Written By: Isabelle Saunders
School is a primarily concentration-based institution: if you don’t pay attention, you’re likely to get lost quickly. Though many students are able to retain information taught to them in the standard class-lecture form, children with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) will often have a much more challenging time with this. They have difficulty paying attention and sitting still, which are integral aspects of the typical classroom. Educators, if your ADHD students are wrestling with an inability to focus or track in class, it’s important that you do everything you can to make sure they’re not left behind. If you yourself don’t have ADHD, however, it may be a bit hard to know where to start.
What helps an ADHD student may vary depending on the child, so it’s important to get in touch with them and/or their parents about what best works for them. However, these are some universally helpful ways to work with the symptoms of ADHD.
Understanding
The first step to teaching your ADHD student is understanding how their brain works. Know that their possible lack of concentration in class or tendency to forget assignments is not a simple disinclination- it’s not from lack of trying. Their mind is just wired a bit differently, and they’re still able and eager to retain information, but maybe in a way at odds with your method of teaching.
Approaches
Movement: A symptom of ADHD is the need to be moving. If you allow them time to shake out the pins and needles, they’re likely to be better able to focus their attention on the subject at hand. Recess, of course, is the most obvious way to accommodate this, but after a certain age, recess is no longer included in most school schedules. In addition to or instead of recess, consider allotting time (say, a 5-minute break) for your students to move around and stretch. Try planning kinesthetic lessons that channel movement into learning and memory. Another idea is to let your ADHD students stand during lessons, if they so desire. If your class’ desks are arranged in rows, it’s easy to let them stand in the back.
While fidget toys, such as fidget cubes, have been labeled by many teachers as merely distracting to the user, they actually help with ADHD. Little movements, such as knee-bouncing or pencil-tapping, are a way to channel the extra energy into one motion. By permitting objects such as fidget cubes, you are giving your students a way to keep their hands moving in a way that’s quiet and not distracting to anyone.
Organization: ADHD students may have trouble keeping track of many assignments at once, so organization is vital. Most classes have a binder where all notes and assignments are kept, so check in with your student to make sure their binder is kept neat and it’s easy to find their work. They’ll need dividers to separate old homework, notes, quizzes, etc. Apart from the binders, try suggesting a separate folder for to-be-completed homework. This is a good space for more immediate objectives, and they won’t have as many binders from different subjects to remember to take home. It’s also a good idea for them to keep an academic planner where they can write down assignments and due dates as soon as you say them.
We all learn differently, and those with ADHD are no exception. Remember to give your ADHD students positive reinforcement when they’re doing well: sitting through lessons takes a lot of effort and energy on their part, and hearing that you notice the work they’re putting in will be a huge encouragement. Be patient, and know that you’re not trying to combat the symptoms of ADHD; you’re working off of them. They don’t take away a student’s ability to learn- they merely make them learn in different ways.
To learn more, check out the links below:
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/school-success.html