Dealing with students in the classroom that have been taken off their ADHD medication

During my two week practicum I taught art and physical education at Fraser Academy -an independent school for students with dyslexia in Vancouver. The first week I was observing my sponsor teachers and their specific teaching styles. Many of the students were medicated for various psychological, mental and/or learning disabilities. During the time of observation my art sponsor teacher was dealing with a child that had just been taken off his medication. This particular student was disrupting the learning environment and causing problems for the teacher. At the end of the day I was talking to my sponsor teacher and he had given me some advice for what happened in the classroom that day.
These particular students have a lot going on in their lives and have many challenges –almost all of these students who suffer from dyslexia also have ADHD (this is a very common trend for dyslexia). As a teacher you may have a great lesson planned but sometimes these students will walk through the classroom doors but will NOT be physically able to engage- they are too distracted with either being taken off their medication or having a particularly hard day struggling with ADHD.
On a particular “hard” day where a lot of students had no focus, the art teacher let them unwind and allowed them to be off task. He did not push them to get into an assignment but he let them work at their own pace or not work at all. He told me “these students struggle so much with their academic courses that it gets very discouraging. The art room is one of the few places where they can be themselves and socialize with their friends away from pressure.”
At first I thought this man was crazy for letting his students be off task while goofing around. But the more I observed I saw that the student’s attention changed on a daily basis, some days the students would be very engaged in their project and other days they would be fidgeting with any material they could get their hands on- it was their own personal struggle fighting their disability. I was impressed by my sponsor teacher’s knowledge in his student's background and how he adapted his lesson/art period to accomodate the struggles that the students were dealing with. He would ensure his students were getting the most out of his class but some days he wouldn’t fight with his students to be on task. This was a teacher who understood the struggles of his students and he would adapt their learning environment to make it a positive experience.