Ask the Experts

Q: “What’s the Key to a Strong Teacher-Student Relationship?”

“A dialogue journal can enhance a teacher-student relationship and boost the confidence and motivation of students with ADHD.”

Kristin Seymour
By Kristin Seymour, MSN, RN, AHCNS-BC, Updated on May 8, 2025
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Strengthening a Teacher-Student Relationship

Q: “How can I encourage my child to ask their teacher for help when needed?”

The skill of self-advocacy is both critical and elusive for many students with ADHD. They can benefit greatly from the student-teacher communication that they are terrified to initiate. Most educators are eager to hear their students’ needs and concerns; many adolescents, however, feel embarrassed, anxious, and/or unsure about face-to-face meetings.

Enter the dialogue journal — a blank book, usually kept in a designated space, that a teacher and student can use to correspond back and forth. This simple but powerful tool offers students a low-pressure way to express their thoughts, concerns, and needs without feeling put on the spot. It also allows teachers to digest the information when it’s convenient for them and not when they’re juggling a dozen other things.

A student could share, “I’m having a hard time focusing at my table,” “I struggle when you call me out for not paying attention in front of everyone,” or “I didn’t understand the math today.” The teacher can ask follow-up questions to get more info, offer solutions, or suggest having a face-to-face conversation.

[Get This Free Download: Explaining ADHD to Teachers]

Perhaps most importantly, the dialogue journal gives teachers the chance to offer positive feedback to students with ADHD, who respond best to praise but seldom receive it. Comments like, “Thanks for helping clean up the paints today,” or “I really enjoyed your observation in Social Studies,” can boost confidence, improve motivation, and significantly enhance the teacher-student relationship.

Homework Solutions: Starting and Finishing Assignments

“What’s the best way to help my student start and finish their homework?”

Completing homework requires sustained attention, focus, and working memory. These executive functioning skills develop more slowly in students with ADHD, creating stress and erecting barriers as a child tries to initiate and complete their assignments on time.

Here are some tips to help your student avoid the frustration that often accompanies homework assignments. Encourage your child to:

  • Decompress. When you get home from school, take 40 minutes to eat a healthy snack and refuel your brain. Then take out your books or review your homework assignments within your classroom portal.
  • Work in increments. Start with the hardest subject first. Set a timer for 30 minutes, work, then take a 10-minute break. Consider stretching and moving your body during the break to recharge. Then return to the task for another 30 minutes. Your goal is to finish each assignment before it is due. If it doesn’t get done, submit what you have, even though it’s not completed.
  • Work backward. This is an awesome strategy: Put the assignment due date on your calendar and break the project into smaller parts to determine the steps you need to finish it. Then set a deadline for completing each step. You may want to create a to-do list and mark off each step as you go for a feeling of accomplishment.

Teacher-Student Relationship: Next Steps

Kristin Seymour, MSN, R.N., AHCNS-BC, is a board-certified Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Heart & Vascular Center in St. Louis.

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