Teaching the ADHD Child




     Even though this was taken from an ADHD handbook, don't dismiss it if you are looking for tips for teaching an autistic child, most of this has been/is being used on my son who has PDD.


     Everything you read on this page has come from:Teach and Reach Students with Attention Deficit Disorders/The Educator's Handbook and Resource Guide...written by:Nancy L. Eisenberg, M.S.W. and Pamela H. Esser, M. Ed.




ATTITUDES AND FEELINGS

  • The educator is an essential member of an alliance which includes the ADHD child, parent, educator and health care professional.  This team approach must be effective if the ADHD child is to realize his/her potential.

  • The classroom teacher's understanding and caring greatly enhances the child's chance for academic and emotional growth and the building of self-esteem.

  • All human beings have strengths and weaknesses, everyone learns to compensate for weaknesses as a normal part of growth and developement.  ADHD deficits also can be modified; the student can be taught to compensate for many of his/her difficulties.  The learning of new skills and compensatory behaviors takes many repetitions and is not related to the student's intelligence.  Statistically ADHD children have normal to above-normal intelligence.

  • Feelings underlay our ability to function and learn.  Recognize your feelings and those of your students.  Anger, frustration, disappointment are normal emotions adults experience when trying to work with special needs children.  Accepting the negative feelings of your students as well as your own can free you to move on, to redirect your efforts in another positive direction.  Keep going for there will be opportunities for feelings of satisfaction, pride and triumph when your ADHD student finally "gets it."

  • These strategies are effective with all students and will facilitate the functioning of your classroom and enhance your effectiveness.


ORGANIZATION

1. Seat the ADHD student near the teacher and other students who will not be a distraction.
  • Seat the ADHD student near classmates who are good role models
  • Seat the ADHD student near quiet children
  • Seat the ADHD student with his/her back to the door, windows, or high traffic areas
  • Team the ADHD student with one buddy who he/she can ask for help
2. Routine is very important.
  • Write the schedule on the chalkboard
  • if possible, discuss changes in routine, e.g. substitute teacher, field trip, special program, vacations, in advance
3. The teacher and the classroom need to be well organized.
  • establish a time and place for everything in the classroom
  • ADHD students need structure, consistent limits, and routine
4. Rules and expectations and consequences for negative behavior should be explained clearly and posted where students can refer to them if necessary.  Expectations should be stated as positive statements.  Learning the "do's" facilitates the student's focusing on appropriate behavior.  When told "do not", ADHD students have difficulty determining what they should be doing.


COPING STRATEGIES

1. Do not give the ADHD student many choices; limit options.
2. Write assignments on the chalkboard as well as giving verbal instructions.
  • give one instruction at a time, clearly and simply
  • make eye contact
  • get close to the student's face when talking to minimize distractions
  • ask the student to repeat directions to be sure he/she understands what is expected
3. State the purpose and/or goal of an assignment to help the student establish a focal point about the work.  Providing brief information or an outline of the assignment also helps the student focus and organize his/her efforts.
4. ADHD students do not have a good sense of time; commonly they either take too long to complete a task or rush through making careless errors.  Help pace the ADHD student's work, make reference to the classroom clock or the child's watch to help him/her begin to develope a visual sense of time passing.  Break down assignments into more manageable, small parts so that:
  • tasks will seem more achievable
  • student can organize and concentrate with less distractions
  • if the student rushes through tests and assignments, tell him/her to go back over his/her work and correct any mistakes he/she may have made
5. The student should complete one type of task or activity before going on to another.
6. Use grades to encourage effort, cooperativeness, and success.  Write at least one positive comment no matter how high or low the grade.
  • the student who is struggling to learn is especially vulnerable and sensitive to making errors.  The student is apt to focus on his/her deficiencies and dismiss the gains he/she has made.  Help the student understand that making mistakes is part of the learning process.

  • ADHD students are often overwhelmed by their deficits as they become more aware of their abilities in comparison to the performances of other students.  Help the student develop personal short term goals in order to focus on his/her individual improvement.

  • as the student attains goals, help him/her understand that he/she has an active role in learning and deserves the credit for improvement and the acquisition of new skills.

  • help the student differentiate between careless errors and errors which reflect the need for clearer understanding.
7. Help the student keep his/her desk clear and uncluttered.
8. Allow time for periodic movement around the classroom or send the ADHD student on an errand to another part of the building.
9. Give positive feedback immediately and freely.
  • give approval for appropriate classroom behavior
  • plan to give praise or positive reinforcement on a regular basis especially during time of the day or week when students traditionally have difficulty maintaining attention, staying on task, and following classroom routines.
10. Do not use recess or lunch times to have ADHD students complete work, ADHD students especially need this time to move around and be physically active. 11. ADHD students have erratic memories.  It takes them longer than others to adapt to routines and learn classroom rules.  Even when routines, rules and directions appear to be learned, the ADHD student will have lapses of memory. 12. When the ADHD student becomes distracted or is having difficulty concentrating during a lesson, he/she will probably need some help from the teacher to refocus and become attentive.
  • utilize nonverbal signals agreed to by you and the student in advance
  • say the student's name
  • gently touch the student's shoulder, head or arm
  • while talking, point to the student's book or work to help the student focus


(As a parent, I personally don't agree with the part about saying the student's name, the child's self esteem is usually low enough, you really don't want to draw any attention to the child so that he/she can be teased later by the other children, however, I do believe that sign language works great as a prompt for both ADHD and PDD/Autistic children)


MATERIALS

1. Provide the ADHD student with a daily assignment sheet.  Check at the end of the day to make sure the homework assignment is written correctly and the necessary books and/or work sheets are taken home. 2. ADHD students generally learn best by using their three senses: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.  Present learning material in different ways so that the student can utilize his/her stronges sensory input and reinforce with the weaker ones. 3. ADHD students often are overwhelmed by a full worksheet and have difficulty getting started and staying on task.
  • a worksheet can be divided into more manageable parts with lines drawn between problems or paragraphs.
  • a worksheet can be folded to reveal only one portion at a time
  • a portion of the worksheet can be covered by a blank piece of paper
  • to provide immediate feedback, encouragement, and reinforce the steps necessary to complete work, the student can work a portion of the assignment, have it checked and make corrections before going on to the next portion
  • placing a book or worksheet on top of a larger piece of colored paper can provide boundaries for the ADHD student's attention
4. Changing the format of instructional materials can greatly minimize distraction and clarify and organize assignments.  Appropriately presented material enables the ADHD student to focus and complete work in an organized, timely fashion.
  • keep printed materials well spaced
  • separate long colums of printing
  • use graph paper for math problems for students who have sequencing difficulties
  • a blank piece of paper with a box cutout can be used over a worksheet or book to isolate a word or math problem
  • if possible do not mix types of math problems on the same page, if problems are mixed on a page the student can circle the similar math signs in the same color
  • lenghty written directions are better rewritten in brief, ordered steps.  Diagrams or pictures can help clarify directions
  • color coding, highlighting or underlining helps the ADHD student focus attention on key parts of learning material
5. When assigning work which requires a lot of reading, provide an outline or worksheet for the student to complete to focus the student on the important points of the assignment.



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