Reflections on Teaching Neurodivergent Students in Middle School

My first day of teaching at my current school (starting mid-year), one of my 7th graders came up to me and said: I have ADHD and I don't always take my meds so sometimes I get a little antsy, but you should know that I am trying.

At the time, not having much context, I just said, “Thanks for letting me know!”

The next two weeks I realized that antsy was a huge understatement.

At one point, this student (who is also a great actor and starred in many of the school musicals) “tripped” and very elaborately fell into the garbage can causing trash to go everywhere and the entire class to erupt into screaming, laughing, jumping chaos. The next day he was pulled from my class because he and another student were rubbing Clorox wipes in each other’s mouths. Another teacher later told me that the year before, he had sprayed her with a fire extinguisher.

Everyone kept telling me, “He’s actually much easier this year.”
Not having the comparison, I wasn’t exactly comforted.

It was challenging to work with him and not just because of his behavior, but because of how much it dysregulated everyone else. Other students would get visibly frustrated and sometimes just say what they were thinking: “Can you just get him out?”

But then there were these two weeks where he was taking his meds consistently. He moved himself to the front of the room. He was ready. Focused. Participating. He is also deeply empathetic. Kind in these quiet, almost unexpected ways. The kind of kid who will notice if someone is having a bad day and try to make them laugh or feel included. 

At the same time, I have another student in my class who is autistic and has ADHD. Her mom really wants her to be with kids her age, which I understand and respect. She’s not reading at grade level—but honestly, she’s not the only one. The bigger challenge is social. The other kids don’t always understand her, and instead of trying to, they poke at her triggers. They say things just to get a reaction. And sometimes she gets so overwhelmed and frustrated that she lashes out, 

Because so much of teaching isn’t just about content. It’s about managing a room full of very different needs, very different brains, very different emotional realities, all happening at the same time. I found these resources to be very helpful and hope others will too!

https://impact.ed.ac.uk/research/future-health-and-care/rewiring-how-neurodiversity-is-taught-in-the-classroom/

https://www.edutopia.org/article/6-strategies-help-neurodiverse-students-fully-engage-class/

https://childmind.org/article/how-schools-can-support-neurodiverse-students/