“He has trouble paying attention.” That’s what every teacher told us throughout our son’s school career. As if we didn’t notice.
Diagnosed at age 5 with ADHD, Chris demonstrated classic signs of ADHD: impulsivity, distractibility, disorganization… Back then, 28 yrs. ago, most people didn’t know about ADHD. However, I was very familiar with the disorder. My training and experience teaching students in special education provided insight.
You can just imagine how it frustrated me when educators reported the obvious about Chris. Especially in such vague terms. “He has trouble paying attention.” That didn’t tell me anything concrete or helpful.
When I became a regular classroom teacher, I vowed to do a better job reporting information to parents of kids with ADHD. They deserved to know what I observed, how much redirection was required to keep the student on task, etc.
So I developed a rubric. You may find it useful. When you click on the link below, you’ll find a chart. Start with the first column and pinpoint precisely where a student falls. Write the date in the box that best describes the student’s behavior. Do the same for all the other columns.
After several months, repeat the process to update the information.
Uplifting Teaching 
LOVE this!!! I will probably forward this rubric onto each of my child’s teachers in the future! Thanks 🙂
Dear Brandi,
Glad you find this rubric helpful. Hopefully your child’s teachers will view it as a tool to equip them to pass along objective and constructive information to parents.
Visited your blog and found you’re a newlywed. Congrats!
🙂 thanks!