"Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand." Proverb
The following tips and strategies were designed to help educators who work with students affected by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. As you scroll down, you will see we have provided useful tips that may work with certain individuals, and for others, different strategies are required.
"ADHD children do something right twice, and we hold it against them for the rest of their lives."
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a neurological disorder and is generally characterized by a child's inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsivity. The child appears not to listen and seems easily distracted. They may have difficulty completing work or tasks. Very often, the child doesn't finish a task they've started. They may also experience difficulty with social interaction. A child with ADHD is in constant motion and appears to always be on the "go." They have difficulty sitting still and are fidgety. A child with ADHD may find it challenging to sit in their seat at school and may end up distracting others. They may experience excessive activity during sleep and may not feel restful in the morning. These children often act without thinking and later regret their actions. They have difficulty organizing their work. The child will also shift excessively from one activity to the next. They may speak out loud in the classroom and may require a lot of supervision. The child doesn't like to wait for their turn in games or groups. Emotionally, these children are very sensitive to criticism from others. They may engage quickly in fights with other children. Children with ADHD may also be socially isolated or considered "social loners." They will blame others for their problems and may experience angry outbursts.
According to Dr. Russell Barkley, ADHD is a problem with inhibition and not a deficiency of attention per se. In other words, the brakes in the brains of children affected by ADHD don't work.
Unable to put brakes on inside thoughts which leads to impulsivity.
Unable to put brakes on acting upon distractions or thoughts which leads to hyperactivity.
Children with ADHD have "leaky brakes." Their brakes just ain't working properly! Our brakes reside in the frontal and prefrontal lobes of our brain. These lobes are responsible for our Executive Function (memory, analysis, plan, organize, executive, judgment).
Tips & Strategies for School
Sense of Organization Disorganization is a MAJOR disability for anyone with ADHD.
"Is the goal of the assignment to grade the kids on their ability to do physics and algebra or are they being graded on their ability in an area of disability - to be self-organized? Don't worry. the child is still responsible to get it done."
Write assignments in agenda or other notebooks (paper or electronic). Check to make sure student wrote it in book.
Have one notebook for ALL subjects! Get student to date sheets immediately.
Have one bi-fold homework folder (one side for papers coming home and the other side for papers being handed in).
Give enough time to write assignments.
Weekly or monthly calendar to be sent hom and kept in agenda (timeanddate.com).
Sign the homework sheet after each period. Don't expect student to come to you. Remember, they need your help to be organized!
Notify family of late assignments immediately.
Material Presentation
Decrease the amount of visual stimulation in the classroom by limiting the decor. Classrooms look great with colourful posters and banners, but for children with ADD, ADHD, FASD, Asperger, other syndromes and disorders, classroom decor can become a challenge.
Decrease distractions by removing the clock in the classroom, the amount of wall displays and consider changing the lighting.
Consider using coloured paper once in a while. Pastel coloured paper (violet, green, yellow) can enhance the reading experience and students with ADHD will certainly benefit.
Use colour. Children love colour!
Change the way you present the information. Teach in an animated and attention-grabbing manner.
Always talk when eye contact has been established, otherwise you may be wasting your breath and your patience. Just remember though that for some children, eye contact interferes with their concentration.
Alert the child with directives such as "This is Important!"
Give simple short instructions with shorter work activities. Take large tasks and break them down into simple, small tasks.
Make sure student understand directives (repeat back to you).
Encourage child to underline or highlight key words of direction.
Allow hyperactive students to do tasks with movements (hand out papers, pick up papers, bring notes to office).
Position the student close to teacher so s/he can maintain eye contact when needed and decrease the distractions. It's important to talk to the student about preferential seating.
Additional Tips & Strategies
Gently touch the child's shoulder to bring her/him back to focus. This can be done while casually walking down the isle. Be aware however that some children don't like to be touched.
Ask the child to keep on their desk only what s/he is using and put all other items away. This decreases distractibility.
Provide encouragement and praise however small, often.
Provide frequent feedback.
Set limits and boundaries: Post these at eye level in front of the class and explain to all the students what they mean.
Have a regular schedule and post it by the door for the students to see.
When addressing the child, always say her/his name clearly at the beginning of your sentence.
Always have an activity on the side for quick use.
Use color to code activities or work.
Try to limit the amount of stimulation in the class.
If the students are energized, consider an exercise break where the children can do some stretching or deep breathing.
You may want to invite a yoga instructor to your class to show the students some simple relaxation moves. Because of its effectiveness, yoga techniques in classrooms are gaining huge support in schools across North America.
For days when the weather is slow and heavy or when the students are out of sorts (full moon syndrome), get the students to do jumping jacks and then slow them down with deep breathing exercises (this really works)!!!
Another successful exercise that is tried and proven by several educators is to have the students start their day with a centering exercise: ask the students to sit up straight in their chairs and get them to stretch their arms out to their side as far as they can reach with palms upwards, then slowly raise them to the sky as if they were trying to touch the sky, with hands touching at the palms, slowly bring the hands straight down while trying to keep your elbows together, stop when the hands are at the height of the nose and elbows at the height of the chest. Stay in this position for 10 seconds while breathing slowly. Then allow your hands to slowly drop to the side. The entire exercise should be done very slowly.
To stimulate interest, try getting the students to stop whatever they are doing and ask them to roll their shoulders forward for 15 seconds then roll backwards 15 seconds.
In order to help the child release the buildup of energy, place some Velcro under the child’s desk. The child will be able to rub the Velcro whenever they feel a need to release any extra energy.
Also provide regular stretching times and short/regular exercise periods. For students who are active or who finish their work fast, allowing them to play with their eraser is an easy trick to keep their hands busy while staying quiet. This also great for tactile learners to do while they need to work or concentrate.
Another great trick for students with ADHD, Tourette's, FASD: allow them to use a hand ball to squeeze (heart & stroke foundation has a perfect one or you can find these at the dollar store). This is also great for tactile learners, who need to do something with their hands to stimulate the learning process and create retention.
Use visual equivalents whenever possible for explanations. Many children are visual learners. Many more learners are kinesthetic learners and as such these children need to touch and experience and learn through touching with their hands.
Have a "Hands-On" days, where activities are created around touching.
Have a experiential learning day where children learn by doing. Example: learning about gravitational force can be taught with different size rocks and a stair case. Ask the students to stand at the top of the staircase and drop the different sized rocks and see which touches the ground first. Ask them to explain the results.
Have "Silly Days". This allows students to see the teacher as human and approachable. Do not try to control the students. Try to guide them. Always laugh, always.
Sources:
Martin L. Kutscher, Kids in the Syndrome Mix, Jesica Kingsley Publishers.
Jeffrey Freed, Right-Brain Children in a Left-Brain World, Simon & Schuster.
