It is no secret that teens who display ADHD symptoms struggle in a traditional school environment. So when the COVID-19 pandemic created widespread changes in education many parents and young adults with ADHD were hopeful. We would benefit from focused teaching online, less chaos with rushing to and from school, fewer distractions! Unfortunately things didn’t turn out quite that way…

According to a recent article published in The Journal of Psychiatric Research, three major obstacles surfaced during the most isolating months of the COVID-19 pandemic. From the 134 parents and students who responded to the survey, boredom, motivation struggles, and inability to engage with online learning were reported as the top three problems of education during pandemic restrictions.

Researchers commented that despite earlier speculation of probable improved ADHD symptoms during the pandemic, participants reported the opposite. Interestingly, the ADHD students with a higher IQ suffered more severe exacerbations of symptoms as a result of pandemic changes.

What to watch out for? Responses to the survey revealed significant risk factors for depression and school drop-out. Thus the researchers concluded that students “with ADHD should be monitored for school disengagement and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

MBJ
Terissa Michele Miller, MS Psy

Check out the original research:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022395621000765