I am a first year teacher and I have an ADHD child in one of my classes. The class period itself is split, with class from 10:25 - 11:00, then lunch, then the remainder of the class from 11:30 - 12:11. I really don’t think this schedule is good for any child but especially one with ADHD. It seems to set him off even more than in any other class. I have a conference with his mother almost every week, and I am trying so hard to be patient with his abilities, but he is using his ADHD as an excuse to be disrespectful and goof off. He is on Concerta and Zoloft, as well as clonodine at home, and he can control his actions, but keeps telling me “I have ADHD” whenever I ask him to stop being disruptive. I have a class of 26 other students who don’t get half the attention I have to give this kid just to get him to take out a pencil. I don’t expect him to stay perfectly still or in his seat all the time, and I understand that he is fidgety, but I have an entire class to think about and I am getting more and more frustrated. Any tips or strategies would be appreciated. We are starting a new unit on a novel and will be doing alot of reading in the coming months. What kinds of activities would be helpful in keeping him on task and focused?
Re: First Year Teacher Needs Help
Have you tried playing soft relaxing music in the background of the class to set a nice tone for the class? I sometimes play music in the background during sessions with my kids and it definitely can help them relax and be more productive. What worked with one kid who was kind of like your kiddo was to have a marble jar on the prinicipals desk. Whenever he was doing something good he got a marble for good behavior. During break he would take the marbles to the principal and place them in “his” marble jar on the principal’s desk. When the jar was full the principal would take him out for a lunch at McDonald’s. It worked quite well.
Your young charge needs to “buy” into the behavior modification strategy that you both agree upon. Find out what motivates him and have a united front between home and school.
I agree with Sara, it sounds like the combination of meds aren’t working. I wonder if concerta is counteracting Zoloft. Ritalin is a stimulant and Zoloft is a anti-depressant. One of my students who is ADHD is on Zoloft alone and has been doing fabulously….however, when she tried Ritalin years ago, (concerta is also a form of Ritalin), it didn’t do a thing for her…but Zoloft has been a lifesaver, she is able to focus, and depression is gone…
Re: First Year Teacher Needs Help
Is this a regular education classroom? Could you incorporate some sort of reward for non-disruptive behavior and on-task behavior? For example, if your student finishes the work you have given him (which should be an amount that you know he will finish if he is on task) and he has not disrupted class, then he can have some free time (the last 5 or 10 min.) to draw, read, play on the computer, etc. You might want to make a visual reminder….maybe a sign taped to his desk. If he can do this for a week or so and continues to earn the reward, you can make it so he has to earn 2 days of good behavior and getting work done. Then you can increase it from there.
I also agree….his Doctor should be made aware that the meds aren’t working.
You and his mother also might want to have a conversation with him. You could explain that lots of children and adults have ADHD. They have learned to cope with it and not use it as a crutch. You could even incorporate some rewards (even leaving the classroom for 5 min.) for not using the ADHD as a crutch.
Re: First Year Teacher Needs Help
Hi, Check into LarryLewin’s strategies-things to give variety to tasks assigned.He is from Eugene, Oregon and does trainings workshops all over for the Bureau of Education & [email protected]. I teach students with learning disabilities, add, and adhd. I have also taught regular ed classes with this type of student in them. Hope you get some ideas from him. Also check out the Content Enhancment Strategies from the University of Kansas-Institute for Research in Learning Disabilities. These strategies are designed for regular ed teachers. I have found them to be very useful and good for the students.Let me know how things go.
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Could you possibly provide a link for the Content Enhancement Strategies at the U. Kansas site? It sounds intriguing.
First off, I’d say his medication isn’t working and his doctor deserves to know that. Zoloft is for depression (and that tells us something) but his Concerta should be helping him and it sounds as if it isn’t. You might discuss this with his mother. What’s he on medication for if he’s still hopping all over the room? When was the last time his medication dosage was raised? How much does he take in relation to his weight?
I’d also wonder if this kid has more than ADHD going on. ADHD/ADD often occurs in a cluster with other learning differences and that might explain his “goofing off”.
Does he like to read? What subject do you teach? If that awkward schedule were mine, I’d do the “hard stuff” the first half hour. When we got back from lunch, I’d do the looser stuff, the fun stuff. If it’s Language Arts, I’d do the worksheets and the reading the first half hour. The second half hour I’d act out the reading or make posters about what we read or play word games or spelling games.
Recalling a class from lunch is a hard task for this ADHD kid it’s got to be the hardest of all.
He’s fortunate to have you for a teacher. Clearly you care about this child despite the challenge he presents.