ADHD and School:
Parents Working with Teachers
Parents and teachers of children with Attention Deficit Disorder and ADHD
know that teaching children with Attention Deficit Disorder takes an extra dose
of patience and understanding on everyone's part. For children with Attention
Deficit Disorder and
ADHD school is often an extremely difficult setting.
The school setting requires sitting quietly for extended periods of time,
sustained attention, learning new education skills, social skills - all the
things children with Attention Deficit Disorder and ADHD tend to have great
difficult mastering.
While family involvement in education is optimal for all parents, it is an
absolute must when teaching children with Attention Deficit Disorder and ADHD.
With solid communication, a teamwork approach to education between parents,
teachers and school officials and a few tried and try classroom tips, teaching
children with Attention Deficit Disorder and ADHD does not need to be an
exercise in frustration. Another article,
Homework Help for the ADD
Child is a great resource.
Meeting With the Teacher Early:
The people we entrust with our children for almost half of the child's waking
weekday hours need to know early of any issues that might create an education
obstacle. Attention Deficit Disorder and ADHD most certainly fall into that
category.
We advocate that parents meet with teachers early in the school year - or as
soon as the child is diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder - to head off
potential problems, develop an early line of communication and allow a proactive
approach with the child’s education.
Parents can lose valuable education time by waiting for the scheduled,
time-constrained parent/teacher conferences typically held after the first
school grading period. These conferences may not give parents of children with
Attention Deficit Disorder and ADHD enough time to discuss the particular
strengths and weaknesses of their child. Your child might already have been
marked as a troublemaker or a slacker by that time and undoing that label may
not be as easy after one fourth of the school year already gone.
In addition to communicating your child's education needs, the parents can
often gain a wealth of information from seasoned teachers with ample experience
teaching children with Attention Deficit Disorder and ADHD in schools. After
all, in every classroom in every school across America, about two children with
Attention Deficit Disorder or ADHD fill the seats. Teachers with classroom
experience have, most certainly, dealt with teaching children with Attention
Deficit Disorder and ADHD.
Parents, Students and Teachers as Partners
Do not assume that teaching children with Attention Deficit Disorder or ADHD
is any easier than parenting children with Attention Deficit Disorder or ADHD.
In any given classroom, teachers have a couple students with Attention
Deficit Disorder and ADHD, a few more with unique education obstacles and
special needs and then about 20 other "average" students.
Just as parents ask for patience and understanding in teaching their children
with Attention Deficit Disorder and ADHD, teachers should also receive patience
and understanding.
Parents and teachers building an ongoing relationship based on the goal of
teaching children with Attention Deficit Disorder and ADHD benefit children with
Attention Deficit Disorder better than teachers and parents finger-pointing at
each other over the educational process.
If you do have a conflict with the teacher - and that is bound to happen
while teaching children with Attention Deficit Disorder - approach the problem
in a positive light.
Instead of focusing on the problem at hand, develop goals and a means to
achieving those goals. The teacher might tell you that your child will not stay
in his seat, pokes at other students and is heading straight for a detention.
But, instead of looking at the current problems and accept that fact that your
Attention Deficit Disorder child will get a detention, develop a plan to modify
his classroom antics.
This might include the teacher allowing the student an extra bathroom or
drink break. This might include developing a checklist of acceptable behaviors
that your child can check off daily to keep him on task. Do not forget to make
your child a part of these discussions, goals and solutions. The ADHD child is,
after all, an integral part of the education partnership.
With the exception of keeping in communication with your child’s teacher, the
bulk of the parents work begins after the child returns home from school. Watch
for the upcoming April 15 newsletter for homework help tips.
When teaching children with Attention Deficit Disorder, there are a number of
classroom tips that teachers can also employ. Feel free to share this newsletter
with your child’s teacher or anyone else that might appreciate the read.
Classroom Tips
Teachers can minimize distractions and increase the success of teaching
children with Attention Deficit Disorder and ADHD in school by employing a few
simple schools strategies. These tips, though specifically targeted for teaching
children with Attention Deficit Disorder, can help all students in school.
- Reduce the classroom clutter. Clear your desk of piles, keep it simple with
wall ornamentation and reduce anything that will take the student’s attention
away from the work at hand.
- Take the clutter off worksheets as well, by keeping page format simple.
- Choose your seating arrangement wisely. Children with Attention Deficit
Disorder should be seated near the teacher since back row seating gives children
with Attention Deficit Disorder too many distractions. You should also try to
seat children with Attention Deficit Disorder near well-focused students and far
away from students (friends and enemies alike) that can add to distractions.
- A positive attitude and a good sense of humor go a long way. Children with
Attention Deficit Disorder or ADHD are no strangers to school scoldings and
trouble but that approach rarely brings positive results. Highlight the
student’s successes. Smile when teaching children with Attention Deficit
Disorder student. Make an effort to let them know you find value in them. If you
put the extra effort into the children with Attention Deficit Disorder, they
will try to return the favor. I promise.
- Do not confront children with Attention Deficit Disorder for every little
classroom infraction. It is hard for children with Attention Deficit Disorder to
control themselves all of the time. Separating out the big things from the
little will save children with Attention Deficit Disorder from constant
reprimand.
- Understand the need for ADHD children to move about. If your ADHD student
seems exceptionally fidgety, select him to run any errands - and enjoy a few
moments of peace and quiet while he is away. Allow this student an extra
bathroom break and suggest that he get up and take a drink of water. Anything
that will allow the ADHD student a moment to get the wiggles out and refocus
will benefit not only him, but you and the classroom as a whole. You might also
incorporate more frequent breaks during the school day if you have a couple
bouncy students in the classroom. Again, the extra few minutes taken away could
save you that amount of time in reprimands.
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