A Team Tuition: October 2020

It’s no secret that we tend to like the things we’re good at, and dislike those we’re not. So what happens when we’re forced to tackle those things we struggle with on a daily basis? Well, for Year 11 student Afiyah, her challenges in Maths had an adverse effect on her whole schooling experience.

“I used to dislike going to school,” says Afiyah. “I didn’t have any confidence in the subjects I was studying, and this was dampening my whole school experience.”

It was with Maths that Afiyah was having the most trouble. She finished Term One of Year 11 with a D in the subject, prompting her mother to seek out some extra help as Afiyah entered her senior years.

“Afiyah’s Maths grades were very low, so I decided to get some extra help for her,” Afiyah’s mother says. “I found A Team on Facebook and got in contact with them about setting Afiyah up with a Maths tutor. The communication with A Team was great right from the start. We haven’t looked back.

Afiyah’s Transformation Using Academic Personal Training

Afiyah was paired up with Shreya, one of A Team’s Brisbane-based APTs, and the two have been working together since the beginning of the year. In that time, Afiyah has turned her Maths grades around. She finished Year 11 strongly with a B in the subject, and is now on track to achieve tremendous success in her final year of high school.

Shreya is very proud of Afiyah’s improvement, but admits that things got off to a slow start.

“At first, Afiyah was quite shy. She didn’t like saying she didn’t understand something, and often doubted her correct answers,” recalls Shreya. “Together, we tailored our sessions to target Afiyah’s learning style and areas of weakness – something that a teacher can’t do so easily in the classroom. We started using physical props as a way of simplifying and explaining more complex Maths theories. Afiyah was very receptive to this approach, and since then she has become much more comfortable to discuss any struggles and stresses she may be having.”

Why Academic Personal Training Is About More Than Just Her Marks

For Afiyah, not only has she loved seeing improvement in her Maths grades, but her partnership with Shreya has boosted her confidence – and her results – across the board.

“The biggest difference tutoring has made is to how I feel about going to school. I used to dislike it, but now I feel super confident and I feel like I understand better what I’m learning, and my grades have gotten so much better too!” Afiyah says.

While being delighted with Afiyah’s improvement at school, her mother has also enjoyed seeing her newfound confidence extend beyond the school environment. “Afiyah has become more confident not only with her work, but also in working with other people, and she feels more comfortable in social situations” she says.

As she enters her final year, then, Afiyah is not only well placed to excel in her ATAR, but to enter adulthood full of confidence that she can achieve anything.

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ADHD is a ‘disorder’ that predominantly affects adolescents and children but can show symptoms well into adulthood. It stands for ‘Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder’. Typically, symptoms you will exhibit if you have ADHD are; a struggle to focus, constant fidgeting, often forgetting things, talking a lot, and daydreaming. Although ADHD is technically defined as a ‘disorder’ it is by no means a negative thing. As a student, you still can excel, as long as you understand the right ways to utilise your ‘superpower’.

The Importance of Identifying That You Have ADHD

The main problem with ADHD is that is often seen as misbehaviour or laziness when in reality it is simply the way your brain works. You may feel as if you are constantly in trouble in the classroom, even when you put in your best effort to behave. This is why your teachers need to understand that you suffer from ADHD so that you can work as a team to comprehend your hyperactive tendencies. It is important to work as a team with your teacher as they are a large portion of your education experience. Letting your teacher know that you have ADHD is an excellent way to open up this conversation and begin your teamwork!

If you feel nervous to tell your teacher, or embarrassed that you have ADHD, there is absolutely no reason to be ashamed. Some of the most famous and successful people in the world, have ADHD – they have just learned how to use their ‘superpower’ rather than let it overcome them. Hayden, our CEO at A Team Tuition also has ADHD and has used it as a strength! You can watch a video about his ADHD here!

Top 5 Struggles of ADHD & Strategies to Deal with Them

1. Sitting Still is Difficult

In high school, classes can last up to 1.5 hours. This means that you are sitting still for long periods – which is extremely difficult if you have ADHD. Many ADHD students minimise their learning abilities by finding excuses to leave the classroom, for example taking the long way to the bathroom. This can minimise your time in the classroom, and thus have effects on your learning!

The best way to combat this is to find sensory activities that you can use to ‘multitask’. By ‘multitask’ I mean that you should find activities that allow you to eradicate your need to fidget, whilst also allowing you to concentrate.

My personal favourite is the fidget cube! As you can see in the picture it is a small cube that has ‘gadgets’ on each side. It is thus a transportable toy that you can bring to class with you and use.

2. Distractions

Classrooms are filled with distractions, which means that if you have ADHD, it is almost impossible to pay attention. Distractions include posters, friends, and even anything that is happening outside of the classroom.

The best strategy for avoiding distractions is to do your best to create a ‘distraction-free zone’. Working with your teacher, create a space within the classroom that has as minimal distractions as possible. Ideally, this would be a seat at the front of the classroom, that is far away from windows and friends. This is similar to your ‘Neurospace’ which you learn about in the CAS program. This allows you to gain the most from your time in class.

Unfortunately for people with ADHD, it is difficult to sit with friends inside the classroom as they become a big distraction – but don’t worry, there is plenty of time to spend with them at recess and lunch!

3. You May Feel as if Your Brain is Moving Faster Than Your Body.

In general, most students with ADHD are highly intelligent, they just struggle to present their intelligence on paper. The problem is, that many students have thoughts that move way faster than their body – which means that the completion of assignments and exams is tough. You may feel that when writing long response questions your ideas are all over the place and that your handwriting is messy.

The main strategy for dealing with this is teamwork! Having an APT, older sibling, or parent assisting you to facilitate your thoughts, working as a scribe for you, can almost instantly change your results. The best method for this is to have your ‘assistant’ write down the answers for you, as you speak them out loud. In NSW, if you can provide proof of your ADHD diagnosis, you are allowed to sit exams in these special conditions – where you have a scribe with you whilst you sit the exam.

It is essential to understand that this is not cheating!! All of the ideas are still completely your own, someone is just helping you present them in a way that makes sense.

4. Filtering Your Thoughts May Be Tricky

As we have already established, students with ADHD have a brain that is pretty much moving at 100000 miles an hour. You probably feel like you have lots of thoughts at once, or are constantly jumping from one thought to another. This means that a lot of ideas and thoughts are blurted out without thinking. This may cause you to get into trouble, as it can interrupt the teacher or disrupt the classroom.

Unfortunately, there are no strategies that will help you in the short term with this one, however, there is one strategy that can help you in the long run. The strategy is called ‘positive reinforcement’, which is a program that rewards good behaviour. People with ADHD tend to react well to positive reinforcement. This can be achieved by working with your teacher to organise a program which only rewards good behaviour, and ignores negative behaviours. An example of this is sticker charts, in which you work towards receiving a prize!

5. Hard to Stay Focused

If you suffer from ADHD you will relate when I say that it feels as if your thoughts are all over the place. This can often cause you to forget special events such as exams or the due dates of assessments.

The best strategy for this is to create written timetables. Having a hard copy of your monthly timetable at a place where you can easily access it is an important part of excelling when you have ADHD. I have a large white-board calendar that sits right above my bed – so it is the first thing I see when I wake up. The below template is retrieved from Twinkl.com.

Inside the classroom, work with your teacher to make sure that you don’t lose focus by making sure that you are completely aware of all instructions. This can include having them written down for you or having them repeated to you individually.

Overall, it is important to remember that ADHD is not a negative thing. Although I have only dwelled on the struggles in this post, it is important to understand that ADHD is more of a superpower than a disorder. As long as you make sure that your teacher is aware of your superpower, and utilise the above strategies, you have the ability to excel in the classroom.

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Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Year 11 Girl Transforms from D’s to B’s in Just One Year!