Getting ADHD Kids to do classwork

There are lots of strategies you can try. You didn’t mention the age/grade level, but off the top of my head here are a few ideas. Build movement into your lesson plans— allow students to respond by standing up, etc. Let them get up and work on the board, or sit on the floor with individual white boards. Build frequent “stretch breaks” into the day. Give the kid who figets with things something to figet with (“koosh” balls sometimes work well— better than leaving them to discover their scissors and cut paper into 1000 pieces, cut their clothing, etc.) Set a timer that they can’t see for varying intervals— if they are on-task when it rings, they get a reward. There are also audiotapes made for this purpose— they play a tone at varying intervals and the child checks to see if he is on-task when it sounds. Give a student 2 desks and allow him to move to the 2nd when he needs to (of course you have to discuss appropriate ways to “travel” without disrupting others). Ignore figiting if the student appears to be listening to the discussion. Talk to your students individually and ask them what helps them concentrate and stay on task— you might be amazed at the solutions they can come up with (and nobody usually asks them— but they need to become experts on what works for them, they have to live with this long after they leave your class!) And do consult the nurse, child study team, counselor, psychologist— the more possible strategies you have to choose from, the more likely you’ll find some that work for your students and you r teaching style. Check out behavioradvisor. com too!

Tyrone
Look at mt website. I teach students with severe behavior disorders in a self contained classroom. Many are severe ADHD just like me. I set the bar high! Feel free to use any of the curriculum you find.
Katherine

www.seanet.com/~kmcneil/JAG

I found a game HOMEWORKOPOLY on the net. If you search for it, it will be first to appear. I changed it to Behavioropoly. The kids get 3 chances during the day to play - if they turn in homework or notes to parents,etc., if they have90% of points by lunch time, and if they earn 90% of teir afternoon points , So far my kids love it.

What’s the matter with the fidgeting? I fidget.

I give my fidgeters quiet things to fidget with. Soft erasers, small soft quiet items can be fidgeted with softly and quietly. Put small soft items in his desk and let him fidget. He needs to.

I don’t understand how a child can put their head in a desk. Their desk opening shouldn’t be that large and their head shouldn’t be that small but… is he listening while his head is in the desk? I had one student who needed to lie on the floor. So long as he could lie on the floor, he was attentive and participating in class. What’s wrong with that? If your student can put his head in his desk (or on his desk) and leave it there quietly while he still participates in class, let him put his head in the desk. To each their own if it serves learning.

Many of us need to be ‘grounded’. A TV screen gets blurry unless it has an antenna. Some ADD students benefit from being ‘grounded’. They get ‘blurry’ if they’re not ‘grounded’. I can sit still if I can shake my foot constantly. Encourage your student who can’t sit still for 3 minutes to learn how to sit still while not sitting still just as I do. I quietly bounce my foot on the floor or shake one foot from side to side rapidly while sitting still or otherwise… I couldn’t sit still.

I also tap something in my hand again quietly and that helps to ground me. ADD can’t be made to go away but it can be channeled into quiet and non disruptive channels.

Good luck.

I have used 2 strategies very effectively….

Have the child learn to tap his legs…. his means the child will have a way to fidget that is realatively out of sight and quiet… thus miinimally if at all disruptive…. I build an understanding with that child… and signal him/her when they are “too fidgety”… after a couple of weeks of signalling without calling his/her name or commenting in front of peers … student usually knows what to do…. he/she develops a helpful habit…. When I see the child finding this solution without assistance or cue from me…. I find a way to tell him/her… This year I am going to try sticky wickies… someone told me they were concerned about a child scratching himself on the wire within the pipecleaner…. maybe even try a piece of thick yarn….

When the knee tapping doesn’t work… I try issuing pipecleaners to the child… then they have another “legal” and mostly non-disruptive way to deal with anxiety or nervousness….. which I think is why the body wants to flale in the first place…. good luck… i am sure you will have plenty of people answer this one..

I did not quite follow your strategy, Betsy…. will you explain more..
Can you or soem other “netter” clue me in on the website you referred to…
I searched to no avail…. thanks in advance…

Hi, I am a student in my last year of uni and was wondering what strategies you use to get those students with ADHD to write and remain focused? I am writing an assignment and so any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Sam

I wasn’t sure if you meant handwriting or writing as in essay or story. If it’s the latter, try this. On the first day, discuss the topic either as a lass or just with the individual student. Try to cover all bases by guiding the discussion.

On the next day, help him/them set up a graphic organizer, preferably a cluster on the topic. Use colors—the center circle is the topic to be written about, so i t should be in the brightest color in their box of colors. The, the circles branching out from the center are the subtopics (paragraphs) and they should all be outlined or colored in a second color. The circles off those are the details; they should be colored or outlined in yet another color.

When they actually start to write, tell them to start by focusing on the brightly-colored circle first— the main topic. Then move to the circles which are all in the second color,etc. They can “X” out the circles as they use them. They will soon be able to make the clusters on their own and can focus on following the colors.

It works well. Hope this is helpful for you.