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Under 18

ADHD at school: when one look ruins your day.

This page is for you if you're under 18 and you have ADHD, or you think you might. Everything here is free. You don't need an email.

A teacher says your name in a certain tone and you can't think for the rest of the lesson. You post in the group chat and nobody replies. Your coursework deadline was weeks away, and now it's tomorrow. You held it in all day, then shouted at whoever was home.

If that sounds like you, it doesn't mean you're lazy or rude. ADHD can be part of it. Other things can be part of it too, like stress or not sleeping enough. Whatever is behind it, you can learn what sets it off and what helps.

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At school

School asks you to start work on time, meet deadlines, keep your phone in your bag and stay calm when a teacher tells you off in front of everyone. When it goes wrong, your phone gets taken off you or you're put on report. ADHD can make all of that harder.

Friends and group chats

With ADHD, friendships can feel easy to lose. You say something and replay it all night. You find out about plans from someone's story. It can hurt far more than you can explain to anyone.

Free card packs

These are free for anyone under 18. You can share them with friends. Each pack is a PDF you can save to your phone. There's no email and nothing to pay.

At the bottom of the trackers there are links to paid card packs. You don't need them. The same packs are free for you on this page.

Holding it in all day at school is called masking. Getting upset or snapping at home afterwards is what can happen when you stop. The people you feel safest with often see you at your most tired.

If you can, tell a parent or carer what's going on. You could show them this page. Or you could say: "School is really hard for me at the moment. Can we talk about it?"

If home doesn't feel safe, or someone is hurting you, you don't have to cope with it on your own. Tell a teacher you trust or call Childline (UK) on 0800 1111. Not in the UK? Find the number for your country. You won't get in trouble for asking for help.

A teacher may need to tell the school's safeguarding lead so you get help. They should tell you first.

Only a specialist, usually a paediatrician or psychiatrist, can diagnose ADHD. In the UK, these are the usual first steps.

1. Talk to a parent or carer. Tell them what you've noticed, with real examples from school and home.
2. Talk to your school's SENCO. That's the teacher in charge of support for students who need extra help with learning. Your school might call it learning support.
3. See your GP. Your GP or school can refer you, often to a children's ADHD or neurodevelopmental service, sometimes CAMHS. In England you may be able to choose where you're assessed (Right to Choose). Ask your GP.

Outside the UK, start the same way. Talk to a parent or carer and your family doctor. Your school can help too.

The assessment will usually need input from a parent or carer and your school.

In the UK, from about 13 you can usually ask to see a GP on your own. If the GP thinks you understand, they'll keep it private unless they think you or someone else is at serious risk. They'll probably suggest involving a parent, and an ADHD assessment usually does. Outside the UK, rules on seeing a doctor without a parent vary by country.

Waiting lists can be long. While you wait, school can still put support in place based on what you need. You don't always need a diagnosis first.

Tell a teacher you trust, or your school's learning support coordinator (SENCO in the UK), what helps you. For example, sitting near the front, written instructions as well as spoken ones, a reminder before a deadline, or a quiet way to ask for a break.

In the UK, exam access arrangements, such as rest breaks or a room with fewer people in it, can help too. You don't always need a diagnosis. Arrangements have to match how you normally work in class, so ask your SENCO early, in Year 9 or 10 if you can. Outside the UK, ask your school about exam adjustments.

The trackers can help here. If you log what happens for a few weeks, you'll have real examples to show the adults helping you.

Don't change your dose or the time you take it without talking to your parent or carer and the doctor who prescribes it. Never share or sell your medication, and don't double up if you miss a dose.

I'm Jeanette. I have ADHD and I run this site. I'm not a doctor or a therapist, and this page isn't medical advice. If something here doesn't match what your doctor has told you, go with your doctor.