Students with ADHD

Comprehensive Support for NYC Students with ADHD or ADD

When students struggle with traditional efforts to manage goal-directed behaviors, they get labeled, and medication is often touted as the “cure” that will allow them to function in a standard educational environment. But the answer is not to force the student to fit the environment, but rather to find the right environment that enables the student to develop the skills in planning, organization, time management, and focus they need to succeed on their educational journey.

Academics West is one of the only ADHD schools in NYC that applies an individual cross-disciplinary care approach for each student so that we can address the specific needs of every student effectively. Our positive, multifaceted approach transforms frustrated and discouraged students into strategic learners who are resilient, capable, and prepared to overcome any obstacles along the road ahead.

Success Starts with Understanding

The team at Academics West is fully aware that before we can teach, before we can coach, and before we counsel or plan for a student, we must understand that student. We take a broad approach to assess a student’s full range of strengths and abilities, as well as the areas where they struggle. The facets of a student’s personality and thought processes that other schools ignore receive special attention at Academics West. We know that only when we can see the full picture of a student’s potential can we develop the most effective plan to help them achieve it.

In addition to our commitment to understanding our students, our team is dedicated to implementing the most advantageous educational interventions informed by research and proven in practice. As science continues to shed new light on learning techniques for students who approach executive function differently, we believe that ADHD schools in NYC need to stay on top of the learning curve to offer students and their families the benefit of this advanced knowledge.

Tailored Educational Plans

Students diagnosed with ADHD or ADD often receive identical educational accommodations, as if they were all suffering from strep throat and being treated with the same antibiotic. However, ADHD is not a single neurological condition, but several different conditions, and each of these conditions can present with drastically different symptoms. To overcome the difficulties, students need to have an educational plan tailored to their evolving diagnosis.

In broad terms, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder usually takes one of three forms:

Predominantly hyperactive/impulsive
Predominantly inattentive
A combination of inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive

Although ADHD is frequently diagnosed by the time a student reaches the age of seven, symptoms sometimes do not present until later in childhood or adolescence. Moreover, many older children and adults do not receive a proper diagnosis until they have spent years developing their own coping skills, so the interventions best suited to assist with executive functioning may be considerably different from those that work well for children just beginning to manifest symptoms.

The Different Faces of ADHD

Although many educators have created a stereotypical classification of ADHD, the fact is that students can manifest a wide variety of symptoms. At Academics West, we believe strategies need to be thoughtful and customized to a student’s specific concerns and designed to leverage a student’s unique strengths and capacities.

Hyperactive/Impulsive Type ADHD

Students with this type of ADHD exhibit signs of greater-than-usual physical activity and tend to act on impulses without traditional restraint. Symptoms that manifest often include:

Fidgeting and squirming
Constant talking
Difficulty sitting still
Frequent physical handling and manipulation of objects
Impatience
Making inappropriate comments or speaking out of turn
Failure to consider consequences before acting

While they can become distracted or lose focus, these symptoms are not as noticeable as other symptoms. The active motions and speech of a student with hyperactive/impulsive type ADHD are often viewed as a distraction in the classroom that frustrates traditional teachers and school administrators. Parents are encouraged to send these children to specialized ADHD schools in NYC, but some of these schools take an approach that is just as impersonal and inflexible as those in traditional settings.

We believe students deserve better.

Inattentive and Distracted Type ADHD

This type of ADHD has often been overlooked or misunderstood because the physical signs are much more subdued. Students who have been tested and diagnosed are frequently described as having attention deficit disorder or ADD, although that is now considered to be an outdated term in the medical community.

Students with predominantly inattentive type hyperactivity disorder often exhibit signs such as:

Quickly becoming bored
Appearing to be daydreaming and not paying attention
Easily becoming distracted from the task at hand
Missing details in explanations
Losing papers, pencils, and other supplies needed for a task
Processing information slowly or inaccurately
An inability to follow directions or focus on a single task
Having difficulty assimilating new information

Often, students with predominantly inattentive ADHD are simply considered to be lazy, undisciplined, or spoiled. They are unfairly punished and blamed rather than strategically trained to overcome the difficulties they encounter in processing information. The team at Academics West provides executive functioning coaching and other interventions to help students reach their full potential. The gains in academic endeavors enable students to find greater fulfillment socially and emotionally as well.

Combined Type ADHD

When students need to overcome challenges in maintaining focus, controlling impulses, and channeling the need for extra-active motion, the array of symptoms they exhibit can be extensive. Educators without the proper training and dedication often miss critical symptoms and address only one or two of many. This piecemeal approach to scholastic intervention often fails to help students progress, leaving them feeling inadequate and hopeless. Many students with combination type ADHD are given the impression that they are delinquent in some way and that they bear responsibility for making bad choices when they have never been taught the mechanics of making better ones. Research and practical application in ADHD schools in NYC have demonstrated that the symptoms and most advantageous interventions often change frequently for students with combined type ADHD. That’s why the team at Academic West carefully monitors each student’s unique educational program to assess its effectiveness. Our high faculty-to-student ratio and the extensive training and experience of our staff ensure we can monitor progress and adjust strategies in a way few schools can match.

Executive Functioning Coaching

Most students with ADHD experience difficulties with executive function. This disrupts their ability to control how they think and act, and even how they feel. Disturbances in executive function interfere with a student’s ability to pay attention, remember information, and regulate their behavior. They often have a hard time organizing their thoughts and their physical belongings. They frequently experience difficulty staying on track, remembering directions, and completing tasks.

The learning process becomes exponentially more difficult when facing these types of challenges. That is why a key part of our program involves executive functioning coaching for students with any type of ADHD. After identifying an individual student’s unique abilities and areas of concern, the team at Academics West develops practical strategies to overcome challenges and establish measurable progress. Rather than focusing on specific academic subjects or the development of specific skills in leadership or life management, executive functioning coaching targets key cognitive skills that serve as the building blocks for all academic achievement.

Strategies Designed for Your Student’s Success

Because every student processes information differently, successful ADHD schools in NYC need to develop unique strategies for each student and be prepared to adjust the approach frequently to encourage optimum progress. At Academics West, we use a variety of strategies to keep students on track with an academic curriculum aligned with the Common Core Standards of New York State and to prepare them for success in college and beyond.

Every student’s learning environment will be different, but the approach may include:

Maximizing teacher attention and minimizing distractions
Providing visual images of subject matter
Using a multi-sensory approach
Developing analogies that build on a student’s life experiences
Adjusting testing and assessment processes
Using mnemonic study aids
Incorporating real-life, tactile experiences to enhance conceptual learning

We invite you to book a tour or schedule a conversation with our team to discuss what a learning plan might look like for your student.

Take the Next Step Forward

Traditional schools, and even many targeted ADHD schools in NYC, are not equipped to fully meet the needs of students with ADHD. The frustrating experience of students and their families damages not only the students’ intellect but also their mental and emotional development.

There is a better way, and we invite you to experience it for yourself. Find out how the high-support programs at Academics West can transform the educational journey for your family. We turn setbacks into opportunities for growth that will astound you.

Fill out the contact form below or call us at 917-997-4690 to take the next step forward.