I started working with Shimmer ADHD Coaching in the summer of 2025, and wanted to share my Shimmer ADHD coach review.
Living with ADHD often means living with good intentions and inconsistent follow-through. You remember wanting to pay the bill, schedule the appointment, reply to the email, or start the task—but somewhere between intention and action, things fall apart. For many people with ADHD, this isn’t about effort or caring. It’s about executive functioning.
As someone who regularly writes about ADHD through an educational and practical lens, I’m always cautious about tools that promise to “fix” ADHD. That’s not realistic—or respectful of how ADHD brains actually work. What is realistic is finding support that helps reduce overwhelm, build systems, and minimize the daily penalties that come from executive functioning challenges.
That’s where ADHD coaching—and specifically Shimmer ADHD Coaching—can be genuinely helpful.
Read on for a variety of ADHD reading strategies to support your student (or yourself) in becoming a reader who picks up a book and finishes it within a reasonable amount of time.
There are many reasons why a person with ADHD might not finish a book, despite the strong desire to read the content. People with ADHD might struggle to read entire books for many of reasons.
It can be difficult to read long chunks of text while remaining still if they are reading a physical book. Other challenges include the struggle to maintain focus and sustain interest in the book, inattention, poor working memory, as well as challenges with planning and prioritization.
Struggle to maintain focus while reading can lead to skipping text, losing your place, and reading without processing the meaning of the text
Poor Working Memory creates the challenge of holding onto newly gained vocabulary and information in your mind
Planning and prioritizing challenges can be a pattern of obtaining many books about a given topic, starting some and not finishing them
Restlessness and hyperactivity creates a challenge in sitting still. Excessive fidgeting can lead to losing a spot on the text while increasing the lack of focus on the text despite the desire to read more about the topic.
Losing interest can happen frequently when a book is acquired impulsively or is no longer a compelling read. Object permanence can about be an issue if a book is sitting untouched for a period of time, a person with ADHD can easily forget about the book, despite it being out in the open.
Lack of Motivation because reading can feel like a chore. It can be a less stimulating activity than other high dopamine activities, like scrolling social media. This leads to weak follow-through on uninteresting tasks.
With the right ADHD reading strategies, students with ADHD can become successful, independent readers who comprehend a variety of complex texts.
ADHD Reading Strategies can support the three types of ADHD
Not a lot of information is available online for teachers who want to support their students returning to school after a stay at the hospital for psychiatric care for behavioral health reasons. With privacy laws, school policies and families who, understandably, might not want to share details about a student’s psychiatric hospitalization, a caring teacher may find themselves lacking information on how best to support a student’s return to school. Here is a breakdown of information about helping students after a mental health hospitalization.
Psychiatric Hospitalization: Where do the students go when they are hospitalized?
Not all students who are ‘hospitalized’ actually sleep at the hospital. Depending on the behavioral health needs of the student, they may find themselves staying at the hospital for inpatient treatment or staying at home for outpatient treatment and going to a behavioral health day program.
A Teacher’s Guide for Students Returning to School After Psychiatric Hospitalization and a Mental Health Crisis
What do you say when you have a student that is a hot mess, does nothing or is the worst student you have ever had the experience of teaching? Sure, it’s easy to write a comment about an easy student who is a pleasure to have in class. But, what do you write when you have to write something but feel like you only have negative things to say?
Read on for some suggestions to help you write thoughtful, well written report card comment.
It can be difficult to support families to diagnose and treat students with ADHD that may be negatively affecting them in the school and classroom environment.
As an elementary teacher and an individual with ADHD, I have first hand experience with my own ADHD journey as well as my own child’s ADHD diagnosis and treatment. This has helped me successfully work with families of students in my classroom over the years to seek out a diagnosis and treatment for ADHD. I am happy to share tips so that you can also help your students and families.
These back-to-school reading activities include read-alouds, classroom-library introductions, student reading surveys and movement-based reading discussions for students in 4th, 5th and 6th grade.
I have developed a variety of engaging back to school reading activities for upper elementary classrooms. I love to start every school year off with a variety of engaging back to school reading activities, trying to capture the joy and excitement I feel for reading and trying to pass that on to my new class of fifth grade students. Read on for some ideas on engaging back to school reading activities for upper elementary students.
Do you have any students that do not finish books constantly? Students can and should abandon books they aren’t enjoying. We need to strategically give students the tools and confidence to know when it’s the right time to give up on a book that does not catch their interest. Teachers need to teach students when to give up on a book they aren’t enjoying. We also need to know when to support students who chronically move on to new books without finishing any of them.
*Never give up, unless that book is going to drag you down.
Over the past few years while teaching fifth grade I have had a few students who have been diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Here are a few tips, tricks and observations to help you when you are teaching students with OCD in the classroom.
Mornings as a teacher can be quite hectic. Take control of your morning by providing structure at the beginning of the school day for your students with these morning work ideas and soft start resources.
What is the point of morning work?
There are quite a few teaching benefits to providing morning work for students.
Morning work and bellringers act as a transition for students.
Adds structure during a naturally unstructured time
Provides additional organizational time for students who need more time to get themselves settled
Gives the students a task to do while waiting for everyone to arrive at school.
Morning work gives the teacher extra time, whether it is to regroup from another before school meeting that lasted until the bell, take attendance or check in with specific students
