Why ADHD Should Be Recognised as a Learning Difficulty in the UK (And Not Just a Behavioural Problem)
Posted on 10th March 2025 at 08:55
In the UK, ADHD is still widely treated as a behavioural issue rather than a learning difficulty. Schools and educational policies often focus on managing hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention as discipline problems, rather than recognising how ADHD directly affects learning.
This lack of recognition means that children and young people with ADHD often miss out on the support they need, struggle unnecessarily in school, and are left feeling like they are failing, when in reality, the system is failing them.
It’s time for the UK to acknowledge ADHD as a learning difficulty and provide the same academic support and accommodations that are available for conditions like dyslexia.
How ADHD Makes Learning More Difficult
ADHD isn’t just about being “distracted” or “hyper.” It affects multiple areas of cognition and executive function, the mental skills needed to learn, stay organised, and complete tasks.
Here’s how ADHD directly impacts learning:
1. ADHD Affects Attention and Focus
Most people assume that ADHD means not paying attention, but that’s not quite right. People with ADHD struggle with regulating their attention, meaning they may:
Zone out in lessons, missing key information.
Hyperfocus on something unrelated, making it hard to switch back to the task.
Struggle to filter distractions, such as background noise or movement in the classroom.
This makes it harder to process and retain information, meaning that even intelligent students with ADHD may fall behind.
2. ADHD Disrupts Working Memory
Working memory is the ability to hold and manipulate information in your mind, like remembering a set of instructions, solving a maths problem, or recalling what you just read.
ADHD significantly impacts working memory, making it difficult to:
Follow multi-step instructions.
Keep track of information while writing or doing maths.
Remember what was said at the start of a lesson by the time it reaches the end.
If a student forgets what they were supposed to be doing, they may be seen as not listening or not trying when, in reality, their brain is struggling to hold onto the information long enough to use it.
3. ADHD Makes Organisation and Time Management Harder
Many children with ADHD are not taught how to manage their time, leading to:
Forgetting homework, deadlines, or equipment (but being accused of being lazy).
Struggling to plan essays or revision (but being told they should just “be more organised”).
Underestimating how long tasks take, leading to stress and last-minute panic.
Without support, these struggles can snowball into falling behind, missed assignments, and feeling incapable of keeping up with schoolwork.
4. ADHD Causes Processing Speed Issues
ADHD doesn’t affect intelligence, but it can slow processing speed, how fast the brain takes in, understands, and responds to information. This can result in:
Taking longer to read or write compared to peers.
Struggling with fast-paced lessons that don’t give time to process information.
Difficulty recalling facts quickly in tests despite knowing the material.
Many ADHD students know the answers but can’t produce them quickly enough in traditional academic settings, especially during timed exams.
5. ADHD Impacts Emotional Regulation (and Confidence in Learning)
One of the most overlooked ways ADHD affects learning is emotional dysregulation. School can be an exhausting and overwhelming experience, leading to:
Frustration and meltdowns when struggling with tasks.
Avoidance of difficult work due to fear of failure.
Low self-esteem, as constant academic struggles make students feel "stupid" (even though they’re not).
When ADHD students receive no academic support, they start believing they are just not good at learning, which can lead to disengagement, underachievement, and even school refusal.
Why ADHD Should Be Considered a Learning Difficulty (Like Dyslexia)
Dyslexia is widely recognised as an academic difficulty, meaning schools provide:
✔ Extra time in exams
✔ Specialist interventions for reading/writing
✔ Assistive technology (e.g., speech-to-text software)
✔ Teaching strategies tailored to dyslexic learners
But ADHD also affects learning, in different but equally significant ways. ADHD students struggle with working memory, organisation, focus, and processing speed, all of which impact academic performance just as much as dyslexia does.
If ADHD was officially recognised as a learning difficulty, it would mean:
✅ Automatic academic accommodations, like extended test time and flexible learning strategies.
✅ More SEN support for ADHD students (instead of only those with “severe” cases).
✅ Greater teacher training on how ADHD affects learning, not just behaviour.
✅ A shift in school culture to support neurodivergent learners, rather than punishing them.
The UK Needs to Change How It Views ADHD in Schools
Right now, ADHD students are struggling unnecessarily because the UK education system still treats ADHD as a behaviour problem, rather than an academic one. This outdated view means that students:
Are more likely to be punished for their difficulties than supported.
Go without accommodations that would make learning accessible.
Experience unnecessary failure and frustration, despite being capable and intelligent.
It’s time to rethink how ADHD is handled in UK education. ADHD should be recognised as a learning difficulty that requires academic support, just like dyslexia, so that students with ADHD can succeed, not just survive, in school.
Because the problem isn’t ADHD. The problem is a system that refuses to adapt to ADHD learners.
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