Teach17

Laptops are now common in secondary schools, but for pupils with ADHD they can be both helpful and distracting. Used carefully, they can support organisation, writing and independence, but they work best when teachers set clear limits and use them for a specific purpose.

1. Laptops can be very useful for pupils with ADHD, but they are not automatically better than pen and paper.
2. For pupils who struggle with handwriting, typing can make it easier to get ideas down quickly without losing their train of thought.
3. Digital work can also be easier to organise because notes, worksheets and homework can all be stored in one place.
4. Calendars, reminders and electronic to-do lists can help pupils who find remembering deadlines or equipment difficult.
5. Teachers can break work into short digital tasks, which can make a long lesson feel much more manageable.
6. Online quizzes can provide immediate feedback and give pupils a clear sense of progress.
7. Text-to-speech and speech-to-text tools can help pupils who find reading or extended writing particularly demanding.
8. A laptop can also allow a pupil to edit their work easily without having to rewrite an entire page.
9. However, laptops can create major distractions because games, videos, messages and unrelated websites are only a click away.
10. A pupil who already finds it difficult to control their attention may therefore find an unrestricted laptop harder to manage than an exercise book.
11. Notifications should be switched off and unnecessary tabs should be closed during lessons.
12. Teachers should be very clear about when the laptop should be open, what should be on the screen and when it should be put away.
13. Short periods of laptop use are often more effective than expecting a pupil to work on a screen throughout an entire lesson.
14. Laptops should be mixed with practical work, mini-whiteboards, discussion, movement, questioning and handwritten activities.
15. Seating can also matter, as teachers need to be able to see the screen and quickly redirect a pupil if they become distracted.
16. Schools should judge laptop use individually by looking at whether it actually improves concentration, work completed, independence and learning.
17. Overall, laptops can be an excellent tool for secondary pupils with ADHD when their use is structured and purposeful, but without clear routines they can easily become another source of distraction.