Many parents have decided to turn to online education for their children who struggle in traditional school, or are in need of more academically challenging classes. One group of students that we see often enrolling into online school, is students with ADHD. Just like for any student, online education is a wonderful option for students with ADHD. If you’re on the fence, here are a few pros and cons to consider that may be more specifically related to your child.

Pros

• Less Distractions. Many children with ADHD find that doing school from home has less distractions than there are in a physical public school. A solo school environment may be helpful and help them focus on what’s most important.
• Work at your own pace. One of the biggest advantages to online schooling, is the added ability to work at your own pace. If your child likes to work faster, or needs a little more time and explanation while working, online education may be a great fit.
• A new learning environment. Even just a simple change of environment can do wonderful things for a child who is easily distracted or overstimulated.
• More one on one time. This is a huge advantage to many online schools. Many classes have smaller class sizes, meaning your child can have more homework help and one on one time with teachers.

Cons

• Less social time. A standard school experience provides a lot of social time. This is a problem that is easily remedied, though. School doesn’t have to be the only time your child is able to be social. Having scheduled social times throughout the week will help with this.
• Multi-role parent. Some parents struggle with learning to take on the additional role of being not only a parent, but also supervising the education of their children. It’s important to consider whether this new role will improve or hurt the relationship you have with your child.
• Less structure. Some children find that by not being in a physical classroom every single day, they have a hard time with the lack of structure to their days. They can feel like they have free reign of their days, even when what they really need is to be still doing their schoolwork during the days. If this is something your child struggles with, setting up structured school times during the week may help them succeed.