We have a kid with ADD, M., at our school for foster kids. I’m the resource specialist on campus.
In other words, kids that have been placed with a residential treatment center because they are wards of the court and cannot go home.
This guy, M., is 10. Day after day, M does not make it through the school day. Sometimes, he has such a bad morning that he is not allowed to go to school: he hits someone or something happens on the “unit” (the section where the kids live). So, the consequence is loss of school for that day.
The teacher reports to me that he comes in and often punches someone, which spells the end of the day for him: back to the unit. The other day, he took a ball that bounced in his direction, and get strangled and hit by the bigger boy who had been playing with it. Another one of the bigger kids, a black fellow, informed me that M. had called him the “n-word” and he had hit him too.
It strikes me that this little boy does not think at all before acting; which is consistent with the ADD diagnosis. Anyone with any capacity for reflection would realize that the bigger boys are going to retaliate if a smaller guy acts in the manner described.
Am I correct? How can I help this kid to make it through the school day? Thanks.
Re: ADD and racial slurs and other things
I would agree with sara. A formal dignosis of ADD and the specific subtype needs to be made. Then the appropriate medications and counseling may be given. There is no drug or drugs that are appropriate or effective for all subtypes.
Impulse control is just one of many behaviors that may or may not be present with ADD.
Re: ADD and racial slurs and other things
To me it sounds like he does not want to go to school. I would find out the reason he is acting out..not fitting in, other students bother him, stressed about not knowing what the other students are doing…
I am an Adaptive Behavior Teacher in Special Education, and have found that many students do not have a use for school. They do not try since schoolwork has no meaning to them. Maybe you can find out something that motivates him..most people have something that they are interested in..games, chess, puzzles..he may need a reward time for making it to a certain time without any outbursts..then maybe you can help him feel like he can fit him by teaching him some social skills, and the expectations that most other teachers will have of hime.
Here are some resources you might find helpful:
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/behavior/hearts_minds.html
This is a website that contains an article on the emotio
http://ericec.org/faq/ldsped-x.htm
This is an Eric website that gives several links dealing with students that qualify for Special Ed.
http://www.ldanatl.org
Learning Disability Association has information on disabilites with several different links for more information.
Fact sheets focusing on Early Childhood Intervention..FYI focuses on new Legislations and law links..very helpful
http://www.ldanatl.org/articles/adhd/school.shtml This has a list of strategies dealing with ADHD students.
Lesson Plans sites:
http://www.scienceacademy.com/education.html
developed lesson plans for using the editorial cartoons
as a teaching tool in Social Sciences, Art, Journalism and
English at all levels —click on the icons to the left to visit our
lesson plans.
http://www.cec.sped.org/bk/jantec.htm#0
This is an entire six weeks of material discussing job skills. This even has
worksheets working towards the goal of employment.
http://www.ldonline.org/
This is a good web site for Learning Disabilities..this is great for teachers, parents, and children that are LD.
There is a search engine, and links to information for each appropriate age.
I’m out of my league here as you work with much more challenged students than do I. Your post, though, is a little unclear. Does the child have ADD or not? Is that your best guess or has he been formally diagnosed?
Children who have been formally diagnosed with ADD are sometimes offered medication that can help them to curb their impulsivity. If you truly believe he has ADD, then having him tested and evaluated for that might be helpful.
If that’s not an option, the only thing is to counsel this kid and possibly ask him some hard questions. Does he like it better on the unit than in school? If he does, then what he’s doing is working for him. If he doesn”t and he finds the unit lonely during the day, he’s going to need to make some changes.
One of those would be to recognize that no matter how often he’s heard it said, that n word is very offensive. It isn’t a word that should be used. He might not know that but you’re telling him now. That word brings up so many bad feelings in people that they forget what they’re supposed to be doing and haul off and hit him. He needs to keep his mouth shut on that word.
Hard to believe, some of my own students don’t quite get that. They hear the word in movies and they think they’re cool when they use it.
How long have you been working in this setting? Does this child receive any counseling? I would think in the sad lives of your children there might be many reasons for kids to act without thinking. There might be more reasons than ADD that lead your students to behave as if they have ADD.