It’s an alarmingly common occurrence in US primary school classrooms: A child, often a boy, fidgets in his seat, has trouble paying attention to the teacher’s instructions, and appears distracted, restless, talkative, or impulsive—perhaps resulting in poor grades. The teacher notices this behavior and informs the parents, who may then visit a doctor or therapist who diagnoses the child with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). According to CDC researchers, 1 in 9 American children ages 3 to 17 has been diagnosed with ADHD, and that number has been rising in recent years. That’s over 7 million kids—with more than half of them treated with potent psychotropic medications, such as Adderall or Ritalin, to improve their classroom focus.
But what if it’s the classroom, not the kid, that is the problem?
“Sadly, I often have kids referred to me when their school setting is failing them but they’re made to feel like they are the problem,” said Cassie Kuzmanoff, a licensed social worker and behavioral health therapist in Massachusetts. “When we dig deeper, we find they’re also filled with anxiety all day long as they try to mold themselves into the version of themselves that’s expected in a traditional classroom,” said Kuzmanoff, who’s been in private practice for over 15 years. She finds that when some of her ADHD-labeled clients switch to a different type of schooling, such as homeschooling, microschooling, or a similar type of individualized learning model, they experience a complete turnaround. “One of the changes I’ve had the privilege of witnessing in children that have switched to an alternative learning environment is the return of their light,” said Kuzmanoff, noting that these ADHD-diagnosed children become more relaxed and confident in a setting that molds to their needs and abilities—not the other way around.
As a microschool founder, Tiffany Thenor has noticed the same results in her classroom. “We have students who have experienced great success weaning off of their ADHD medication once enrolled into our school where play and nature are plentiful,” explained Thenor. A public school teacher for 8 years before leaving the system to launch her Florida-based school, WonderHere, Thenor has noticed the remarkable shift that can occur when ADHD-labeled kids switch to a more personalized, learner-centered educational environment. “The traditional classroom is an unhealthy model for the healthy, developing child. The desks, the rows, the silence, the bell schedule, the minimal exposure to nature, the nearly non-existent freedom to play. At WonderHere we are not bound by any mandates, and so we have the liberty to make educational decisions based on the needs of the actual child rather than the demands of some system. It comes as no surprise that children thrive within this environment,” said Thenor.
Today, Thenor’s school serves over 100 full-time and part-time learners. The majority of them attend using Florida’s education savings accounts (ESAs), a universal school-choice policy enabling education funding to follow students to their preferred educational settings—including microschools and other innovative learning models. She is in the process of scaling WonderHere to additional locations.
Thenor urges parents to seek a variety of professional opinions when confronted with a possible ADHD diagnosis, and to consider switching a child’s learning environment as a treatment option. Indeed, parents should be aware of the subjective nature of many ADHD diagnoses. For example, Harvard researchers recently published a study finding a 14% increase in children diagnosed with ADHD on Halloween compared to surrounding days, pointing to the potential unreliability of these labels. The scholars saw the opportunity for a “natural experiment,” comparing ADHD diagnosis rates on this hyped-up holiday with diagnosis rates on the 10 days around Halloween. “Our findings highlight subjectivity in ADHD diagnosis and support the need to consider external factors that may influence diagnosis,” the researchers concluded. In 2018, another group of Harvard researchers uncovered similar subjectivity, finding that in states with a September 1st kindergarten enrollment cut-off date, children who turned 5 years old in August were 30% more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than children who were born in September, and were thus nearly a year older by the start of kindergarten. The ADHD-diagnosed August 5-year-olds were also more likely to be boys and were more likely to be medicated, according to the researchers.
“Many of the known symptoms of ADHD that are prevalent within the traditional classroom (impulsivity, inattention, excessive energy, fidgeting, movement during inappropriate times) are non-issues when you lessen the unnecessarily structured, long stretches of indoor, teacher-led times and you allow children to do what they were created to do: play, explore, wonder,” said WonderHere’s Thenor.
A student at WonderHere, a microschool in Lakeland, Florida | Image Credit: Tiffany Thenor
Justine Wilson agrees. Another former public school teacher-turned- founder in Florida, Wilson leads Curious and Kind Education, a forest school and nature-based schooling-alternative for children ages 5 to 16. “Kids with ADHD thrive at Curious and Kind because they are self-directed and don’t have desks and chairs. They decide how to spend their day. Kids can follow their passions, and we know ADHD can be a superpower,” said Wilson, who launched her program in 2023 and now has more than 70 learners enrolled. “I have a few kids who are no longer medicated for ADHD, and several who are diagnosed with ADHD and have no need for medication,” she explained, adding that parents report how relaxed their children become at Curious and Kind compared to the stress of conventional schooling, and how eager they now are to go to school. Like Thenor, many of Wilson’s students use Florida’s school-choice ESAs toward their Curious and Kind tuition.
To be clear: ADHD is real and can be a challenge for learners, parents, and teachers alike. Medications and other interventions can help. But if parents are confronting a possible ADHD diagnosis for their children, or are wondering about various treatments, they should look closely at their children’s current school or learning environment and consider a switch. Creative schooling options that prioritize play and movement, such as WonderHere and Curious and Kind, are becoming increasingly abundant and accessible across the US. These options reveal that ADHD can be a symptom of the rigidity of conventional classrooms—with today’s alternatives a powerful remedy.
To learn more about some of these alternatives near you, visit fee.org/liberated, and check out my LiberatED podcast conversation with WonderHere founder, Tiffany Thenor, below.
The post The Real ADHD Issue Lies with Schooling, Not with Students was first published by the Foundation for Economic Education, and is republished here with permission. Please support their efforts.
