|
Children
with attention deficit disorder and/or learning disabilities can be a challenge
for any classroom teacher. This page provides some practical suggestions
that can be used in the regular classroom as well as the special education
classroom. By looking through a given list of interventions, a teacher
will be able to select one or more strategies that are suited to a specific
child in a specific environment.
Ideas
for Attention Deficit Children
Children whose attention seems to wander or who never seem to
"be with" the rest of the class might be helped by the following
suggestions.
- Pause and create suspense by looking around before asking
questions.
- Randomly pick reciters so the children cannot time their attention.
- Signal 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.
- Ask a simple question (not even related to the topic at
hand) to a child whose attention is beginning to wander.
- 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.
- 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.
- Decrease the length of assignments or lessons.
- Alternate physical and mental activities.
- Increase the novelty of lessons 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.
- Structure in some guided daydreaming time.
- Give simple, concrete instructions, once.
- Investigate the use of simple mechanical devices that
indicate attention versus inattention.
- Teach children self monitoring strategies.
- Use a soft voice to give direction.
- Employ peers or older students or volunteer parents as
tutors.
Books
and Materials For Helping Kids & Teens With ADHD
[Top of Page]
Strategies
for Cognitively Impulsive Children
Some children have difficulty staying with the task at hand. Their
verbalizations seem irrelevant and their performance indicates that they are not
thinking reflectively about what they are doing. Some possible ideas to try out
in this situation include the following.
- Provide as much positive attention and recognition as possible.
- Clarify the social rules and external demands of the classroom.
- Establish a cue between teacher and child.
- Spend personal discussion times with these children emphasizing the
similarities between the teacher and child.
- Get in a habit of pausing 10 to 16 seconds before answering.
- Probe irrelevant responses for possible connections to the question.
- Have children repeat questions before answering.
- Choose a student to be the "question keeper."
- Using a well known story, have the class orally recite it as a chain
story.
- When introducing a new topic in any academic area, have the children
generate questions about it before providing them with much
information.
- Distinguish between reality and fantasy by telling stories with a mix of
fact and fiction and asking the children to critique them.
- Assign a written project that is to contain elements that are
"true," "could happen but didn’t," and "pretend,
can’t happen."
- Do not confront lying by making children admit they have been untruthful.
- Play attention and listening games.
- Remove un-needed stimulation from the classroom environment.
- Keep assignments short.
- Communicate the value of accuracy over speed.
- Evaluate your own tempo as teacher.
- Using the wall clock, tell children how long they are to work on an
assignment.
- Require that children keep a file of their completed work.
- Teach children self talk.
- Encourage planning by frequently using lists, calendars, charts, pictures,
and finished products in the classroom.
Books
and Materials For Helping Kids & Teens With ADHD
[Top of Page]
Suggested
Classroom Accommodations
for Specific Behaviors
|
When
you see this behavior |
Try
this accommodation |
|
1. Difficulty following
a plan (has high aspirations but lacks follow-through); sets out to
"get straight A’s, ends up with F’s" (sets unrealistic
goals) |
+Assist student in setting
long-range goals: break the goal
into realistic parts.
+Use a questioning strategy with the student; ask, What do
you need to be
able to do this?
+Keep asking that question until the student has reached an
obtainable
goal.
+Have student set clear timelines of what he needs to do to
accomplish
each step (monitor student progress frequently). |
|
2. Difficulty sequencing
and completing steps to accomplish specific tasks (e.g. writing a book
report, term paper, organized paragraphs, division problem, etc.) |
+ Break up task into workable
and obtainable steps.
+ Provide examples and specific steps to accomplish task. |
|
3. Shifting from one
uncompleted activity to another without closure. |
+ Define the requirements of a
completed activity (e.g. your
math is finished when all six problems are
complete and
corrected; do not begin on the next task until it is
finished). |
|
4. Difficulty following
through on instructions from others. |
+ Gain student’s attention
before giving directions. Use
alerting cues. Accompany oral directions
with written
directions.
+ Give one direction at a time. Quietly repeat directions to the
student
after they have been given to the rest of the class.
Check for
understanding by having the student repeat the
directions. |
|
5. Difficulty
prioritizing from most to least important. |
+ Prioritize assignment and
activities.
+ Provide a model to help students. Post the model and refer
to it often. |
|
6. Difficulty sustaining
effort and accuracy over time. |
+ Reduce assignment length and
strive for quality (rather that
quantity).
+ Increase the frequency of positive reinforcements (catch the
student
doing it right and let him know it. |
|
7. Difficulty completing
assignments. |
+ List and/or post (and say) all
steps necessary to complete
each assignment.
+ Reduce the assignment into manageable sections with
specific due dates.
+ Make frequent checks for work/assignment completion.
+ Arrange for the student to have a "study buddy" with phone
number in each subject area. |
|
8. Difficulty with any
task that requires memory. |
+ Combine seeing, saying,
writing and doing; student may
need to subvocalize to remember.
+ Teach memory techniques as a study strategy (e.g.
mnemonics,
visualization, oral rehearsal, numerous
repetitions). |
|
9. Difficulty with test
taking. |
+ Allow extra time for testing;
teach test-taking skills and
strategies; and allow student to be tested
orally.
+ Use clear, readable and uncluttered test forms. Use test
format that the
student is most comfortable with. Allow
ample space for student response.
Consider having lined
answer spaces for essay or short answer tests. |
|
10. Confusion from
non-verbal cues (misreads body language, etc.) |
+ Directly teach (tell the
student) what non-verbal cues mean.
Model and have student practice
reading cues in a safe
setting. |
|
11. Confusion from
written material (difficulty finding main idea from a paragraph;
attributes greater importance to minor details) |
+ Provide student with copy of
reading material with main
ideas underlined or highlighted.
+ Provide an outline of important points from reading
material.
+ Teach outlining, main-idea / details concepts.
+ Provide tape of text / chapter. |
|
12. Confusion from
written material (difficulty finding main idea from a paragraph;
attributes greater importance to minor details) |
+ Provide student with a copy of
presentation notes.
+ Allow peers to share carbon-copy notes from presentation
(have student
compare own notes with a copy of peer’s
notes).
+ Provide framed outlines of presentations (introducing visual
and
auditory cues to important information).
+ Encourage use of tape recorder.
+ Teach and emphasize key words (the following..., the most
important
point...,etc.). |
|
13. Difficulty
sustaining attention to tasks or other activities (easily distracted by
extraneous stimuli) |
+ Reward attention. Break up
activities into small units.
Reward for timely accomplishment.
+ Use physical proximity and touch. Use earphones and/or
study carrels,
quiet place, or preferential seating. |
|
14. Frequent messiness
or sloppiness. |
+ Teach organizational skills.
Be sure student has daily,
weekly and/or monthly assignment sheets; list
of materials
needed daily; and consistent format for papers. Have a
consistent way for students to turn in and receive back
papers; reduce
distractions.
+ Give reward points for notebook checks and proper paper
format.
+ Provide clear copies of worksheets and handouts and
consistent format
for worksheets.
+ Establish a daily routine, provide models for what you want
the student
to do.
+ Arrange for a peer who will help him with organization.
+ Assist student to keep materials in a specific place (e.g.
pencils and
pens in pouch).
+ Be willing to repeat expectations. |
|
15. Poor handwriting
(often mixing cursive with manuscript and capitals with low-case letters) |
+ Allow for a scribe and grade
for content, not handwriting. Allow for use of computer or typewriter.
+ Consider alternative methods for student response (e.g. tape recorder,
oral reports, etc.).
+ Don’t penalize student for mixing cursive and manuscript (accept any
method of production).
+ Use pencil with rubber grip. |
|
16. Difficulty with
fluency in handwriting e.g. good letter/word production but very slow and
laborious. |
+ Allow for shorter assignments
(quality vs. quantity).
+ Allow alternate method of production (computer, scribe, oral
presentation, etc.).
+ Use pencil with rubber grip. |
|
17. Poorly developed
study skills |
+ Teach study skills specific to
the subject area - organization
(e.g. assignment calendar), textbook
reading, notetaking
(finding main idea / detail, mapping, outlining),
skimming,
summarizing). |
|
18. Poor self-monitoring
(careless errors in spelling, arithmetic, reading) |
+ Teach specific methods of
self-monitoring (e.g. stop-look-
listen).
+ Have student proof-read finished work when it is cold. |
|
19. Low fluency or
production of written material (takes hours on a 10 minute assignment) |
+ Allow for alternative method
for completing assignment (oral
presentation, taped
report, visual presentation, graphs,
maps, pictures, etc. with reduced
written requirements).
+ Allow for alternative method of writing (e.g. typewriter,
computer,
cursive or printing, or a scribe. |
|
20. Apparent Inattention
(underachievement, daydreaming, not there) |
+ Get student’s attention
before giving directions (tell student
how to pay attention, look at me
while I talk, watch my eyes
while I speak). Ask student to repeat
directions.
+ Attempt to actively involve student in lesson (e.g.
cooperative
learning). |
|
21. Difficulty
participating in class without being interruptive; difficulty working
quietly |
+ Seat student in close
proximity to the teacher.
+ Reward appropriate behavior (catch student being good).
+ Use study carrel if appropriate. |
|
22. Inappropriate
seeking of attention (clowns around, exhibits loud excessive or
exaggerated movement as attention-seeking behavior, interrupts, butts into
other children’s activities, needles others) |
+ Show student (model) how to
gain other’s attention
appropriately.
+ Catch the student when appropriate and reinforce. |
|
23. Frequent excessive
talking |
+ Teach student hand signals and
use to tell student when
and when not to talk.
+ Make sure student is called when it is appropriate and
reinforce
listening. |
|
24. Difficulty making
transitions (from activity to activity or class to class); takes an
excessive amount of time to find pencil, gives up, refuses to leave
previous task; appears agitated during change. |
+ Program child for transitions.
Give advance warning of when
a transition is going to take place (now we
are completing
the worksheet, next we will ...) and the expectation for
the
transition (and you will need...)
+ Specifically say and display lists of materials needed until a
routine
is possible. List steps necessary to complete each
assignment.
+ Have specific locations for all materials (pencil pouches, tabs
in
notebooks, etc.).
+ Arrange for an organized helper (peer). |
|
25. Difficulty remaining
seated or in a particular position when required to |
+ Give student frequent
opportunities to get up and move
around. Allow space for movement. |
|
26. Frequent fidgeting
with hands, feet or objects, squirming in seat. |
+ Break tasks down to small
increments and give frequent
positive reinforcement for accomplishments
(this type of
behavior is often due to frustration).
+ Allow alternative movement when possible. |
|
27. Inappropriate
responses in class often blurted out; answers given to questions before
they have been completed. |
+ Seat student in close
proximity to teacher so that visual and
physical monitoring of student
behavior can be done by the
teacher.
+ State behavior that you do want (tell the student how you
expect him to
behave). |
|
28. Agitation under
pressure and competition (athletic or academic) |
+ Stress effort and enjoyment
for self, rather than competition
with others.
+ Minimize timed activities; structure class for team effort and
cooperation. |
|
29. Inappropriate
behaviors in a team or large group sport or athletic activity (difficulty
waiting turn in games or group situations) |
+ Give the student a responsible
job (e.g. team captain, care and distribution of the balls, score keeping,
etc.); consider leadership role.
+ Have student in close proximity of teacher. |
|
30. Frequent involvement
in physically dangerous activities without considering possible
consequences |
+ Anticipate dangerous
situations and plan for in advance.
+ Stress Stop-Look-Listen.
+ Pair with responsible peer (rotate responsible students so
that they don’t
wear out!). |
|
31. Poor adult
interactions. Defies authority. Sucks up. Hangs on. |
+ Provide positive attention.
+ Talk with student individually about the inappropriate
behavior (what
you are doing is..., a better way of getting
what you need or want is...). |
|
32. Frequent
self-putdowns, poor personal care and posture, negative comments about
self and others, low self-esteem |
+ Structure for success.
+ Train student for self-monitoring, reinforce improvements,
teach
self-questioning strategies (What am I doing? How is
that going to affect
others?)
+ Allow opportunities for the student to show his strength.
+ Give positive recognition. |
|
33. Difficulty using
unstructured time - recess, hallways, lunchroom, locker room, library,
assembly |
+ Provide student with a
definite purpose during unstructured
activities (The purpose of going to
the library is to check
out..the purpose of...is...).
+ Encourage group games and participation (organized school
clubs and
activities). |
|
34. Losing things
necessary for task or activities at school or at home (e.g. pencils,
books, assignments before, during and after completion of a given task) |
+ Help students organize.
Frequently monitor notebook and
dividers, pencil pouch, locker, book bag,
desks. A place for
everything and everything in its place.
+ Provide positive reinforcement for good organization.
Provide student
with a list of needed materials and
locations. |
|
35. Poor use of time
(sitting, starting off into space, doodling, not working on task at hand) |
+ Teach reminder cues (a gentle
touch on the shoulder, hand
signal, etc.).
+ Tell the student your expectations of what paying attention
looks like.
(You look like you are paying attention when...)
+ Give the student a time limit for a small unit of work with
positive
reinforcement for accurate completion.
+ Use a contract, timer, etc. for self-monitoring. |
Books
and Materials For Helping Kids & Teens With ADHD
More
FREE information and materials about attention deficit disorder
[Top of Page]
|
