In Puebla de Obando, Badajoz, a family says CEIP Jiménez Andrade has failed to implement educational adaptations for their nine-year-old twin sons, both diagnosed with ADHD. Their parents say they submitted medical and psychopedagogical reports and formally requested intervention, but have received no solution from the Junta de Extremadura or the Educational Inspectorate. The dispute raises questions about how educational support identified for pupils with ADHD is assessed, documented and put into practice in Spain’s public schools.
Their father, Manuel Román, says specialists diagnosed the twins and that they initially progressed well in primary school with support. Their situation changed in third grade, when a new teacher became their tutor, he says. From then on, the boys began failing subjects taught by that teacher, including Mathematics, Language and Social Sciences, while continuing to achieve positive results in other classes. The family says the exams did not take account of the twins’ needs.
Spain’s Organic Law on Education, Law 2/2006, as amended by the LOMLOE, Law 3/2020, includes attention and learning disorders among circumstances that may give rise to a need for specific educational support. In practice, ADHD-related support is generally determined individually through the educational-orientation process; a diagnosis alone does not prescribe one uniform intervention. Measures can include clearer or segmented instructions and reduced distractions. Schools may also allow additional time or change how tests are presented, with closer monitoring during assessments. Such adjustments generally change teaching methods or access, or the assessment format, rather than learning objectives or evaluation criteria. More large curricular changes require a separate assessment and formal justification.
The distinction matters because support for pupils with specific educational support needs does not automatically mean a impressive curricular adaptation is required. The family says Extremadura has had a specific protocol for students with ADHD since 2015 and that, despite repeated meetings with the school and submission of medical documentation, the recommended adaptations were not effectively put in place for their sons. They also report that the teacher acknowledged the boys’ good behavior and integration in class, but that this did not lead to academic support or improved results.
After seeing no improvement, the parents took the issue to regional education authorities, filing a formal complaint with the Inspectorate in May 2025. They alleged that the school had failed to comply with adaptation measures and requested an inspection of its practices. Before the next school year, the Educational Guidance Team prepared separate psychopedagogical reports for each child, outlining their needs and recommending support strategies. The family says those recommendations were again not implemented: exams remained unadapted and academic performance continued to decline, particularly in subjects taught by the same tutor.
The parents say the ongoing lack of support has affected the twins emotionally. They now associate school with anxiety and have lost confidence in their academic abilities, information from the family. The dispute intensified after teaching staff proposed that both boys repeat the year with the same teacher. Their parents oppose the proposal, arguing that the academic difficulties stem from the absence of the adaptations they requested.
The family says it also contacted several officials in the Junta de Extremadura, including President María Guardiola and the regional Education Department, but received no satisfactory response. The Junta told EL PAÍS that the case was under internal review and declined to provide further details. CEIP Jiménez Andrade also declined to comment, referring inquiries to the educational inspector assigned to the center.
ADHD, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, is a neurodevelopmental condition that can affect attention and impulse control, with effects on emotional regulation as well. Under Spain’s education structure, the response is individualized: the educational-orientation assessment helps determine whether a pupil needs methodological adjustments or access support, with reinforcement or more extensive measures also possible. In a school-level dispute, basic records include the psychopedagogical assessment and the orientation service’s recommendations, alongside school documentation showing which support measures were applied in lessons and examinations. The family’s case centers on whether the measures identified for the twins were translated into effective classroom support.
