Any teachers with ADD themselves who teach kids with ADD?

I have ADD and I work with kids who have ADD. I know how they think and I know if I am bored they must be bored. It keeps me on my toes but somedays I am so physically tired trying to head these kids off at the pass, not to mention that many of my ADD kids also have parents with the same issues, and that puts a whole other spin on things.

I felt the same. I found I had to make some adjustments for myself. I couldn’t keep the same exacting records kept by some of my colleagues and I couldn’t keep well-ordered files of every project or worksheet I had ever handed out. My principal gave me the hint of not assigning more work until I had handed back the first assignment to the kids. Otherwise the volume of papers simply became too much for me.

As you say, though, on the plus side was my empathy for the children and their short attention spans. They could see my struggle in boring assemblies to sit still as their same struggle. They could see some of my coping mechanisms such as jiggling my foot or rolling a pen in my hand to help me keep still, focused and grounded.

And by all means doodling in the margins of their notebooks was allowed in my class. I could never have gotten through any faculty meeting without doodling!

When I first started teaching kids with ADD, I was far too identified with them. I would react everytime they would react - I’d pull their attention back everytime they drifted away…good thing! but…I’d do it noticeably - I wasn’t calm.

This is a problem in a class with ADD kids. The idea is to make for a safe environment, where drifting off is not a ‘sin’, but where the teacher can find a way to make contact, without jumping off the walls him/herself.

So, I spent every spare moment learning how to best focus myself, and found that when I’m focused, and relaxed, the techniques I’ve learned for teaching come across best.

It’s a constant learning experience.

Colour coding classes might work for awhile.
A large folder to store all work for checking.
Keeping the class notebook in a constant location (within a main bag)

Trying to minimize chance for loss, confusion, time wasting.

Never leaping into another’s technique but finding what works - and when it stops working - looking for another technique.

Still, the misplaced pencil cases, the equipment I lend out and forget to retrieve, the list continues - cause I simply am not the perfectly organized epitome of teacher-ness.

The good thing is the natural offering of respect to students with ADD and the knowledge that there are techniques to be learned to give them a sense of self-empowerment.

Teachers do not have to scare, humiliate or belittle students. Teachers do not have to distance students because of their own fear of an unknown brain wiring.

A teacher with ADD knows and can always learn more about her/his own brain wiring…and the creativity that blossoms is astounding.

I, myself, have been most inspired by people -doctors, lawyers, psychologists, artists, poets and actors who are also of the ADD or ADHD make-up.

judih
israel

Being mildly ADHD myself, I can state emphatically that I understand what it is like, but my own executive function issues make being the best kind of teacher for ADHD kids pretty much impossible.

I believe that ADHD children need a highly structured environment (not necessarily bland, uninteresting or non-stimulating) an environment that has clearly defines protocols, expectations and consequences. I lack the ability to maintain this degree of environmental organization. I like flying by the seat of my pants, I like to let things flow, I like to be informal I do not give enough structure for the ADHD students to function in maximally. I hate rules and boxes. I struggle like crazy to keep things in their place, to do paperwork. I almost cannot implement a simple behavior plan on a daily basis. I can start out with something like this, but I get so caught up in the immediate activity, I cannot remember to allocate the time to fill-in stupid (oops) behavior cards with happy faces. I am not personally disciplined enough to manage this.

Somehow, I manage, but when I get too many wall-bouncers, extreme end ADHDers in my class like I have right now in one class period, I struggle far more than many of my more structured and organized nonADHD colleagues do to keep the classroom managed.

Otherwise, I think I am a pretty good teacher. I hate being bored, I love to learn and I detest ever wasting a child’s time, I just don’t have the level or organizational skills I would like to have. Oh, I cannot multi-task, not really, though I used to think I could. When I get into something I am into it, but when I get distracted, I just into the next thing that catches my attention. My mind goes in a thousand directions at once and finishing anything is just about the hardest thing I can think of.

You know, I am thinking on the screen here. I wonder if ADHD is in some cases a manifestation of a highly inner driven person. I enjoy the inner world of thought and imagination. I have to force myself to attend well to external, physical stimuli. I can walk right by things and not see them. Maybe that is related to why we folks are so inattentive to the external stimuli the rest of the world wants us to attend to.

If I may answer in a way, anonny - I feel that doing the ‘regular’ steps of taking attendance and reviewing class rules can be a learned skill for teachers with AD/HD. It’s not impossible, though it takes utter strength of purpose and years of trying.

The fact is, that what is simple for many regular teachers, along the lines of standardized forms and paperwork, is simply gargantuan to teachers without those inbred skills.

A teacher who by nature flies and responds to the whims and whimsies of the variety of special students is very often unnaturally expected to behave like someone who sees paperwork as the foundation to scholastics.

After 9 years of teaching in my present school - two of which I took a break from classroom teaching to run an Independent learning Center, in which paperwork was occasional and self-designed, I can say that the paperwork is still frightening, yet, less threatening than before.

I have lost none of my empathy for students, yet somehow have gained empathy for my own scattered brain, and I try to rivet less on my inabilities and more on my abilities.

It makes things easier. Do I deserve less respect than my students? For basically, my scatteredness was always made worse by own self-condemnation.

What do you think?

judih

I am a teacher with ADHD. I didn’t think there was anyone else out there like me. After having so much difficulty in the classroom myself, I often wonder how I ended up as a teacher. I know why. I love kids, and I can certainly relate to the ones who have difficulty. Is there a teacher out there who teaches in a regular classroom who would be interested in talking on e-mail or instant messenger. I feel, at this point, it would be good for me to talk to someone who can relate to the difficulties of being the teacher with ADD.

While there is a plethora of information on [b][i]kids [/i][/b]with AD/HD, it is unfortunate that there are few resources out there for adults, and [b][i]teachers [/i][/b] in particular, who have been diagnosed with AD/HD.

I have found a couple of groups on Yahoo! that are for teachers with ADD: one is called [i]Teachers with ADD[/i], the other is [i]LWA Educators [/i](which stands for Living With ADD Educators). The former is more active, but lately I’ve noticed that teaching practices seem to have taken the back burner to medication and nutrition issues. [i]Teachers with ADD [/i]is helpful in some regards though, since every month you can receive reminder e-mails to clean out your car or your purse! You can find the groups at [u]yahoogroups.com[/u]

Another discussion forum on the web that I find helpful is on Sari Solden’s website (Dr. Solden has written some great books for adults with ADD and I loved her book on women with ADD, a must read for the woman struggling with ADD). You can find her page at [u]www.sarisolden.com[/u]

Has anyone found any other resources for the teacher with ADD? Please share![/url][code][url][/url][/code][code][/code]