Isn't extra time on assignments just making things easier for this student?
No — extra time addresses a genuine planning and processing difference, not a lack of subject knowledge. Without it, the assessment ends up partly measuring executive function rather than the learning outcome it claims to measure.
A student told me they have ADHD but don't want any formal adjustments — what do I do?
Respect that choice. Some students prefer to manage informally, and the good-practice points in this chapter (clear structure, written instructions, advance notice) benefit this student too, without needing a formal adjustment on file.
What if a student without a diagnosis seems to show similar difficulties?
The strategies in this chapter — structure, staged deadlines, written instructions — are good practice for any student, whether or not they have a diagnosis or have disclosed one. You do not need a diagnosis to apply them.
A Second Illustrative Scenario
In Practice — A group project with no defined roles
A group of four students, including one with ADHD (a composite, illustrative example), was given an open-ended group project with no assigned roles. Weeks in, the ADHD student had contributed little, appearing disengaged to peers.
What helped: the tutor introduced a simple template requiring each group to assign explicit roles and a weekly written checkpoint of who was doing what — not specific to any one student, but applied to every group in the module.
The lesson: the student was not disengaged; the open-ended format simply gave no natural entry point for someone who found unstructured self-organisation difficult. A small structural change, applied to the whole cohort, resolved the problem without singling anyone out.
