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What a shock to my reality. This makes me feel so lucky and increases my empathy and understanding for any student I have had with ADHD. We are too quick to say just focus or tune it out. These students are experiencing the world and the learning environments so differently than we are.
Brian Runger

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After the third video of the pots and pans noises I was absolutely lost. I just gave up on trying to understand what any of the video clips were saying and then the rainbow, blonde hair guy, popped up and it was a jam. Watching these clips actually made me want to get up and move around so that I could focus on something that I could control. I couldn't help but laugh at the "I hope you were paying attention for all of that since it is extraordinarily important..." I just lost it. My initial thoughts after the video was that it can't possibly be this difficult to regulate thoughts to pay attention. And then I realized that I need to watch the video again to change my perspective.
= Michael Fontana

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As the video started and additional videos started playing, I thought I would be able to keep track but became quickly overwhelmed and could not keep up. I realized that I need to slow down but more importantly check-in with my students with ADHD.

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As the video started and additional videos started playing, I thought I would be able to keep track but became quickly overwhelmed and could not keep up. I realized that I need to slow down but more importantly check-in with my students with ADHD.

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Vince Friedman

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As the video started and additional videos started playing, I thought I would be able to keep track but became quickly overwhelmed and could not keep up. I realized that I need to slow down but more importantly check-in with my students with ADHD.

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I was already not feeling well and as soon as the other video showed up I knew what was about to happen. That was so much. I can't even begin to imagine how bad ADHD must be if it's anything even close to this bad. This was horrible.

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The beginning of the video was not too difficult to pay attention too. However, once the repeated banging began, I completely lost focus on the other videos and began to feel overwhelmed. My question is, does only medication lessen the distractions and the impulsion or are there other techniques that could help?
- Colette Robinson

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When the first two guys started talking, I was thinking "alright I got this. I can pay attention to two different people at once and absorb most of what each person is saying." Three came along and got a lil more difficult. By the time pot boy rolled in it was game over. Is it like this all the time, or are they able to do better at certain points?

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I was only two or three rounds in before I started feeling physically overwhelmed. My head was spinning, and I even felt a little nauseous. I feel like I need to email each of my students with ADHD and apologize for not taking better care of them this year. How incredibly frustrating and disorienting to feel like that so consistently and have no control over it. 

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I was only two or three rounds in before I started feeling physically overwhelmed. My head was spinning, and I even felt a little nauseous. I feel like I need to email each of my students with ADHD and apologize for not taking better care of them this year. How incredibly frustrating and disorienting to feel like that so consistently and have no control over it. 

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-Caitlin Head

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I was only two or three rounds in before I started feeling physically overwhelmed. My head was spinning, and I even felt a little nauseous. I feel like I need to email each of my students with ADHD and apologize for not taking better care of them this year. How incredibly frustrating and disorienting to feel like that so consistently and have no control over it. 

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As the video continued and more sounds/ noises were added it became impossible to hear what he was saying.  I was most distracted by the wooden spoon hitting the lid to the pot.  I wasn't even worried about my ability to hear what he was saying or pay attention, I just wanted to prevent myself from getting a headache from all of the noise.  I cannot imagine experiencing this all the time while also trying to complete a high cognitive task.  This provides some perspective when I think about the students in my own classroom who have ADHD.
-Caroline Tatnall

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That was overwhelming and very insightful in terms of helping those that do not live with ADHD what it might feel like to have that challenge within a classroom. I noticed that towards the end of the video I found myself giving up on trying to follow what was going on and just listened to the song in the background that was the clearest for me out of all the different sounds. I can see how a student who experiences this constant state of internal and external distraction could easily give up on paying attention in class. The comment that was made at the end : " I hope you got that - " made me realize how demoralizing comments like this can be in the classroom. I wonder what teachers can do to help students that deal with this inner battle for concentration everyday.

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At the beginning of the video, I did not think it would be too hard to pay attention to the main video. The first two videos caught my attention, but when he started banging the pot, I lost all attention and could only hear that. Then, I found myself singing along to the song that way playing a few videos later. When he said, "I hope you got that -- it's very important" I realized I lost all attention. Having ADHD must be so difficult in the classroom. After this, I realize the urgent need to keep students with this engaged, but primarily, realize how I need to meet them where they are.

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This video was super helpful in visualizing the distractions that someone with ADHD encounters. It's one thing to say that there are distractions, it's entirely another to really experience it. I'm left wondering, if most people with ADHD experience that everyday, how do they learn anything? I know I certainly wouldn't be able to.

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By the end of this video, my head was swimming. We are constantly told that students with ADHD have difficulty focusing, but this opened my eyes to how their minds are constantly drawn to any and all distractions in a classroom. It made me consider what the possible sources of stimuli in my classroom are (i.e. students talking to their elbow partner during direct instruction, the fluorescent lights, the cars driving by the window, the air conditioning revving up, etc.). How can I minimize these as much as possible and make their environment more conducive to focus?

-Molly McGraw

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This video was hard to watch. After the third additional video started to play, I caught myself tuning out. I couldn't handle all of the noise (which only continued to get worse) so I began to look around at the walls or look through my backpack. If this is what ADHD is like, the behaviors of some of my students make a lot more sense. I'm thinking of one students in particular who, even on really good days, would never be able to sit in his seat and focus for more than 15 minutes. He would either get out of his seat and start walking around, stop taking notes and focus on something else, talk to his friends, or even sing. I have a lot more empathy now and am going to try to be much more understanding and accommodating of my students.

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This video leaves me with lots of questions! Other than that it just looks frustrating, its hard to imagine having that much distraction going on at once. Eventually I had to give up trying to follow what was going on. This video gave me a new understanding of how hard it is to focus/succeed in school for students with ADHD.

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My head hurts after watching the video.  It was such an overwhelming experience! During the first two side videos, I was hanging in there, but I completely lost focus once the pot started banging.  Watching this video gave me such great insight into people who live with ADHD.  I am amazed that they are still able to function on a daily basis despite all of the distractions.  I have infinite respect for my students who struggle with this condition, and I want to try my absolute hardest to help them learn in ways that they need.

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I couldn't even hear my own thoughts by the end of that. Even sitting and concentrating was a challenge to keep up.
Catherine Viola

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This video was so overwhelming for me as I watched it. There were so many distractions happening at one time. As I tried to focus on the teacher, I couldn't hear anything else but the banging of the spoon on the pot lid. The visual stimuli from other boxes on the screen continued to pull my attention, so I stopped looking at the teacher for the rest of the video. This certainly gives me a greater appreciation for my students that have ADHD and struggle to focus during class with different stimuli.

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That video was overwhelming to watch, to say the least! I felt incredibly distracted as I was trying to focus on the video in the center. There was so much chaos that I didn't know where to focus my attention. Even when I wanted to pay attention to the teacher, I wasn't able to hear him because of all of the other noises and thoughts going on. This video opened my eyes and gave me a new appreciation for students with ADHD. It has impacted me so that I will strive to be a more understanding teacher with my students with ADHD.

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The best word I can use to describe how I felt watching that video is overwhelmed. As soon as the first new square appeared, I became distracted from the main video and had to very intentionally narrow in my focus to hear what he was saying. By the end of it, I just sat back and didn't even try to catch any of the material - I just let the noise happen and accepted that I wouldn't be able to follow what was going on. Dividing your attention and multitasking is one thing (still not easy, but certainly possible) when it's an intentional act - but to have it internally forced upon you on a daily basis is another. It definitely gave me a deeper appreciation of the internal frustration and inevitable shutdown that individuals with ADHD must feel.

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When the video first started, I thought I would be able to pay attention through it. I quickly realized how impossible it was to pay attention, and how overwhelming the video became. I actually paused the video a couple of times, wanting to stop watching.
My students with ADHD were some of my favorite, most passionate kids to have in class - it is crazy to imagine this is what their brains feel like. To echo what others have said, kudos to the kids for being such persistent fighters!

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Jack Johnson’s lyrics to “Upside Down” feel right here: “it all keeps spinning spinning round and round and upside down.”

I could not help but think about the instances of grace that I did not extend to my students this year when I would become frustrated about having to repeatedly remind them to focus. Some days felt draining from what I perceived to be, at times, defiance. I had many students who needed check-ins and cues to return their eyes forward, to stop out of turn talking and noises, or to return to their desk. One of the most common behaviors that I noticed was heads down among students who were, at other times, fidgety and energetic. In these moments, I felt that they were being disrespectful, when in actuality they were likely coping with overstimulation. Watching the video made my mind feel chaotic and immediately exhausted! What a relentless input of disturbances. I am in awe of my students for never becoming outwardly agitated by such a constant jumble of frenzied sounds and visuals.

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As each new frame started to appear, I tried to bounce between the different stimuli: teacher, got it. Game of Thrones, sure. Eventually though, it just became a jumbled mess of sound. It's a marvel to be able to cut through the noise. I remember a class where I Zoomed from our laundry room while a housemate was teaching upstairs, AND while the dryer was going. That must have been a nightmare, and it made me wonder what sort of strategies my students with ADHD employed to make their home learning environments work when other siblings or parents are occupying the same space.

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The chaos in this video I found simply overwhelming. It seemed like everyone was trying to irritate me and it got progressively louder. I could not hear at all what the main "teacher figure" was trying to say in the video. Most of the time I wanted to just cover my ears! The banging against the pot in the background was most annoying to me. This video really helped me feel more in solidarity with kids with ADHD. To imagine even a fraction of the amount of distraction and downright annoyance they have to deal with with the constant stimulus of the day to day is unimaginable
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This video reminded me of the songs we sang in elementary school choir when one part of the choir starts at a delayed time with the same song, then another starts a little after them, etc. Unlike the organization of the choir though, this was absolutely chaotic and really provides a good example of what some of the struggles are for those with ADHD. I can't imagine what it would be like personally to have that going on all the time, but I can be mindful of students that may be suffering in my classroom.

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For some reason this got me thinking of the movie Inside Out, and the chaos that goes on inside the character Riley's head at times in the movie. This video does a great job making that internal struggle not only visible but a real experience for me the viewer. It grounds all the theoretical talk about ADHD in something concrete, and as Claire notes, it makes me marvel at the persistence of students who cope with ADHD every day.

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I kept thinking about one of my incredible students Juan from this past year and how I did not given him enough credit for the persistence he displayed through all of these distractions. I love to let students collaborate, choose where they sit, and how they engage with me, but this video reminded me that certain practices like placing Juan at the front of the room next to other quiet students may help decrease the auditory distractions. This video just makes me love him more and especially appreciative of his extra efforts to pay attention and complete his work. Talk about persistence!!

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I Hope you were paying attention?! - Abby Giroux 

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I Hope you were paying attention?! - Abby Giroux 

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Initially I thought "This will be interesting, but I can pay attention. By the end I just had to laugh!"