Studying at Home

Schoolwork usually took so much time and energy that we didn’t do anything extra. My ADD son would have gone through the roof (and I would have dropped over from exhaustion twice) if I had assigned him extra work on top of his school work.

I’m so sorry. I hope others can help you more.

The thing is, he is trying so hard to pay attention at school, he knows what he has to do and then maybe he really can’t do anymore. A key thing is to help school itself be easier (I know, easier said than done). One thing that might help is a ball seat, you know one of those exercise balls. Then he can get some movement while he studies. ADHD kids actually move to keep themselves awake and alert, the opposite of what one might think. It might also help to allow movement breaks such as going outside to shoot hoops (if you have a basketball hoop) or something like that. Allow as much time to move as to sit. Otherwise sitting won’t happen at all. Consider making the outside work relevant to him. For example, if he likes sports but needs to work on math think of a way you could tie it tother. For reading, find interesting motivating materials. Ask him what would help him study. Ask until you get an answer other than not doing it (not all in one day to avoid overloading him maybe). I have found deep down ADHD kids know what they need.

I agree! I bought a swish disk. I can find out the company,but it was only twenty dollars,and it is a disk they sit on and it provides constant movement as they are sitting at their desk. My boys carried it back and forth to their school for a while and it looks like a seat cushion. Also shoosh balls in the hand is another way to stim while trying to attend.

Cheryl, what if the child instead of having hyperactivity has hypoactivity? My son has 1 speed SLOW for everything. He has no medical issues to cause this. He has no sleep difficulties. He has been dx’d with ADHD, inattentive type and APD. We have tried meds but none have worked. School is such a struggle for him because he just can’t seem to stay with the pace. He says teachers talk too fast, expect him to write too fast, get from place to place to fast ect. When given the time which is not always possible he can do okay. What type of programs or strategies do you find helpful for these types of students?

You might want to consider a tutor. There were so many things I wanted to do to help my child with his LDs (dyslexia, dysgraphia) but he just completely balks at doing anything extra with me. Like Sara, all the homework battles were tiring enough for me and I just couldn’t bear battling over yet another thing.

He enjoys working with the tutor and is very cooperative with her (arrrrgh!) and has made great progress. He’s starting to feel like he doesn’t need the tutoring anymore (after 3 years, he’s probably right) and is lobbying to stop. I may let him stop after the school year ends—if he agrees to cooperate with me!

It isn’t easy to get an ADD kid to do more homework, but sometimes it’s necessary. My 10 year old son must practice speech and occasionally needs help in an academic subject. I find that if I can appeal to his sense of humor and keep it short and fun, we do better. I don’t tack it on his assigned homework, but do it after he’s had a break.

I’ve used stuffed animals, beanie baby size, to give him the tactile stimulation he needs to focus. He can hold them or otherwise involve them in what we’re doing. Sometimes we play a game (with pieces or cards he can hold) and work what we’re doing into that. Sometimes he will use a magic marker to draw what we’re working on.

It’s a challenge. Good luck!

Have you filled out something called a Sensory Profile, usually OTs and some speech therapists have them, maybe not in schools. It looks at issues that may be causing hyporesponsiveness. Actually, you are still dealing wth a dopamine deficiency, your son just isn’t moving to try to alert himself. Try integrating movement activities that he might like, consider getting him involved in a post or something like karate if team sports aren’t his thing. The single best thing for both types is to move in appropriate ways. Swinging on various kinds of wings helps, it activities the vestibular system which in turn activates the dopaminergic system. Again, an OT (occupational therapist) would give yout he best idea of what kinds of swings help best. For now, when you can go to a playground and use regular swings. A baby indoor trampoline also provides this type of input. Music can help too. Some kids respond best to classical stuff esp. Mozart and some, like me (I have ADHD) to music with low bass beat- if you don’t like the contemporary rick stuff anything with drumming helps. Gregorian chants work well too.

Cheryl, Thanks for the information makes sense. He does best in his classes right after band and right after gym. Next year I will request that his language class is right after one of these. This is his worst subject and this year has it at the very end of the day. I dont think that is a good fit for a kid with APD issues.

Not to be rude - but I’d leave well enough alone!!! Look at the above chain on losing the homework battle to see how well your son is doing.

Having said that - my son won’t do anything that hasn’t been assigned - like reread his history, or map his science text, or memorize explorer for upcoming test, etc. Maybe, if your son needs this extra review, his teacher could assign it and perhaps he would be more cooperative.