Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 13:24     Subject: Which foreign language is "easier" for inattentive ADHD with weak working memory
Whichever he wants most

OR
If you can get any Intel on the teachers:

Whichever is taught by the most engaging teacher.

In general I'd vote Spanish for the utility, but I have friends with kids in a school where the Italian teacher has a reputation for being incredible. Everyone loves her. She makes the class so much fun. And unlike the other languages, her class culminates in a trip to Italy. So in a case like that, they chose Italian.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 13:15     Subject: Which foreign language is "easier" for inattentive ADHD with weak working memory
Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all the responses!

His initial plan was to continue French. That is my personal bias, too. Most likely, that's what he'll choose.

The Mandarin idea came about out of the blue. It turns out, his friend takes Mandarin (for fun!) outside of school and has been using funny phrases. I imagine (implicit bias alert) that Mandarin teachers could be more strict? His French teacher has been so relaxed and flexible. She lets kids retake quizzes as many times as they want because she doesn't want grades to be the driving factor. She has mentioned that DC sometimes looks anxious when spoken to in French. I think the auditory part is hard to process. I know how that is, because I prefer to "see" things written down than hear orally.

DC has zero familiarity with Chinese characters so he would be a total novice. Not sure how much he'd have to catch up if other students are from bilingual homes or have taken Mandarin outside of school.

ASL is not offered, but good to know!


In my family, there is an auditory processing weakness that runs together with ADHD. I think this is common in the students I see as well. Some ADHD kids are very good at language, some have language processing issues (writing or reading or spelling).

I would suggest sign language. Pronunciation and spelling become non-issues, and there is something about the physical movement that I think helps kids with ADHD -- easier to pay attention and to memorize. Many schools don't have sign language, but maybe you could get an abbreviated schedule and leave early to take at MC.

In terms of foreign language, keep an eye on meeting any HS credits which is different from taking enough language to qualify for admissions in college (as well as what colleges require to graduate). Many selective colleges wouldn't care if you took a couple years of French and then tried Chinese, even if you decided not to continue Chinese. Be aware that some colleges, like UVA (last I checked) have foreign language competency requirements for graduation, and that can be difficult for ADHD or dyslexic kids.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 12:48     Subject: Which foreign language is "easier" for inattentive ADHD with weak working memory
My kid with severe ADHD and awful working memory excels in Japanese... I think it's because she's very interested in it, and also because the grammar is relatively straightforward. She also took 4 years of French (she likes languages in general) and found it trickier.

My impression, though, is that it's a language that gets harder the longer you study, unlike something like Spanish, which I think starts to get easier after the third year or so (at least that was the experience of my other child).
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 12:36     Subject: Which foreign language is "easier" for inattentive ADHD with weak working memory
I'm not the OP-but my ADHD kid with weak working memory is getting clobbered this year in Spanish as the teacher is autograding a lot of tests, and the computer isn't giving partial credit, and since my kid can't spell (in English or in Spanish, despite a lot of intervention in English), he's getting a lot wrong, even when he's has some language knowledge of the words.

But this would be a problem in any language.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 12:27     Subject: Which foreign language is "easier" for inattentive ADHD with weak working memory
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My inattentive ADHD son with low processing speed takes French and Latin. French because it's our native language, and Latin because it's mostly written, not oral, and that really helps him in the processing speed department, where verbal fluency is a problem. He's also pretty good in computer science, even though it's also a language, but not a spoken language. Everything is written out and pondered over.


Processing speed, attention, and working memory are three totally different things. OP describes her son as low in working memory so Latin is going to be unduly hard.

OP, the state department rates how easy and hard languages are to learn and Spanish and French are in the easiest category. Go with that.



But you need to conjugate on the fly with spoken languages. You don’t with Latin although you do need to decline nouns, but that piece is actually helpful for understanding English grammar. If OP’s son needs to take this for four years he will be expected to speak the language. Is Latin on the state department website?


You also have to conjugate on the fly during tests … also I don’t recall there being oral exams during any language class but maybe there are?
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 12:26     Subject: Which foreign language is "easier" for inattentive ADHD with weak working memory
ASL if it's offered. It was wonderful for my DD with a similar profile (inattentive ADHD and weaker working memory)
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 09:16     Subject: Which foreign language is "easier" for inattentive ADHD with weak working memory
The one they want to study. My kid had no interest in Spanish and didn’t learn a word, but is doing well in Japanese. He wanted Japanese.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 09:03     Subject: Which foreign language is "easier" for inattentive ADHD with weak working memory
My son with inattentive ADHD, ASD, low processing speed, average working memory (depending on subject!), chose Latin because his issue was the type of fast recall necessary for verbal expression, and Latin is mostly a writing-based class. His school did not offer ASL, but that also would have solved that problem.

Memorizing Latin declensions was a bear, but at least he didn't have to assemble sentences orally. We speak two languages at home, and by dint of weekend native language classes and being immersed at home, he can actually speak two languages... but learning a new one in school proved difficult, even with the verbal component.


Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 09:03     Subject: Which foreign language is "easier" for inattentive ADHD with weak working memory
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My inattentive ADHD son with low processing speed takes French and Latin. French because it's our native language, and Latin because it's mostly written, not oral, and that really helps him in the processing speed department, where verbal fluency is a problem. He's also pretty good in computer science, even though it's also a language, but not a spoken language. Everything is written out and pondered over.


Processing speed, attention, and working memory are three totally different things. OP describes her son as low in working memory so Latin is going to be unduly hard.

OP, the state department rates how easy and hard languages are to learn and Spanish and French are in the easiest category. Go with that.



But you need to conjugate on the fly with spoken languages. You don’t with Latin although you do need to decline nouns, but that piece is actually helpful for understanding English grammar. If OP’s son needs to take this for four years he will be expected to speak the language. Is Latin on the state department website?


No, Latin isn't, because no one working in the Foreign Service (who the list is for) will be using Latin. Here's the list: https://www.fsi-language-courses.org/blog/fsi-language-difficulty/
See Spanish and French in Category 1 and Mandarin in Category 5.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 08:54     Subject: Which foreign language is "easier" for inattentive ADHD with weak working memory
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My inattentive ADHD son with low processing speed takes French and Latin. French because it's our native language, and Latin because it's mostly written, not oral, and that really helps him in the processing speed department, where verbal fluency is a problem. He's also pretty good in computer science, even though it's also a language, but not a spoken language. Everything is written out and pondered over.


Processing speed, attention, and working memory are three totally different things. OP describes her son as low in working memory so Latin is going to be unduly hard.

OP, the state department rates how easy and hard languages are to learn and Spanish and French are in the easiest category. Go with that.



But you need to conjugate on the fly with spoken languages. You don’t with Latin although you do need to decline nouns, but that piece is actually helpful for understanding English grammar. If OP’s son needs to take this for four years he will be expected to speak the language. Is Latin on the state department website?
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 08:52     Subject: Which foreign language is "easier" for inattentive ADHD with weak working memory
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have a boy with inattentive ADHD who struggles with cognitive tasks that require simultaneous processing that tax his weak working memory.
For high school, he has a choice of Latin, Mandarin, French, and Spanish. He has taken a few years of French in middle school but is intrigued by the idea of Mandarin.

All things being equal (great teachers, good material, fun resources, etc), which language is easier to process for a student with weakness in working memory and simultaneous processing? As a family we have no particular affinity for Mandarin, but the visual aspects of the character recognition could be helpful for DC. Latin could be complicated with so many conjugations and declensions - a lot to keep track of, but the rules are at least very specific? And written translation requires fewer mental steps than trying to comprehend and translate spoken foreign language in real time. Spanish is the most useful. French is a beautiful language but not as practical. I know I'm overthinking it, but since he gets to start afresh without a strong preference, he might as well chose to learn a language that will come more easily to him so that it's not an unnecessary struggle. Being useful is a plus!

Would love hear about any experiences, regrets, or "I wish DC would have chosen xxx!"



Latin. The verbal aspect of the other languages is going to be challenging and there is no verbal component to Latin (you will say it out loud but the goal is not to converse). Latin has many similarities with English and will probably improve his understanding of English grammar. I didn’t understand direct object and the like until I took Latin.


But Latin will require a higher cognitive load even if not verbal.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 08:51     Subject: Which foreign language is "easier" for inattentive ADHD with weak working memory
Anonymous wrote:My super low processing speed/working memory kid is a rock star in languages for whatever reason. Learned French really quickly, now learning Spanish really quickly after years away from French. I think it’s more about the individual kid than the language.


He must not actually have a low working memory.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 08:50     Subject: Which foreign language is "easier" for inattentive ADHD with weak working memory
Anonymous wrote:I have a boy with inattentive ADHD who struggles with cognitive tasks that require simultaneous processing that tax his weak working memory.
For high school, he has a choice of Latin, Mandarin, French, and Spanish. He has taken a few years of French in middle school but is intrigued by the idea of Mandarin.

All things being equal (great teachers, good material, fun resources, etc), which language is easier to process for a student with weakness in working memory and simultaneous processing? As a family we have no particular affinity for Mandarin, but the visual aspects of the character recognition could be helpful for DC. Latin could be complicated with so many conjugations and declensions - a lot to keep track of, but the rules are at least very specific? And written translation requires fewer mental steps than trying to comprehend and translate spoken foreign language in real time. Spanish is the most useful. French is a beautiful language but not as practical. I know I'm overthinking it, but since he gets to start afresh without a strong preference, he might as well chose to learn a language that will come more easily to him so that it's not an unnecessary struggle. Being useful is a plus!

Would love hear about any experiences, regrets, or "I wish DC would have chosen xxx!"



Latin. The verbal aspect of the other languages is going to be challenging and there is no verbal component to Latin (you will say it out loud but the goal is not to converse). Latin has many similarities with English and will probably improve his understanding of English grammar. I didn’t understand direct object and the like until I took Latin.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 08:50     Subject: Which foreign language is "easier" for inattentive ADHD with weak working memory
Anonymous wrote:My inattentive ADHD son with low processing speed takes French and Latin. French because it's our native language, and Latin because it's mostly written, not oral, and that really helps him in the processing speed department, where verbal fluency is a problem. He's also pretty good in computer science, even though it's also a language, but not a spoken language. Everything is written out and pondered over.


Processing speed, attention, and working memory are three totally different things. OP describes her son as low in working memory so Latin is going to be unduly hard.

OP, the state department rates how easy and hard languages are to learn and Spanish and French are in the easiest category. Go with that.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 08:39     Subject: Which foreign language is "easier" for inattentive ADHD with weak working memory
Just remember. World language at the high school level is much more rigorous than the middle school level. If your child already has a background in another language, it might be best to keep going with that language.