I will be tutoring two of my cousins. One of them has either ADD or ADHD; I’m not sure which it is. Anyways, she hasn’t been taking her medication at all this summer. I’m not sure the reason, but I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to possibly keep her focused on the work. I have a feeling she may get sidetracked pretty easy. She’s going into the fourth grade, and I’ll be tutoring her in math and language arts/reading. I’d also appreciate any other advice you might ahve to offer! Thanks a bunch!!
tutoring ADHD students
Work in short bursts. Working one on one is big help toward keeping an ADHD focused. Don’t make any one session too long. Give breaks - let her jump around a bit. Keep your voice upbeat - avoid droning - and be fun in your manner.
For math practice, there are some good websites. Check out www.funbrain.com.
I’m tutoring one of my students this summer in basic skills in LA and math. He’s an 8th grader and hasn’t taken any medicine to control his ADHD for several years. Typically, I’ve found that moving away from traditional classroom and tutoring roles into something more kinesthetic and letting him do a lot of the work interactively on the computer helps to capture his attention and seems to be helping his retention.
Sometimes you have to think outside the box. Take them outside; work in new and novel places.
None of this is very profound, but it doens’t have to be. I have found that students with ADHD want to learn, you just have to keep things new and interesting to help keep their attention focused.