ADHD Kids in the Classroom

Students who suffer from ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, often struggle with having success in the classroom. Successful academic achievement requires the ability to concentrate. If a student can't concentrate they are at a significant disadvantage academically. In fact, their poor success academically often leads to a strong aversion to all things academic, and success in the academic arena is infrequent and inconsistent. This can mean that teachers who have Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) students in their classrooms are at a disadvantage teaching.

A student that struggles academically and rarely sees academic success is likely to give up on the process, lose focus and become a distraction or nuisance in class. In order to better cope with ADHD kids in the classroom, and to better help them to achieve academic success, teachers need to learn ways to capture their attention and keep it.

The primary symptoms of ADHD include persistent patterns of inattention, impulsivity and/or hyperactivity when compared to others of similar age and developmental levels. The academic implications of ADHD are numerous. For example, the inability focus on individual academic tasks, clearly organize thoughts before speaking, or follow classroom rules is likely to result in, at least, academic frustration. However, ADHD is a medical diagnosis, not a school diagnosis. This means that there is little a school district is going to do about this mental disorder, and it is going to be up to the teachers and parents to help the ADHD students to adjust, participate well, and achieve academic success.

Teachers

How teachers organize the dasy and run the classroom is going to have a significant impact on how well the ADHD students do, how their behavior is, and whether or not they will be a distraction to other students. The fact is that this is a mental disorder that if properly researched, and consistently dealt with, can aid rather than hurt the child academically.

To maximize the benefits of school, behavior management strategies and specific academic interventions may be necessary. Of course, keeping control of a classroom that includes students with ADHD is a formidable task. Therefore to best accomplish this task teachers need to be well educated about ADHD and the specific challenges it is presenting to their students. It is also important that they have some compassion and recognize that individuals with ADHD often receive a substantial amount of negative feedback, thus it is important to structure the school day so that the chance for successful and positive feedback is increased.

Teachers who have ADHD student in their classes might be helped by employing the following suggestions.

• When asking questions to the class, pause and create suspense by looking around before asking questions.
• Randomly pick students to perform tasks so the children cannot time their attention.
  
• Give students the heads up so that those with ADHD can be ready to focus, for example, before reading a story, or teaching a concept, tell the class that someone is going to have to answer a question about what is being said.
  
• Use the child's name in a question or in the material being covered. Often times a question of focus and the ability to be attentive is triggered by something that grabs the student's attention.
  
• Ask a simple question (it does not even have to be related to the topic at hand) to a child whose attention is beginning to wander. If you pay attention you will see when you are losing students, and you can change the pace, or recapture their attention before it is too late.
  
• Develop a private running joke between you and the child that can be invoked to re-involve you with the child.
  
• Stand close to an inattentive child and touch him or her on the shoulder as you are teaching. Often times this stimulus will bring them back to attention.
  
• Walk around the classroom as the lesson is progressing and tap the place in the child's book that is currently being read or discussed.  This helps students who have lost focus regain it, and it keeps students on their toes.
  
• Decrease the length of assignments or lessons. Any child, ADHD or not, will lose focus if your lessons are too long, so break things up into digestible segments.
  
• Alternate physical and mental activities. This will keep them awake and attentive.
  
• Change things up. If you do things the exact same way everyday, it will be hard for students to stay focuses, so instead, make each lesson unique by using films, tapes, flash cards, or small group work or by having a child call on others.
  
• Incorporate the children's interests into a lesson plan. No matter how bad their ADHD is, if it is something they like they will pay attention.
  
• Structure in some guided daydreaming time. Mind wandering is good if it is planned, so plan some in to give students a chance to not focus for a while.
  
• Give simple, concrete instructions, once. Do not make things too complicated or you will lose them. Write instructions out as well.
  
• Teach children self monitoring strategies. Most ADHD children want to pay attention, and often do not even realize when they are being a distraction or are acting out, so help them recognize when they are behaving poorly.
  
• Use a soft voice to give direction.
  
• Employ peers or older students or volunteer parents as tutors.
  
• Involving the student in exploring his or her attentiveness and impulsivity is the key to formulating a behavioral intervention.
  
• Schedule academic work requiring a high level of attention in the morning, and other school activities that require less attention should be scheduled in the afternoon. Most students with ADHD are better able to control attention during the first half of the school day. This can decrease frustration for both the student and teacher.
  
• Be consistent, patient, and repetitive with discipline and behavior modification. You can help students see the problem better by withholding privileges, rewarding positive behavior, using checklists, and implementing punitive action that is designed to educate.

Parents

While it is important for teachers to plan their classrooms and lessons in ways that your ADHD child will have the best advantage for learning, it is also important that you do not leave their classroom behavior entirely up to the teachers. As a parent you can do a lot to help your ADHD child learn appropriate classroom behavior.

You are your child's best advocate. So do your part by learning as much as you can about ADHD and how it affects your child, not just at home, but also in school, and in social situations.

As a parent you need to do the following:

• First and foremost, you have to give the teachers your child has a heads up. If your child is ADHD, diagnosed or not, on medication or not, you should let their teachers know that this is something they struggle with so that they can better prepare for your student.
  
• If your student is struggling at school due to symptoms of their ADHD it is important that you are encouraging and give positive feedback to them whenever you can. Often times the continual negative feedback that results from the inability to be attentive creates self esteem issues that only complicate the matter. As a parent it is your job to help your child know that anything is possible, and that their mental disorder does not have to get in the way.
  
• As a parent of someone with ADHD, it is a good idea to take advantage of specialists who can help you and your student find ways to cope with this illness, and still have successful academic achievement.
  
• Find out from the school if your ADHD child qualifies for special education services. The school should assess your child's strengths and weaknesses and design an Individualized Educational Program (IEP). You should be able periodically to review and approve your child's IEP. This is not a negative thing, or mean your child is dumb, or won't go to college, it is a highly positive thing that means getting your child a tailored plan to meet their needs academically so that they will see success and have confidence in their abilities.
  
• When a new year starts, remind your child of their abilities, and be supportive and encouraging. One of the best ways to help ADHD students is consistency and a schedule, so a when a new school year brings a new teacher and new schoolwork, a transition that can be quite difficult for the child with ADHD. Your child needs lots of support and encouragement at this time.

Having ADHD kids in the classroom can be difficult for parents, teachers, and students. The best way to solve this problem is through patience, consistency, and dedication to helping each student get the best education they can, even if it means a slightly tailored academic plan, or specific structure in the classroom to help meet even just one students' needs.