Guide me to help your ADHD child

Good question. My son who is 9 and ADHD, and I were just talking tonight about the things that really bother him. I ask him to measure the issues from 1 to 5 as to the most serious being 5 and the less important being 1. Most of the things that bother him all relate to not getting enough attention. Mainly wanting attention from his father and secondly from his teacher. He insists that no body really pays much atttention to him unless he is being hyper and that is usually bad attention. Kids with Attention problems dont know why they have to be told several times to do things or to quit doing things. My experience is they do realize that they are different in a lot of ways. One thing that helps my son is an eye contact signal or look when he is not on task. A secret code between him and the teacher. Getting approvals and recognition when they do good, no matter how petty the task may be to us they need to hear that they have done well. My son has also had better experiences with teachers that share some of their personal life with him. For instance, he had a first grade teacher who rarely said anything other than what was on their daily assignment. She was very impersonble and he did not do well with her. She left for a while to have a baby and the supply teacher told him of things like her vacation in Las Vegas, the surgery that she had, her children and so on. You would not believe the difference in his behavior and when the behavior is good, the grades are good. The principal could not believe the difference. I have alot of views on what I feel my son needs but I also ask him what he feels like he needs to succeed. Good luck!

Dear GA Mom,

Thank you for replying to the message posted. I appreciate you sharing your son’s experience with me. I hope that your son continues to find the postive and healthy environment which he needs to widen his educational experience. I will certainly keep your words and advise in mind.

Sarah

Dear Sarah;

While browsing through this site, I came across your posting. The question you raised is an important one. My daughter is 11 years old. She is constantly mentioning the lack of attention she recieves from her classroom teacher. I think the presence of an additional adult in the classroom provides the attention that is extremely needed by ADHD children. My advise to you would be to listen objectively and understand the message they are trying to convey. Sometimes my daughter inflicts minor injuries to herself, that most of the time go unnoticed by her classroom teacher. Your role in such a classroom could be very important in that you can be an extra pair of eyes who is able to take a closer look and pay more attention to prevent such behaviors from occuring. Good Luck!

Sally J

My son, who is 11 and in 5th grade, also responds very well to more attention and positive remarks from the teacher. He is doing very well in school right now, but the biggest thing I find with the teacher is that she seems quick to blame lack of effort or not studying for the occasional bad grade, without taking into account the inconsistancies of ADHD. Sometimes it is lack of studying, but sometimes it isn’t, especially if the tests are given at the end of the day as opposed to first thing in the morning, due to short term memory problems. I find his teacher to be very quick to discount ADHD, like she doesn’t believe in it. When my son is having trouble behaving in class, reminders or daily check points (5 for best behavior, 1 for worst, marked on his daily assignment sheet at the end of the day by the teacher, really help him to focus on behavior and gives him something to strive for. He seems to need the daily goal sometimes to get him back on track.) This kind of behavior modification really works for him, and after awhile it can be discontinued, until that point in time when he needs some other behavior modified. His teacher is also very much favored towards girls, probably because she has more than one boy like my son in her class this year, which I’m sure tries her patience on occasion. But, my son has picked up on this, and has seen that the girls can get away with alot more talking in class etc. Just because a kid is smart and doing fairly well in school, don’t forget that ADHD makes it a real struggle for them, and that the problem does exist.

What a wonderful, caring question! I have a 14 year old who gets lots of attention when his homework is lost, in the locker, or in Never-Neverland. He does not have anybody to coach him in organization. Nobody bothers to help him sort through papers, teach him to get dittos into folders until he can get them into rings, or get holes punched to get papers into notebooks. Checking homework pads for accuracy would be great. He says the kids acting out, or years delayed get the teacher’s time. His organizational issues fall by the wayside.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IEP_guide/linksSarah wrote:
>
> Hello,
> I am a pre-service special education teacher. I will be
> student teaching next fall. I have learned so much about
> children with ADHD, and also about methods in teaching the
> children. But, I have been very curious in what the parents
> think is necessary for their child who is ADHD. So, as a
> parent how do you think i could help a child like yours in
> the classroom I will be student-teaching in? What are the
> areas or examples that you find your child’s teacher never
> gets around to? What can i as a student-teacher focus on when
> being in a classroom with an ADHD child? Please respond if
> you can help me help a child who might need a little more
> attention in class. Thank you :)
>
> Sarah

Dear Sara:

I am working in a Research paper on ADHD kids, I would like to know more about the techniques you use to teach them. I intend to teach children with this problem. I am sending this message from Ecuador. Regards, Cecilia

I have an 8yr old in 3rd grade, I need help with methods on teaching an ADHD child. The basic ‘laundry’ list is really no help, for the list could also be use for ANY child who miss behaves in the class room. ie. instead of flash card how about a game of memory. Do you or any one else have some tips.
Kim