🏎️ The Race Car Engine (Hyperactivity)
True or False: Having a lot of energy and needing to move your body means you are being a "bad kid."
False! It just means your brain's engine is built for a racetrack! Moving your body can actually help an ADHD brain focus better.
When a brain with ADHD changes focus constantly—like someone is rapidly clicking a TV remote control—it is experiencing this common symptom.
Inattention or Distraction. (The brain is paying attention to everything at once!)
If a race car has a super fast engine but the brakes take a little longer to squeeze, you might blurt out an answer. What is this called?
Impulsivity (acting or speaking before your brain's brakes can stop you).
Because their brains think outside the box, kids with ADHD are often amazingly good at this artistic or problem-solving skill.
Creativity! (They are excellent at inventing new ideas and stories).
This simple visual tool uses a top box and a bottom box to show a student exactly what task to finish before they earn a fun break.
A First-Then Board.
This is the word for when your body feels like it has a motor that won't turn off, making you want to wiggle, tap, or run.
Hyperactivity (or having a "super-fast engine")
True or False: If a student with ADHD forgets their homework or loses their pencil, it means they just don't care about school.
ADHD makes working memory a bit sleepy, so it's much harder to keep track of details, even when you care a lot.
True or False: Waiting your turn in line or waiting to speak is harder for a brain with ADHD than for a neurotypical brain.
The chemical "brakes" in an ADHD brain require a lot of extra practice and tools to warm up.
This superpower describes an ADHD student's ability to notice small details that others miss, or to quickly notice when a friend needs help.
Observation or Deep Empathy/Kindness.
When a big project or messy bedroom feels way too huge to handle, you should use this tool to chop it up like a pizza.
Breaking it into small, manageable steps (or taking it "one slice at a time").
Name two safe ways a student can let out their "race car energy" while sitting at a school desk.
Using a wiggle cushion, squeezing a fidget toy, bouncing feet on a chair band, or taking a quick stretching break.
This is the "magic" state where an ADHD brain gets so incredibly interested in a video game, book, or Lego set that they block out the whole world.
Hyperfocus. (When the remote control gets stuck on a favorite channel!)
This simple, 3-step strategy can help a student test their "brakes" before blurting out an answer in class.
Stop, Think, and Choose (or taking a deep breath and raising a hand).
Name a famous inventor, athlete, or actor who has proudly told the world that they have ADHD.
Michael Phelps (Olympic swimmer), Simone Biles (Gymnast), Justin Timberlake, or Albert Einstein (highly suspected!).
Why do timers, checklists, and visual schedules help an ADHD brain feel happy and calm?
They do the remembering for you! They take the pressure off your working memory so your brain can relax and focus.
Does having ADHD mean your brain is broken, or does it just mean your brain is wired differently?
Instead of paying attention to nothing, an inattentive ADHD brain actually pays attention to everything at once (the clock ticking, someone whispering, a bird outside). What is the official word for this?
Distraction (or having a highly sensitive antenna picking up every signal).
When you feel a powerful urge to blurt out a joke or an answer before the teacher finishes speaking, your brain is experiencing what?
Impulsivity (acting on an impulse before your mental brakes can clamp down).
When something frustrating happens, an ADHD brain's emotional "volume dial" can accidentally get cranked up to a 10 out of 10 instantly. What is the phrase for learning how to safely turn that volume dial back down?
Emotional Regulation (or Self-Soothing).
Name two physical "heavy work" or sensory breaks a student can use to reset their nervous system when their emotional volume dial feels too high.
Doing wall pushes, squeezing a stress ball, taking a walk to get water, deep breathing exercises, or using a weighted lap pad.
True or False: Hyperactivity only means running around a room. If you are sitting completely still, your brain cannot experience hyperactivity.
False! Hyperactivity can happen inside the mind too, making thoughts race like a sports car even if a student is sitting quietly at their desk.
This hidden brain system acts like a mental backpack where we temporarily store instructions, like remembering a 3-step direction from a teacher. ADHD makes this "backpack" a little leaky. What is this memory system called?
Working Memory.
True or False: If a student with ADHD interrupts their friend during a conversation, it means they are trying to be rude or don't care about what their friend is saying.
False! Their brain is often so excited about the connection they want to make that their "speech brakes" struggled to hold back the enthusiasm.
This is a big psychological term for a very common ADHD experience: feeling extreme emotional pain or sadness when you think someone is rejected, critical of, or disappointed in you—even over a small mistake.
Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) (or extreme sensitivity to rejection/criticism).
When a massive multi-step research project or essay looks so overwhelming that your brain completely shuts down (called "ADHD Paralysis"), what strategy should you use?
Chunking (or breaking the huge task into tiny, bite-sized micro-steps).