Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share ADHD School Behavior Problems: 3 Moves Parents and Teachers Both Need to Know
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
ADHD School Behavior Problems: 3 Moves Parents and Teachers Both Need to Know
Send a text
Your phone buzzes: another behavior report. Learn why punishment fails ADHD kids and get scripts to build a real school-home team.
____________________________________
It's 2:47 PM. Your phone buzzes. You already know what it is before you look. Behavior update. Today was difficult. Please discuss consequences at home. Your stomach drops—because this isn't information. It's a verdict.
Here's what no one tells you: There are three people drowning in that moment. Your child, who's overwhelmed and has no words for it. The teacher, who's exhausted and out of tools. And you, already hanging on by a thread, now expected to be the enforcer.
This episode is for that moment. Not the Pinterest version of ADHD support—the real one. Apryl breaks down why traditional classroom discipline fails ADHD brains and what actually works, backed by research and her decade of classroom experience.
You'll learn:
- Why taking away recess is one of the worst things you can do for an ADHD kid
- The one phrase that changes everything: "Praise the positive opposite"
- 3 research-aligned moves teachers can use in the moment of meltdown
- A word-for-word email script to send your child's teacher (without sounding like you're blaming)
- How to ask for a two-goal plan that both school and home can actually sustain
- The simple template that replaces behavior crime reports with trust-building communication
- Why ADHD kids change through in-the-moment support—not 8 PM lectures
After listening, you'll finally have language for what you've been feeling and a concrete plan to share with your child's school.
The Email Script for Parents
Ask for:
- Please don't remove recess for behavior—movement helps them regulate
- Can we pick two school goals only? (Example: raise hand during math, start work within 2 minutes)
- Can we add one positive note daily, even one sentence?
Close with: "I'm not asking for perfection, just a plan we can both sustain."
The Template for Teachers
Replace behavior crime reports with:
- One win: He came back after a reset / helped a classmate / tried again
- Today's trigger: Transition from math to library
- What helped: Movement break / smaller task / private cue
RESOURCES MENTIONED
- Free Mini Course: Calm the Chaos: The ADHD Parent Reset — raisingadhd.org/calm
View all episodes
By Dr. Brian Bradford & Apryl BradfordSend a text
Your phone buzzes: another behavior report. Learn why punishment fails ADHD kids and get scripts to build a real school-home team.
____________________________________
It's 2:47 PM. Your phone buzzes. You already know what it is before you look. Behavior update. Today was difficult. Please discuss consequences at home. Your stomach drops—because this isn't information. It's a verdict.
Here's what no one tells you: There are three people drowning in that moment. Your child, who's overwhelmed and has no words for it. The teacher, who's exhausted and out of tools. And you, already hanging on by a thread, now expected to be the enforcer.
This episode is for that moment. Not the Pinterest version of ADHD support—the real one. Apryl breaks down why traditional classroom discipline fails ADHD brains and what actually works, backed by research and her decade of classroom experience.
You'll learn:
- Why taking away recess is one of the worst things you can do for an ADHD kid
- The one phrase that changes everything: "Praise the positive opposite"
- 3 research-aligned moves teachers can use in the moment of meltdown
- A word-for-word email script to send your child's teacher (without sounding like you're blaming)
- How to ask for a two-goal plan that both school and home can actually sustain
- The simple template that replaces behavior crime reports with trust-building communication
- Why ADHD kids change through in-the-moment support—not 8 PM lectures
After listening, you'll finally have language for what you've been feeling and a concrete plan to share with your child's school.
The Email Script for Parents
Ask for:
- Please don't remove recess for behavior—movement helps them regulate
- Can we pick two school goals only? (Example: raise hand during math, start work within 2 minutes)
- Can we add one positive note daily, even one sentence?
Close with: "I'm not asking for perfection, just a plan we can both sustain."
The Template for Teachers
Replace behavior crime reports with:
- One win: He came back after a reset / helped a classmate / tried again
- Today's trigger: Transition from math to library
- What helped: Movement break / smaller task / private cue
RESOURCES MENTIONED
- Free Mini Course: Calm the Chaos: The ADHD Parent Reset — raisingadhd.org/calm