10 Creative SEL Activities for Students with ADHD

Students with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) sometimes need additional support to focus on tasks, stay organized, and regulate impulses. When students do not receive the support and accommodations they need, these challenges can negatively impact their academic performance, social interactions, and emotional well-being. 

This list of ten creative SEL activities for students with ADHD includes hands-on activities, opportunities for movement, and critical thinking exercises. These activities are engaging for the whole class, but they are especially valuable for ADHD learners because they help them focus and channel their energy into learning.

Self-Awareness

Strengths Collage

Strengths collages help students identify, celebrate, and share their strengths. This can be an empowering activity that boosts students’ self-esteem by challenging them to think about their unique abilities. Instead of students using poster board and art supplies to create their collages, incorporate technology skills by allowing them to use Canva, Google Slides, or similar software.

Emotions Bingo

This activity puts a twist on the tried-and-true game of bingo. Create bingo cards with different emotions instead of numbers. Show pictures depicting the emotions, or explain scenarios where the emotions are clear (ex. The person in the scenario is crying after they lost a soccer game = sad).This helps students recognize and articulate emotions in a fun and interactive way.

Self-Management

DIY stress balls

Stress balls are effective self-regulating tools that can help students concentrate and decompress when they feel overwhelmed. Not only do the stress balls serve a purpose, but the act of creating them can be highly engaging and empowering. By creating something functional, students gain a sense of accomplishment and ownership, making them more likely to use their stress ball when needed. To facilitate this activity, provide funnels, balloons, and items to fill them with such as flour and rice. You can also provide markers, stickers, etc., so students can personalize them.

Time management games 

Time management games can help students strengthen their organizational skills. There are a wide variety of options to choose one, but they all involve students completing a task within a given time period. For example, students can “race against the clock” to sort items within a specific amount of time. Alternatively, students can do the same activity but instead of racing against the clock, they can try to beat their previous completion time. Puzzles and scavenger hunts are other examples of fun time management activities.

Social Awareness

Empathy map

Empathy maps merge SEL with reading, social studies, or literature. When discussing characters or historical figures, students can fill out a poster board with sections describing what the person says, thinks, does, and feels. This can also be considered a perspective-taking exercise because students will have different answers, which opens the door to discuss different viewpoints.

Class debates

Turn on the television or log into social media, and it’s clear that many adults are unable to respectfully disagree. This is why it’s so important to teach students how to think critically about topics, communicate clearly, and respond to opposing viewpoints respectfully. 

Divide the class into two teams, and allow each team time to prepare their main points. The most engaging topics will be the ones that are relevant to your students’ interests, but keep the topics lighthearted. Turn this into a perspective-taking challenge by assigning teams to debate from the other point of view. For example, if the debate is about crayons vs. markers, ask the students to vote for which one they prefer. The people who voted for crayons will debate that markers are the best, and vice versa. Set ground rules ahead of time to ensure the debate remains fun, friendly, and respectful.

Relationship Skills

Team building activities 

Team-building activities can help students strengthen their communication, problem-solving, and relationship skills. Popular team-building activities include building a tower with spaghetti and marshmallows, solving a group puzzle, and building structures with LEGOs. Some students shy away from team activities that require additional skills (like sports) so be sure to choose activities that appeal to a wide range of interests and abilities.

Desert Island Game

This fun activity can teach students how to plan and prioritize, while also encouraging teamwork and collaboration. For this activity, students will pretend that they are about to be stranded on a desert island and can only be five items from a provided list (food, water, tools, etc.). Students can work in groups to decide what items to bring and why. Remind them that the goal is to survive until they are “rescued”, so they should consider which items will be the most useful. 

Responsible Decision-Making

Pros and cons list

A pros and cons list is a powerful decision-making tool that students can use throughout their lifetime. To teach them how to use it, provide scenarios where all options are desirable. Have the students create a list of pros and cons for each option and then decide on their final choice. Encourage students to share their lists and how they arrived at their final decision.

Ava by Social Cipher

It’s undeniable – students love technology, especially games. Ava is an interactive online game designed specifically to support neurodivergent students in strengthening their SEL skills. As students play Ava, they learn and practice valuable SEL skills to help them navigate challenging situations, often resulting in an improvement in behavior, academic performance, and overall well-being

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For more SEL activities for neurodivergent middle school students, check out our SEL Resources.

Want to know how to get Social Cipher’s online curriculum and SEL game Ava into your school? Let’s chat!