Myth: All students with ADHD are hyper
In this video, Deiera Bennett addresses the myth that all students with ADHD are hyper, by giving examples of other ways ADHD presents itself, including inattentiveness. Oftentimes, someone with ADHD will appear fine, but they are dealing with challenges you cannot see, and the support they need may look different.
Transcript
If someone has ADHD, they are going to be hyper. This is a super common myth, and it's important to address myths like this because what can happen is that students whose behavior doesn't align with that assumption might not receive the support or attention that they need because they are quiet or sitting still at their desk. They're easy to overlook.
So let's talk about it. ADHD has different presentations. One presentation shows up as hyperactivity and impulsivity, which is what people tend to think about when they hear ADHD, but another presentation shows up as inattentiveness. This includes things like zoning out, forgetfulness, um, difficulty starting tasks, um, struggling with, uh, staying organized, and then there's a third presentation, which is a combination of those.
So if someone has ADHD, but it seems like they're doing fine, know that they're dealing with challenges that you just can't see, um, and you just need to believe them, and they need just as much support as those who are, you know, showing the hyper behaviors that are typically associated with ADHD. The support might just look different.
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Key Takeaways
- ADHD has three distinct presentations: hyperactive/impulsive, inattentive, and combined.
- Students with the inattentive presentation are consistently overlooked because their struggles are quiet and internal.
- A student who is sitting still and seems fine may be dealing with significant ADHD-related challenges around focus, organization, and task initiation that are invisible to observers but consuming enormous effort.
- Assuming that visible hyperactivity is the only ADHD presentation worth supporting means the students who need support are less likely to receive it.
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