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Schooltime For Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
By: Renata Bursten, Dragonfly Staff
School can be hard for children with AD/HD. Success in school often means being able to pay attention and control behavior and impulse. These are the areas where children with AD/HD have trouble. Here are tips for teachers for helping kids learn.
Individual teachers can help children who have AD/HD in a number of ways. Many of these tips are useful for all children, not just children who have AD/HD.
1. Learn more about AD/HD. The resources and organizations at the end of this publication will help you identify behavior support strategies and effective ways to support the student educationally. We've listed some strategies below.
,2. Figure out what specific things are hard for the student. For example, one student with AD/HD may have trouble starting a task, while another may have trouble ending one task and starting the next. Each student needs different help.
,3. Post rules, schedules, and assignments. Clear rules and routines will help a student with AD/HD. Have set times for specific tasks. Call attention to changes in the schedule.
,4. Show the student how to use an assignment book and a daily schedule. Also teach study skills and learning strategies, and reinforce these regularly.
,5. Help the student channel his or her physical activity (e.g., let the student do some work standing up or at the board). Provide regularly scheduled breaks.
,6. Make sure directions are given step by step, and that the student is following the directions. Give directions both verbally and in writing. Many students with AD/HD also benefit from doing the steps as separate tasks.
,7. Let the student do work on a computer.
,8. Work together with the student's parents to create and implement an educational plan tailored to meet the student's needs. Regularly share information about how the student is doing at home and at school.
,9. Have high expectations for the student, but be willing to try new ways of doing things. Be patient. Maximize the student's chances for success.
,Information adapted from a fact sheet by...
NICHCY - National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities,Published with permission.
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PLAY Tip
High contrast for low vision.
High visual contrast helps children with low vision or cortical blindness find and visually track toys. Use backgrounds to create contrast. Three tablecloths (black, white, yellow) and a bright light will help almost any toy to visually pop out! Spread a black cloth on the floor and shine a light on it. Now send the Musical Turtle on a trek across the cloth. It is so much easier to track now! Pick the appropriate colour background for each new toy, and turn up the contrast!