ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects both children and adults. The NHS estimates that, as of August 2025, 2.5m people in England have ADHD, with 1.76m of those being adults. ADHD is equally common across genders; however women and girls often go un- or mis-diagnosed due to a difference in the way ADHD tends to present in them, and late diagnosis in adulthood is not uncommon.

As teaching is a predominantly female profession (McShane and Sheppard, 2024), it is therefore unsurprising that at the Julian TSH we have been approached by several teachers who have been recently diagnosed with ADHD and are looking for advice on how to manage it in their workplace.

ACAS tells us that being neurodivergent, including ADHD, often amounts to a disability under the Equality Act 2010, and therefore employers are obliged to make reasonable adjustments to remove or reduce the disadvantage faced by these individuals related to their neurodivergence. Anecdotally, we have found that schools we work with are very happy to do this – but if you’re newly diagnosed and/or an early career teacher, how do you know what to ask for?

Signs and symptoms of ADHD can include:

• Inattention
• Restlessness
• Impulsivity
• Emotional dysregulation
• Hyperfocus
• Executive dysfunction
• Motivational deficits (most often in children).

In teachers, having ADHD means that the daily pressures and challenges of teaching are amplified. Teachers with ADHD may struggle with organisation, time management, maintaining focus, and workload management. This can look like a teacher being easily distracted in lessons, or struggling to stay on track. Lesson planning and marking may take significantly longer than for neurotypical teachers. From NeuroLaunch: “Emotional regulation and impulse control also play a crucial role in the classroom. Teachers with ADHD may find it challenging to manage their reactions to disruptive behaviour or unexpected situations. The impulsivity associated with ADHD can sometimes lead to hasty decisions or comments that may require damage control later.”  

None of this means that people with ADHD are unsuited to teaching; in fact, the variety inherent in teaching and the constant interpersonal interactions make it particularly attractive to some. Hyperfocus is an amazing tool for creative lesson planning, and thinking divergently pushes innovation in the classroom. ADHD gives you amazing empathy to 'invisible' needs such as stimming or rejection sensitivity and neurodivergent staff are more likely to spot masking proxies for learning as well as being better able to support parents to advocate for their neurodivergent children. The challenge is to harness your ADHD and make it work for you.

Before thinking about what reasonable adjustments would help, it’s worth ensuring that you’re setting yourself up for success: seeking appropriate medical and therapeutic care, practicing mindfulness or meditation, and regular exercise can all help manage symptoms. Learning to recognise triggers is also important for emotional regulation. You know yourself best, so find what works for you.

Embrace technology! The ADHD Workbook has a great list of useful tools, including time management apps, speech-to-text transcription, and digital calendars. Task management platforms such as Trello can also help in breaking down large or complex tasks into manageable chunks. NeuroLaunch also lists some “compensation strategies” such as sticking to a structured routine and using visual aids and reminders.

So let’s talk reasonable adjustments. Charlotte Forbes on LinkedIn has some great suggestions:

• Flexible working. Yes, of course, this is more difficult for teachers than for many other sectors, but flexible working can include taking PPA time at home for fewer distractions, or being given longer lead-in times for deadlines with regular reminders scheduled in.
• Everything in writing! Written instructions, meeting agendas, conversations followed up via email and so on can really help. 
• Regular check ins – especially if you’re an ECT. This might look like a little extra mentor time, or shorter but more frequent catch ups with your Head of Department.
• Being told about changes before they happen and being given context for impromptu conversations or meetings.
• Clear lines of communication, whether email, Teams chat or similar, and no dropping into lessons with a quick verbal message.
• Access to HR for policies on sickness and stress-related sick days, and extra support with conflict.
• Access to quiet spaces, and noise-cancelling headphones.

If you’re attending any of the Julian TSH’s CPD or training, we encourage you to let us know how we can make sure you have everything you need to access the learning. This might include:

• Us sending you resources in advance.
• Making a note not to cold call you.
• If there is silent working at any point, you are welcome to use noise cancelling headphones to help you focus.
• Regular wandering-around breaks.

Just let us know what you need, and if we can accommodate it, we will.

ADHD UK has a teachers group, you can join here.

Finally, keep an eye on the Wellbeing page on our website – we update it regularly and you may well find resources that will help you. You could also bookmark our CPD and wellbeing Padlet – we’ve just added a ‘support for neurodivergent teachers’ section.