. Your morning cart is all stacked, in fact, you might be able to let your kids work on their own for a little bit if you give them clear instructions and write it down for them. By the end of the day, you are frustrated, wondering what went wrong. The assignments you gave your kiddos remain undone, and you are wondering what you did wrong. You gave them clear instructions, set boundaries, left them to work independently for a little bit, and have come back to see utter chaos. You resort to yelling, giving up or worse-wondering if you are capable of homeschooling these kids. Oh well, you’ll try again tomorrow.

The answer is yes, you can homeschool them. Homeschooling might just look a little different than you were expecting.

So let’s dive into Executive Functioning. In simple terms Executive Functioning is a set of mental processes that help you function daily. These skills are running in the back of your brain without much thought. The list is extensive- but I have narrowed down 5 skills that have affected our homeschooling:

1. Organization
2. Self-Regulation
3. Time-Management
4. Prioritizing
5. Multi-Tasking

To do our jobs at work or home properly neurotypical people- children and adults- naturally develop these skills over time, and almost without thinking. As busy adults, we learn what helps us self-regulate. Some of us need a watch to help with time management or a daily planner. We don’t forget to use the bathroom, eat, or take care of our basic hygiene. We understand that to do our jobs properly at work or at home, we have to prioritize. To help you understand, below is a magnificent artist’s rendering of our Executive Functioning mental processes working well.

Now, what is an example of Executive Dysfunction? Well, the opposite of course! For this one, I enlisted the help of my kid, who loves to help me understand what his brain looks like sometimes. He did a great job!

Executive Dysfunction with ADHD while homeschooling is…interesting to say the least, but it is possible! As parents we need to understand that ADHD brains process things differently. A while back I had a student with ADHD describe his brain to me. He had said that he had 100 computer tabs open in his head and when he started to close them, more populated in his mind, and he had no idea where the music was coming from! When he said that, things clicked for me. I can’t teach this student the same way. There is so much psychology behind the “why”, but I am just a homeschool parent/teacher. What I can tell you is what works for us. Here are some tips that have helped us tremendously.

1. Understand that EACH day might be different. Yes, kids need structure and guidance, but your day is NOT going to look like an old-fashioned schoolhouse. Yes, you still need to have a clear lesson plan and a visual representation of what the kids need to expect for the day. A simple sheet with a schedule posted on the fridge will work just fine. Visual timers are a bonus!
2. Even though each day is different, make sure you are teaching the same subject in the same order. Some days our science takes us an hour, some days it takes us 10 minutes. But we always do science right after Language Arts and before Typing Class.
3. Work with their interests. You will quickly see that your student excels in a certain area. For example, one of my children excels at art and reading. They view the world through art and words, but they struggle with math. Guess what we do in Math most of the time? Word problems- word problems with added artwork. Have a child who doesn’t like to read? Figure out why! Is it truly a learning disability or do they just not like fiction? What about fact books? What about online articles? If they can verbally share the knowledge they have learned, it is evidence that they are comprehending what they are reading.
4. Interdisciplinary Studies. This is just a teacher’s word for teaching multiple subjects within the same lesson. Does your child love art but hate history? Boom, interdisciplinary Studies to the rescue! Make a replica of the stone hedge out of modeling clay. Your child loves to talk, but hates to write? Boom, instead of a written book report, help them learn presentation skills by making a visual presentation of the book with 3 folder poster board.
5. Bible Stories. I am learning to do this more as they have gotten older. Find a Bible story that might help them. They absorb more information than you realize.
6. Make sure you specifically take water, bathroom, and snack breaks. Because of Executive dysfunction, they may not remember to drink water or eat snacks until they are already cranky. Yes, even in middle school age.
7. Have a detailed morning schedule before they start schoolwork. I would not recommend they have any screen time at all before school. It’s distracting and it affects their focus. Make sure they make their bed and take care of hygiene needs before school. They will forget, then forget again, but it does help start the day the right way.
8. When you give them instructions, touch their hand or touch the top of their shoulder. There have been many studies that show physical touch and attention go hand in hand with ADHD. Then, have them repeat the instructions. Remember folks, 1 or 2 instructions at a time and then build up. If you give them too many instructions they won’t remember any of it.
9. Make sure they pick up their room and help clean up at the end of the day. Yes, sometimes we are exhausted, kids and adults, but it helps them to reset. Have you heard of that old saying, “The messier the room the messier the mind”? It rings true.
10. Finally, assess, assess, ASSESS! Many parents think that because they are homeschooling they never have to take tests. Now, writing boring tests every week is not going to solve anything, but you have to make sure you are assessing them. Once in the middle of the week just to see if they are retaining anything, and hopefully at the end of the unit as well. You can get very creative in the way that you assess. You could have them design a lesson and teach it to you! You could make games, or verbally ask them questions.

I am here to tell you, Mom or Dad, you are not alone. Many homeschooled parents feel overwhelmed when they are homeschooling a child/s who learns differently. Through it all just remember, God has specifically given these children to you! Yes, they are shaped through the environment, home life, genetics, and their own brains, but they are uniquely yours.

Love and Teach Them,

-Project Homeward Downes

Next Blog Post: Hyperfocus and No Focus