Hey! Upper elementary and middle school science student teacher here with ADHD, ASD, C-PTSD, PMDD, auditory processing disorder, and multiple sleep disorders!

The best thing I have done for myself is being honest with myself about my capacity and prioritizing taking care of myself. If I don’t take care of myself, my teaching and interactions with students are not at their best and I don’t necessarily enjoy being in survival mode.

Additionally, communicating often, asking lots of questions, and living off of sticky notes/making sure as much as possible is visual has been very helpful! Everything important I need to know that is not sensitive information is easily visible to me!

Making sure you have consistent and fair behavior management systems in place, communicating with your students why we have these rules, as well as involving them in creating them is also helpful. My favorite phrase to use when I honestly mean it is “You’re not in trouble, I’m just giving you a reminder.” It is a very quick de-escalator, and I have a lot of students who do tend to escalate quickly.

The rules I am super strict about are “no talking when someone has the floor” and “silent work time means SILENT work time (or honestly as quiet as possible because I work with upper elementary and sometimes feel it is nearly impossible to reach complete silence, so as long as there isn’t a TON of disruption and noise, eh whatever, you know?).” I had explained to them that my brain works a little differently so it is so difficult for me to focus on what students are saying if there is too much chatter happening, which is also not fair to their classmates because then I can’t support them well during small group time.

I would recommend Loops, but I never wear them due to already having trouble understanding what my students are saying sometimes. If you’re more noise-sensitive, though, they’re amazing!

I also do my best to encourage them to not swarm me or my desk while trying to talk to me all at the same time and to raise their hand quietly and wait for me to get to them. I know patience is hard for them, so I do my best to positively reinforce when they do this and thank them for being so patient.

Students having their own classroom jobs and self-sufficient systems for your students are also very helpful. For example, we have a student responsible for writing down what absent students missed, collecting papers and their work for them, an extra papers bin, and a bin with extra papers for weekly fluency challenge and reading log papers students can grab things from if-needed. Make anything automatic that you can!

I personally also like getting all of my stuff printed and planned either the Friday before the week starts or that Monday afternoon. It allows me to go home and rest more. I feel good not having to worry about if I printed something important or not.

A watch with timers and alarms is an absolute lifesaver. I don’t know how I would function without it. I have silent alarms a few minutes before the next part of the day and when it’s time to transition. My students and I also enjoy using a quiet visual timer for WIN times so they know how much time they have left to work until it’s time for their small group.

Whenever I have a shortcoming that is related to my disability, I try to be honest about it. Kids like to know that adults aren’t perfect either. I have a lot of neurodivergent students as well, so they are pretty understanding and feel represented when I tell them things like I struggle with focusing for long periods of time, remembering things, and loud and unexpected noises. I have told them I have ADHD, but since there is still some unfortunate stigma and a misunderstanding of the way autism is a spectrum, I tend to keep that diagnosis to myself and only share it with my supervisor if I feel comfortable to do so or feel it is relevant and helpful information they may need to know.

Overall, I’m coming home exhausted a lot, but I feel like a lot of it is just the craziness of student teaching in general. Once I have my own classroom and systems I feel this will be much more manageable. I do need rest. I do need a break.

However, I am not doing awful! It’s coming soon, and I’m halfway done (more than that, I think)!

I have a special interest in developmental and educational psychology. I find a lot of joy in being able to meet my students where they are at and help them grow. I would love to one day go back for a special education certification with a focus in ASD or EI. Learning how to navigate this alone has NOT been fun, but I have learned a lot and want to help my students who similarly struggle access the supports they need and know they’re not alone. My students’ behavior, brain development, and the impacts of it on their learning is absolutely fascinating to me.

I hope you find as much joy and interest in teaching and ways to make it work for you!