Teacher Tips: Increasing Your ADHD Student's Time On Task

Thank you to all of our professional educatorshis activity level may increase during the day.
who dedicate themselves to our children! WeTherefore, schedule the most demanding
know how difficult it can be working with ADHDattentional tasks in the morning. Your student
children, so here are your teacher tips for themay get overwhelmed with large assignments. His
week, brought to you by the ADHD Informationattention may wander after guided practice on
Library and This is a sampling of over 500similar tasks. Adjust the assignment down to
classroom interventions for your use at Here aresmaller intervals. Give the assignment one sheet
some tips on Increasing Your ADHD Studentsat a time. Assign every third problem, rather than
Time On Task: Promote and reward the student'severy one, for completion to reflect mastery
time on task, never time off task. Give a minutelevel. Cut apart single worksheets into strips. Tailor
timer to keep on his desk. Ask the child how longguided practice to occur during those time periods.
he thinks it would take to perform a certain task.Schedule breaks after this optimum attention time
Let him set his own time and race against theperiod and then return to the assignment. Seat
timer. One of the hallmarks of attentionalwork is often extremely difficult. This can become
problems is the difficulty with sustaining attentioncompounded when the teacher is instructing
on tasks over time. Students with attentionalanother small group. Check on your student as
problems may need different levels of externalmuch as possible or have him check?in with the
internal stimulation to enhance task focus.teacher. Consider using a point system. Since a
Students with attentional problems do better incharacteristic of students with an attentional
classrooms with four walls than in an "open pod"problem is the seeking of highly stimulating
arrangement. Open pods allow too many visualmaterials, computer-assisted instruction and drill
and auditory distracters throughout the day.can be highly successful and may also enhance
Along with breaking up the need for sustainingkeyboarding skills as well as fine-motor
attention for a long period, your student would docoordination. Hopefully these will help the ADHD
better when allowed frequent breaks to movestudents in your classroom to be more successful.
around inside and outside the classroom. This mayYou can learn more about Attention Deficit
vary from a daily outside walk, doing errandsHyperactivity disorder at the ADHD Information
around the building, to classroom stretchingLibrary.
exercises. Your student tends to lose focus and