This page outlines how education staff, care services, parents, guardians, and health professionals work together to manage a child or student with ADHD in education and care settings.

About ADHD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neuro-developmental disorder, which affects a person’s ability to use age-appropriate self-control.

It is characterised by patterns of inattentive, impulsive, and sometimes hyperactive behaviour.

Find out more about the types of ADHD behaviour.

Health support plans and agreements

If the child or student has ADHD, the education or care service should refer to health support planning for children and students in education and care settings to ensure that the appropriate plans and agreements are in place. This is in addition to the ADHD-specific plans and agreements listed on this page.

Support plan

A sensory overview support plan – HSP431 (DOC 389 KB) may be developed by education and care staff in collaboration with the child or young person and their family. This can provide an understanding of the sensory issues and support the development of strategies to minimise sensory seeking or avoidance.

Behavioural support strategies for children and teachers

Regulation scale to identify behaviour

The regulation scale – HSP432 (DOC 749 KB) is a tool that education care staff can use to help children to identify:

• what is happening around them that is impacting on their mood change
• what signals their body is giving them
• ways to respond to their body’s signals that will help them manage the change in mood.

The regulation scale guide –  HSP432a (PDF 502 KB) supports the development of the regulation scale. It can be used with interoception activities to help the child develop meaningful interoception skills.

Some examples of completed regulation scales include:

• externalising behaviour (PDF 122 KB)
• internalising behaviour (PDF 123 KB)
• symbols and reduced language (PDF 157 KB)
• year 3 boy (PDF 106 KB) .

Understanding student behaviour

The understanding behaviour template – HSP433 (DOCX 449 KB) helps to identify why behaviours are occurring how to change it.

The template can be used to:

• identify possible triggers for the concerning behaviour
• document what is happening when the behaviour is most likely to occur
• compare when the behaviour is least or most likely to occur
• help you identify the purpose of the behaviour
• identify teaching environments best suited to the young person.

Educational adjustments

Educational adjustments support students on an individualised basis. Adjustments should be determined by the parents and education and care service and documented in the health support agreement.

Examples of adjustments may include:

• working on difficult concepts in the morning
• developing creative presentations of course material
• having games that develop working memory as part of the daily routine
• interoception activities in the daily routine, especially prior to complex tasks.

Visit classroom accommodations to help students with ADHD to learn more adjustment strategies.

Training for education and care staff

Children and young people with ADHD may have low levels of interoception, which means they are unable to understand or connect with their bodies in ways that would enable them to self-regulate. It is important teach interoception to help children and young people develop skills in this area.

Learn more about interoception and how it can be applied in the classroom including:

• benefits of teaching interoception
• interoception tools and resources
• models of interoception in the classroom.

How parents and caregivers can help

Parents or guardians must:

• notify the school, preschool or care service if their child has ADHD
• complete health care plans and agreements with their health care professionals and provide them to the school, preschool or care service
• provide required medication to the school, preschool or care service.

If a medication agreement is in place, parents and caregivers must fulfil the roles and responsibilities outlined on the medication management and care page.

How health professionals can help

Health professionals support schools, preschools, care services and families by helping to develop the care plan and any supporting medication and care agreements.