School environment not student should adapt to ADHD

If it feels like nowadays just about everyone has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), however this isn’t just a feeling. ADHD diagnoses have seen a steep increase from 6% to 10% of the American student population in the past twenty years, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. This means one in ten kids now fit the criteria for ADHD.
There is serious controversy over whether this rise in diagnosis is reflective of a rise in ADHD or just ADHD symptoms such as difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, difficulty with time management, impulsiveness, and trouble listening. Studies have shown that these symptoms are rising with the general population, due to society trending towards less time outside and more time on screens.
Some say that the increase is part of a larger trend of over diagnosing and over medicating in America, due to loosening of pharmaceutical standards in the 1990s. It is easy to over diagnosis, as brain scans that can check whether someone has a smaller prefrontal lobe the hallmark of the disorder, are not part of the diagnosis. Instead, one can be diagnosed with just a short questionnaire.
But the increase in diagnosis could also simply be from females finally beginning to be diagnosed at similar rates to males.

Regardless of whether ADHD is on the rise or just the ADHD symptoms, the current norms for work and schools conflict with how ten percent of the population thinks. This leads to those with ADHD habitually falling short of expectations, often leading to the development of secondary anxiety and depressive disorders. However, it is not just this growing percentage that suffers.
Their loved ones, coworkers, and even the economy at large suffer from the ripples of their inefficient functioning.
This ripple begins not in the world of childhood play but in the highly structured world of American schools. Children are usually not diagnosed with ADHD until their specific school environment exposes their difficulty keeping up with other children. Usually at that age children with ADHD diagnoses are put on medication so they can keep up in school. But would this medication still be necessary in a different learning environment?
As someone with ADHD and who has been on many ineffective medications, I am biased, however I would just like to explore the idea of how schools could adapt to this growing population.

Block scheduling, which has caught on more recently, asks students to focus for an hour and a half at a time, which is very difficult for anyone who struggles to focus. However, if classes worked for shorter periods such as the twenty minutes suggested by the Pomedoro technique, followed by short breaks outside, these children might not have issues focusing. More screen-time has been shown over and over to decrease attention spans, yet schools are continuing to invest more in technology, ensuring that their students spend hours looking at a screen. What if schools purposely tried to minimize time on screens instead?
American schools also typically ask students to spend minimum six hours a day indoors, seven in middle and high school. The result is almost no time outside, and even less in nature. More nature deficit could be a big culprit for more ADHD and its symptoms. Studies from the National
Library of Medicine concluded that “Green outdoor settings appear to reduce ADHD symptoms in children.”
Finally, even small classroom changes can have huge benefits for students with ADHD. Many suffer from time blindness, which is extremely detrimental later in life, so multiple warnings before transitions, as well as a visible schedule are necessary.
Finally, understanding that students learn in different but equivalent ways can benefit all students. Flexibility in students’ accommodation, whether it is a standing desk or listening to music can transform how well students focus.
Flexibility with testing students through creative projects, oral tests, as well as written tests can help better measure their understanding.
We have been conditioned that students with ADHD are at odds with school, but what if school is at odds with them? Let’s reimagine the American classroom. What if recess was not once a day for elementary children but spread across many short breaks for all ages. What if recess was
playing or walking outside in green spaces with dirt and grass not just jungle gyms with synthetic purple ground? What if children looked forward to tests as chances to show off their strengths rather than days that scrape at their weaknesses? Would high schoolers talk with each other instead of staring at their phones in class if their elementary schools did not speed up the screen
addiction with online work? What if classrooms looked less perfectly organized into straight lines of desks and instead were a colorful collage of standing desks, bean bags, students with ear buds in, and dance break areas?
This may seem too drastic of a difference, but if schools want to keep their purpose of helping students learn, I do not see there being a choice. A growing number of students is hurting every day from excessive time sitting inside on screens. Their ability to learn is obviously hindered but also their ability to maintain relationships and their health. Just because school has always
looked a certain way does not mean it has to.