How to help a child with ADHD? This is a question I get from teachers on a regular basis. I will say that in most cases it is with good intentions, teachers want to know how to help and I love being able to share that information. My purpose is to give teachers a place to start when educating ADHD students. These are a few tried and true techniques I’ve used to help children with ADHD.
Patience
If you’re teaching students with ADHD, you need to be patient. You MUST be patient, or you won’t survive. An ADHD student may ask you the same thing 500 times, this can be nerve-wracking but they’re not doing it on purpose. A student with ADHD is very forgetful and sometimes their working memory is also very weak. This means their brain has trouble remembering multi-step instructions. Give them one or two instructions at a time, no more than that. After they complete 1 task give them the next instructions.
Organization
Organization is vital for students with ADHD. ADHD students are commonly unorganized. So in your classroom, you need to make sure that everything is organized. This means students know where they should get paper, where pencils are located, and where their binder should be placed. Every single process in your classroom needs to be organized. Be sure to have instructions placed in a general location so that students can see them.
A Sense of Humor
In my class, we laugh every day. It could be because of something silly I do or It could be because of something another student does in the class. But we laugh every day. You need a sense of humor to basically do the job of teaching but if you teach students with ADHD you really need a sense of humor. In most cases most students with ADHD are fun, excited and enjoy laughing.
Discipline That Works
I enjoy my ADHD students. They make me laugh, they make me smile every single day. They’re funny, compassionate and helpful. But they can be easily distracted, a bit too silly sometimes and even disruptive. As a teacher you have to have strategies to make sure that they don’t become a disruption. These strategies may not be the same for all ADHD students. Counteract discipline with positive encouragement. Praise them for effort and discuss how better choices could have been made when negative issues come up. This may sound nuts, if you have ever had a student with ADHD, screaming, throwing things and cussing like a sailor. I know that stuff makes me upset too, but I have to remember that, this child is emotional and impulsive. These kinds of outbursts usually stem from frustration. Take your feelings out of it and get to the basis of what has happened or what Johnny is feeling. The goal is to make sure he doesn’t get pushed that far. This does not mean Johnny goes without consequences, but his consequences need to be swift and logical. Say what you mean and do what you say.
Building Relationships
Teachers know that building relationships with students and parents are important. But building relationships with ADHD students and parents need to be at the top of that list. Build a bond with their parents so they know you care and respect their child. As a parent of a child with ADHD, so many times teachers only tell you about all the bad stuff they’ve done. Be sure to give positive feedback as often as possible. This is important because there will be a time when little Johnny goes off the rails and you need some swift parent interaction.
Teach Outside the Box
Just because something works with most students doesn’t mean it will help a child with ADHD. I always dread when I walk into a classroom and students are sitting in their seats quietly working all day, every day. My classroom hardly ever looks like this. I am the teacher in the back of the building because my class is so loud. We’re loud because we’re learning. We’re singing, we’re dancing, we’re standing in our chairs, we’re sitting in a circle, we could be in the hallway and we may just randomly walk out to the playground. Students with ADHD need to move around a lot. They need to do activities that involve large body movements that are kinesthetic and tactile. I am not saying ADHD students cannot sit in their seats, I am not saying they can’t sit at their desks and work quietly because they can. But teachers should not expect them to sit in their seats and be quiet all day long, this is a recipe for disaster. All students need some sort of movement throughout the day.
Accommodations
You will need to make accommodations for students with ADHD. Think of it like this, if you had a student with bad vision would you allow them to wear glasses, of course you would. This same thing goes for a student with ADHD. If Johnny needs to stand during the lesson let him, if he needs to sit in a corner, let him. Trying to force him to conform will only make your day harder. Figure out what Johnny needs and give it to him. This builds your relationship with Johnny and makes him a more successful student.
How to help a child with ADHD? Well, there are many answers to this question. My hope is that this article has helped you understand how to help your ADHD students better. Patience, organization, a sense of humor and discipline that works, are all tools you need to bring with you every day. Building relationships, teaching outside the box, and accommodations are essential to your students’ success and essential to keeping stress level low.
