Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Some young people with ADHD might get easily distracted part way through a task. It may seem like their mind is elsewhere or that they haven’t heard instructions.

Others with ADHD may display hyperactive and impulsive behaviours. They may prefer to be active rather than still and may run or climb in situations that are unsafe. They may act before they think, like to talk loudly and find it uncomfortable to play quietly, and may need support to wait their turn.

Some young people with ADHD might present with all of these behaviours.

Young people with ADHD attending your session may sometimes look like they are ‘daydreaming’. It may appear that they are not interested in the activity and they may not respond straight away when their name is called.

Others with ADHD who display inattentive behaviours may get distracted part way through an activity you have planned. They may need the instructions to be repeated so they know what to do and may need support to learn new information.

You may also have players with ADHD who are hyperactive or impulsive and may be very active in your session. They may be very energetic - which is great for playing footy! But be mindful that they may jump into activities before all the instructions have been fully explained.

By providing a safe and supportive environment, you can help keep them engaged and safe. With a little planning, you can ensure young people with ADHD have enriching opportunities to make friends, learn new skills and participate in the footy fun.

My name's Elise, and this is my story. 

I'm First Nation, I'm part of the LGBTQIA+ community, I'm proudly autistic, and I also have ADHD and anxiety. 

ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and what that means is that I can be quite impulsive, which is fun to be around, but doesn't really work for me in, like, environments where I need to be well behaved.

Growing up and hearing "Sit still", "Listen", "Are you listening to me?", "Elise, pay attention", all of that, I really believed that I was the problem. 

I have autism. I have ADHD. I have anxiety. I have these labels, and the disability doesn't live in them. The disability exists when the environment, approach and system isn't created with me in mind and my needs get left behind. They're not supported and therefore, my differences is a limitation.

I really love footy, especially because, my ADHD means I need to get out my energy and there's not as much opportunity during the day, with school and work. In everyday life, someone might say, "Oh, you're impulsive” or "You're distracted", but when there's a footy and it's going and you've gotta make decisions and react to it, it's something where my ADHD actually is a benefit.

"Stimming" is a slang for us. It's short for self-stimulation. It is either repetitive words or repetitive movements for self-stimulation. It's the same as what someone else might do, when they're sitting down and they're jiggling their leg. But for us, people with ADHD and autism, we have lower registration in our body, so we need more of the movement, more of that vestibular input to be able to regulate ourselves.

Taking things away from me and trying to get me to sit still and stop doing something stops me from being able to engage and listen. Having something that I can fiddle with, such as, like, a footy, or having the ability to move, or not show my way of listening in the way that you understand or perceive someone as listening, is gonna help me perform at my best.

If there's like, say for example, there's a train in the background and then it goes, I'm thinking about the train. Or when there's people breathing, when the coach is explaining. If they're trying to draw on the whiteboard and showing like a visual, I'm thinking about the squeakiness of the whiteboard.

ADHD also means that I get bored quite easily, which keeps coaches accountable to making their trainings interesting. 

When a player is really excited and they may not be doing exactly what you want them to do, that's not a disengaged person. A disengaged person looks like someone who's shut down and not participating and really withdrawn. If someone's- When I'm super, like, hyperactive and it's seen as misbehaviour, I'm still engaged, I just need you to be able to channel it in the right way.

This is my story, but everyone's story will be different. In the next section, you will learn tips of how to support young people with ADHD to participate at footy. For example, you can shorten the time you speak, for us to have more time to play.