There are several types of diabetes. The most common forms include:

Type 2 diabetes: With this type, your body doesn’t make enough insulin and/or your body’s cells don’t respond normally to the insulin (insulin resistance). This is the most common type of diabetes. It mainly affects adults, but children can have it as well.
Prediabetes: This type is the stage before Type 2 diabetes. Your blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be officially diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes: This type is an autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in your pancreas for unknown reasons. Up to 10% of people who have diabetes have Type 1. It’s usually diagnosed in children and young adults, but it can develop at any age.
Gestational diabetes: This type develops in some people during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes usually goes away after pregnancy. However, if you have gestational diabetes, you’re at a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life.
Other types of diabetes include:

Type 3c diabetes: This form of diabetes happens when your pancreas experiences damage (other than autoimmune damage), which affects its ability to produce insulin. Pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, cystic fibrosis and hemochromatosis can all lead to pancreas damage that causes diabetes. Having your pancreas removed (pancreatectomy) also results in Type 3c.
Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA): Like Type 1 diabetes, LADA also results from an autoimmune reaction, but it develops much more slowly than Type 1. People diagnosed with LADA are usually over the age of 30.
Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY): MODY, also called monogenic diabetes, happens due to an inherited genetic mutation that affects how your body makes and uses insulin. There are currently over 10 different types of MODY. It affects up to 5% of people with diabetes and commonly runs in families.
Neonatal diabetes: This is a rare form of diabetes that occurs within the first six months of life. It’s also a form of monogenic diabetes. About 50% of babies with neonatal diabetes have the lifelong form called permanent neonatal diabetes mellitus. For the other half, the condition disappears within a few months from onset, but it can come back later in life. This is called transient neonatal diabetes mellitus.
Brittle diabetes: Brittle diabetes is a form of Type 1 diabetes that’s marked by frequent and severe episodes of high and low blood sugar levels. This instability often leads to hospitalization. In rare cases, a pancreas transplant may be necessary to permanently treat brittle diabetes.

o be easily distracted,
o have difficulty following directions,
o frequently lose materials, and/or
o have difficulty organizing tasks and materials.


Predominantly hyperactive/impulsive type.
The student may:
o Appear to be in constant motion,
o frequently fidget or move in his or her seat,
o become restless during quiet activities,
o leave his or her seat when expected to remain seated,
o interrupt others and classroom activities,
o talk excessively, and/or
o fail to follow classroom procedures (e.g., blurt out answers without raising hand).


Combined type.
The student may exhibit symptoms that include behaviors from both categories above.

In order for a student to be diagnosed with ADHD, symptoms must appear before age 12 and be exhibited across at least two settings. They must also have adverse effects on academic performance, occupational success, or social-emotional development (APA, 2013).

To add to the complexity of the diagnosis, children with ADHD are likely to have co-existing emotional, behavioral, developmental, learning, or physical conditions (Wolraich & DuPaul, 2010).

As a result of the behaviors listed above, students with ADHD are at greater risk of academic
difficulties, social/emotional issues, and limited educational outcomes.

Have tangible reminders:
- A big clock in the bedroom;
- Charts for chores;
- Assignment pad to record homework and a specific folder to put work in upon completion; and
- Gain the child's attention before speaking to him or her. Have the child repeat back directions for things that are really important.
Avoid the following:
- Repeating patterns of inappropriate behavior followed by ineffective punishment;
- Administering consequences without prior warning or without the child understanding why he or she is receiving them; and
- Responding inconsistently to inappropriate behaviors.

Students with ADHD: Tips for Home

Students also can take some of the responsibility for their educational and behavioral adaptations. Blazer (1999) reported that students as young as 5 years old can communicate ways to make their school experience more pleasurable and learning easier. Student input also helps to promote a sense of ownership and responsibility for the new strategies and adaptations.
Here are some suggestions for practices that may be helpful for teachers working with a child with ADHD.

ADHD is one of the most prevalent psychiatric illnesses of young people in America.
A recent study showed that ADHD diagnosis has gone up 43 percent from 2003 to 2011.
The study was not designed to look at the underlying reasons for such changes in prevalence, however it could be the result of a tendency to over-diagnose the situation.
“There has definitely been an upward trend in diagnosed ADHD cases. If the condition is over-diagnosed and the stimulant to correct the condition is taken casually, then treatment won’t be durable and it could ignore other problems in their environment that are the actual stressors, like: internal worries, home conflicts and learning disorders.” -Cabrera.