ADHD: Helping Your Child Get The Most Out Of School: Why Should You Help Your Child Be Successful In School

Content provided by Healthwise

Why should you help your child be successful in school?

Inattention, impulsiveness, and hyperactivity can interfere with the ability to learn and participate appropriately in classroom activities. The child with ADHD who does poorly in school has an increased risk for:

• Poor or failing grades. If the symptoms are not treated, a child may lose interest in school and drop out.
• Behavior problems such as school phobia or a conduct disorder.
• Risky, antisocial, or criminal behaviors.
• Alcohol and drug use.

Poor school performance can harm a child's self-esteem, which affects personal, family, and social life. People with low self-esteem feel that they do not belong, that they cannot learn and accomplish things, and that they do not have anything to contribute. They lack confidence in their abilities to be successful in life.

Continue to How can you help your child be successful in school?

Return to ADHD: Helping your child get the most out of school

Last updated:	April 17, 2008
Author:	Jeannette Curtis
Reviewed By:	Michael J. Sexton, MD - Pediatrics, Mina Dulcan, MD - Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman, MATC