A day in the life of a child with ADHD

Meet Pedro, a 14-year-old with ADHD. Having ADHD creates daily challenges for the eighth-grader, both at home and at school. But the support he gets from his family and his teachers makes a big difference. Follow Pedro throughout his day to see how ADHD affects him.

Schedules and routines. Without them, Pedro would have a tough time getting up and out the door in the morning. But even with them, arriving at school before the 8 a.m. bell is a struggle. Today, things are going smoothly. Until they aren’t. 

Pedro wakes up when the alarm goes off. After a quick cuddle with his dog, Pedro goes straight to the bathroom without getting distracted by something in his room or by a random thought. He remembers to gather everything he needs to brush his teeth and wash his face. That way, he doesn’t lose track of what he’s doing. 

But when he goes back into his room to get dressed, he loses focus. The dog is curled up on the bed, and Pedro flops back down for another cuddle. It feels like he’s only there for a minute. But five minutes go by before he starts to get dressed. Like a lot of people with ADHD, Pedro is easily distracted and has trouble keeping track of time (sometimes called time blindness). 

Pedro has one sock on, but he can’t find the other one. He spends three minutes looking for it, getting more and more frustrated. His mother calls out that he’s going to be late. Pedro grabs another pair of socks and his sneakers and heads to the kitchen.

At breakfast, he races around the kitchen and accidentally knocks over the milk. Now, he’s really upset. He focuses on how badly things are going, instead of quickly wiping up the mess and getting ready to leave. 

Pedro’s father is waiting for him in the car. As Pedro grabs his backpack, his mother points out that he only has one sock on and no shoes. 

As the car pulls up to school, Pedro hears the bell ringing. Late again.

ADHD makes it hard for Pedro to concentrate on tasks that aren’t very interesting or rewarding. Pedro often has trouble staying focused in class. He also struggles with impulse control, and may crack jokes or blurt things out when someone else is talking. 

In class, his teachers often have to redirect his attention. Pedro takes deep breaths to help reset his focus, and he uses a stress ball when he gets fidgety. 

Today, Pedro totally zones out during biology. While his teacher is talking, something funny pops into Pedro’s mind. His imagination gets going, and what he’s picturing is far more interesting than biology. By the time he tunes back in, he has no idea what the teacher is talking about. 

When Pedro misses what the teacher says in class, he often has extra work to do at home to catch up. That makes him angry. Thankfully, his teacher gives him written notes on today’s lesson and an explanation of the homework assignment. These supports are part of his formal accommodations at school.

After school, Pedro finally gets to take a break and relax. He eats a snack and watches videos — something he loves doing and could hyperfocus on for hours. But Pedro has other things to do before dinner, like walking the dog and starting his homework. He also has a guitar lesson.

Switching activities is hard with ADHD, especially if you’re really into what you’re doing. It can take a lot of reminders. 

Pedro doesn’t mind walking the dog, once he’s actually doing it. And he really likes playing the guitar, so he can focus on his lesson. But homework is a different story. It can take him a long time to get started — and to finish. Plus, he’s got extra work to do just to catch up on what he missed in class.

It takes Pedro another hour after dinner to finish his homework. It will take at least two more hours for his mind to slow down enough to go to sleep. The trick is turning off screens early enough for Pedro to fully unwind before bed. If Pedro gets hyperfocused on videos or a game, it could be a long time before he’s able to sleep. 

Explore Through My Eyes to learn more about Pedro’s experience with ADHD. You can also see what life is like with other types of neurodivergence.