teaching a student with ADHD

I’ve seen several versions now of this inquiry and each one makes me a little more angry. I question the assumption that a child with ADHD MUST be a distraction to other children. As others have noted, some kids with ADHD are a distraction, others are not. The same is true of NT children or children with other diagnoses or disabilities. If you assume that children with ADHD must automatically be a disruptive influence you will never be able to successfully include them in any educational setting.

Andrea

you can include a ADHD student..but, you have to be prepared for more individualized instructions, i . e.. more time given for this student everyday during classroom instruction to make sure of progress and comprehension…seating in front, regular questioning is useful as well!

First, don’t assume all your adhd students will be disruptive. It may be the kid who is angry because his dad just died, or the kid with other emotional issues or learning differences.

Second, neither of my adhd kids is disruptive. My youngest one doesn’t even need special help in any form from the teachers. My oldest one has apd as well as well as slow processing speed. Some short term memory problems. He is special ed. qualified, included in all classes with support.

He needs to be seated near the teachers, he needs to be checked in on to make sure he is comprehending what is being taught, the teacher needs to make sure he is attending to what is being taught. Occasionally he needs reduced homework load or extra time for class and homework. Extra wait time for responses. He is able to retake bombed tests with sp.ed teacher for grade improvement.

None of these seem to be heroic efforts on a regular teacher’s part and certainly not disruptive.

Please excuse me if I take offense to your question, but I do. I will assume that you just haven’t experienced inclusive teaching and are looking for strategies before you begin. I have taught many children with varying degrees of ADHD throughout my 25 years of teaching. The key to success with any child with learning differences is to structure their activities so that they can be successful. With children who have ADHD, cooperative activities provide several major challenges. 1 is that the classroom noise level makes focusing even more difficult, the second is that children with ADHD often struggle with social skills, therefore the give and take within a cooperative activity does not come naturally at all. The teacher should act as a facilitator who refocuses, guides and helps to chunk the tasks into manageable pieces. Perhaps moving the group with a child or children who have been diagnosed with ADHD to a quieter and less distracting place in the classroom will help also. Bookcases as dividers or other furniture that can block out the background noise will be very helpful. Also be sure that everyone’s roles and responsibilities are clearly delineated so that there are no questions.
Good luck