Teaching a child with ADHD

[mommamaree]

I have a question for teachers and homeschooling parents. Do any here teach/homeschool ADHD children? What has been your experience teaching them? How did you recognize that they learned differently? What strategies do you employ to bring out their strengths and help them to work around or overcome their weaknesses (like inattention, distractability, hyperactivity, impulsivity)? Thanks!

 

[Aggies08]

I teach pre-school. It’s not always diagnosed yet, but I’ll often hear back a year or two later, and the child has been. So, this is for 3 to 5 yr olds.

What I’ve found works well with kids of an acive temperment, for the very young, is to assume you don’t do ANY learning sitting down. We will do letters by matching them- here’s an A card, find the one on the wall across the room, or on a laminated paper ont he floor, etc. Lay out letters (laminated) on the floor. Every time the child jumps over it, make the sound of that letter (for all phonics).

If they are reading, use a index card box of simple sentences with directions. “Close the door.” “Tiptoe in a circle” “Water the plants” “Jump 5 times” etc. Let them read the cards, and follow the instructon- kids LOVE this.

Songs are great.

Also, realize you do things in short bursts- 5 or 10m of “work,” then a new subject or activity. Feel out the child(ren) each day, and do what they can handle that day. It varies.

I do smiliar activities with everything- I try to work withing the child’s temerment, rather than trying to use concentration “tricks” at that age.

 

[Deus_tecum]

ADHD is over-diagnosed especially in boys and sometimes the “symptoms” are what was seen years ago as normal energetic activity by boys. Our bodies aren’t even made to sit in a chair all day. They are made to move.

 

[Allegra]

A lot of success has to do with keeping a routine and making sure that you plan shorter stints of work and more frequent short breaks then you would for a typical child. Depending on the age and the child’s interest, you can choose activities for these breaks that will help him to pay attention. A movement activity works really well for elementary age kids. Songs also work well for young kids. You could also do a spelling or math game, a timed multiplication test, a level of a educational computer game, a short story, a puzzle, etc. Three minutes is usually enough of a break to sort of reset the mind for kids with ADD.

It’s also helpful to use movements and songs or rhymes as mnumonic devices. Even simple motions are helpful to help kids retain information quicker and longer. As kids with ADD get older, it’s important to teach them study and work skills that work for them so they can transition to being more responsible for their own work.

 

[George_Stegmeir]

ADHD is over-diagnosed especially in boys and sometimes the “symptoms” are what was seen years ago as normal energetic activity by boys. Our bodies aren’t even made to sit in a chair all day. They are made to move.

I agree 2000% !!! Many times the children who supposedly have this are just undisciplined due to a lack of proper rearing by their parents.
There was an interesting satire on this malady on South Park a while ago in which ADHD became an epidemic that was finally cured by a good whack on the backside.
Have you ever noticed that much of the cases of this “disorder” are diagnosed by people who do not have children of their own?
As for Me, I had three sons, of which two are alive- one a graduate civil engineer, and the other a college professor. Their mother was a High School Spanish teacher,

 

[MJJean]

My sister was ADD and my brother ADHD. I agree that these diagnosis are often over-used but in the case of my siblings they were spot on. As adults they are still hyper with short attention spans.

While they weren’t homeschooled, when they were at home doing work we found that tiring them out a bit between lessons helped. My brother would literally run around the block a few times and then be able to sit and pay attention for a bit. My sister liked to get up and do a chore or something around the house between lessons as she’s always been a bit of a neat freak and really liked to tidy up. Having a disciplined routine helped, too.

 

[7armyrugrats]

Mine aren’t ADHD, but I have two high functioning autistics and a few other different learners. What I do is watch them and see how they enjoy playing/interacting with others and then match that with my teaching. One of my sons loves to cook, so I taught him fractions and multiplication in the kitchen. We cooked and baked and created lots of dishes for the family, and he can adjust any recipe according to our family size on his own–by the time he was 9. Once he was confident with that we transitioned to doing it on paper. He also learns best hands on with everything, so for history he is “building” a civil war cannon and making hard tack as well as writing me a paper. Another one of mine can’t sit still long enough to learn to read. She’s in second grade now and doing better because she’s starting to mature, but last year and the year before were torturous! I got her reading by running games. She had to collect letters based on clues and spell words out of the letters. The added unintended benefit was that her baby brother (who was 2-1/2 at the time) also picked up reading at the same time! Now I only have one non-reader, but she’s only 8 months.

My best advice is to resist the urge to try to turn your home into a classroom. I am all for learning, and I have no problem with most school systems for typical learners. But most of my kids were not progressing well due to learning difficulties. Also, houses are not schools and it is all but impossible to recreate the school atmosphere at home. The two typical learners I have do much more book work and their day is quite similar to a regular school day. It doesn’t work for my other kids though. We just adjust and try our best. Any day they learn something new is a good day.

And as a side note, the first boy I mentioned was getting 30-35% on his standardized testing each year he was in school. After being homeschooled for two years–mostly hands on and me often thinking he can’t possibly be learning anything–his score jumped up to 70-75%. Not all kids can handle sitting all day working in books. That’s the beauty of homeschooling. We can adjust things without all the awful IEP planning meetings. I hated those things.

 

[LongingSoul]

Routine and predictability are definitely the number one strategies for dealing with ADHD. The kids will seem to be fighting against it when applied, but eventually they will connect the value of routine with their own sense of calm and control. We parents don’t realise at times that as stressful as their behaviour is on us, it is twice as stressful on the child to be that way.

My middle son was 20 (last year) when he had an informal diagnosis of ADHD and autistic spectrum. I always resisted his being labeled because I thought his behaviour was to do with the stresses of having austistic spectrum older brother and younger sister and my lack of attention to him due to that. The diagnosis is important as it determines how the child is treated at a young age by ourselves, school and society. My son was informally diagnosed by the psychiatrist and psych hosp that were treating him for severe depression and marijuana addiction. People with these conditions are said to be up to 10 times more likely to have substance abuse problems because the substances provide them some relief from their difficulties at the start.

Since that time, better late then never, I’ve introduced strict routine and discipline into his day as much as I can (since he is technically well and truly adult) and he has responded to that amazingly well. Also, don’t be afraid to be a strong advocate for your child in getting him the help he needs that you can’t give and also with regards to others who may criticise or condemn him unfairly… even family members do this at times. I found that role to be a most powerful act of maternal love. (It helped me identify strongly with Our Lady’s advocacy on our behalf as her loved children.)

Routine, calm and consistent discipline and wise advocacy… along with all the practical strategies for learning.

 

[PerlaDelRosario]

I teach second graders and I’m in agreement with the other replies in that kids with ADHD learn best when lessons are kept short (10-15 mins) and we allow them to engage with the lessons in a way that allows movement. This is what my whole-group teaching looks like. If I see that a student is not paying attention, I tell the whole class something like “ok, now check with your partner to see if they did the same thing” or “check with your partner and see if they did great too”. That helps students get back on track with the lesson. Then I have my students do an activity with their group (up to 5 students) or with a partner and that also allows for movement. This activity could be another 10-15 minutes and I monitor the groups and guide them as needed and I pay close attention to my students with ADHD to see if their learning needs are being met. Since working in groups is truly interactive, all students are usually on task. Lastly, my students are to work independently and complete a worksheet or an activity on their own to see if they have mastered the objective. This is when I pull a small group of students, usually the students that are low in academics so that I can offer extra support. I could also pull the students that need help staying on task and this could include students that have ADHD. However, sometimes students with ADHD will stand while working on their own and they might wiggle but it doesn’t bother me as long as they are working.

 

[Deus_tecum]

I agree 2000% !!! Many times the children who supposedly have this are just undisciplined due to a lack of proper rearing by their parents.
There was an interesting satire on this malady on South Park a while ago in which ADHD became an epidemic that was finally cured by a good whack on the backside.
Have you ever noticed that much of the cases of this “disorder” are diagnosed by people who do not have children of their own?
As for Me, I had three sons, of which two are alive- one a graduate civil engineer, and the other a college professor. Their mother was a High School Spanish teacher,

I know a little guy who was “diagnosed” with it in first grade by a teacher who tried to insist the boy see a doctor and get medication. His dad met with her and told her the kid is a normal healthy boy. They lived in an upstairs wood floor apartment in a bad neighborhood, and there was just no place for the boy to play energetically inside or out. So naturally he has a bit of pent up energy. He does not need to be drugged down. The teacher backed off, but the parents realized how rotten the public school system is here and moved their son to Catholic school.

 

[Luvz2travel]

I have ADD and had extreme hyperactivity as a child. My attention span when it comes to studying anything unless if fancinates me is 20 minutes max. The key to engaging the ADD child and keeping them focused is to find what they are interested in and use that to teach them. Also find how they intake the information. With me I have to do something and write it down. I have to take in new information two ways or it just flys over my head and I can’t remember it. It’s not that I don’t want to remember it or try is that my brain automatically looses focus and can’t hold on to too much information verbally at one time. My way to solve this was to take notes. I have to write verbal directions down or I just can’t remember them unless you give them to me in small peaces. Taking a lesson one step at a time is another good way to teach an ADD person. When you throw too much information at us we get overwhelmed and stressed.

So for expample if you child love the outdoors or sports try to intregrate that into the lesson plan. If will save you a lot of trouble and stress believe me. If it’s something they have trouble staying focus on just take it step by step and don’t overwelm them.

 

[jmjMom9]

My ADHD son does better when he gets physical activity before we start. He also has a very limited attention span, but he drives me nuts because I have to drag him to the table (or couch) when it’s time to work. So, I get tired of all the contention!!! For a while, he was even running out the door when I called him to school work.

My dh saved the day. He told him that any day that he didn’t get done with school, he had to sit with dh from after dinner to bedtime and do school (whatever was easy for dh to teach). My son hated it. The next day, he would be an angel. Dh usually ends up doing this about once a week.

My son doesn’t respond to rewards except for play time on the computer. Nothing else is “worth it” to him.

I tried to do hands on stuff with him, but he really doesn’t care about that. He just wants to play. So I just try to get his lesson in as quick as I can before he can’t take it anymore. He is very smart, fortunately.

It’s not easy. I comfort myself that he would be miserable in school and I would still be doing school with him (homework). I also make a point to offer up my teaching time with him every day. And, I try to make sure that my voice stays calm and soothing.

There’s a website that talks about teaching ADHD kids, but the suggestions haven’t helped my son. I don’t know why. I guess every kid is different.

sizzlebop.com/

Things that help him: lots of exercise, lots of friend time, me being firm and patient, dh backing me up, and little screen time (seems to acerbate bad behavior.

 

[on_the_hill]

ADHD is over-diagnosed especially in boys and sometimes the “symptoms” are what was seen years ago as normal energetic activity by boys. Our bodies aren’t even made to sit in a chair all day. They are made to move.

I agree with you but there’s a difference between the two.