Statistics show that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) impacts about two students in every classroom, in every school, across America. Teachers need to be aware of and sensitive to these childrens’ needs. The Attention Deficit Newsletter states that individuals with ADD ADHD tend to have slower brainwave activity in the front regions of the brain, which is the part of the brain that helps us to decide what to pay attention to in the world around us. Writers of the newsletter go on to say that teachers need to remember that a child who truly has Attention Deficit Disorder was born with the problem. It is not just a matter of the child being lazy, bored, or lacking self-control on purpose.
If you know that you are going to have a child in your class this upcoming September that has ADHD or ADD, you may want to start thinking about how you are going to set up your classroom. The website article gives helpful hints for setting up the classroom and where to sit a child with ADD.
Attention Deficit students do things without thinking about the consequences of their actions. The impulsive behavior of an ADD student may end up causing many interruptions throughout the school day. A teacher needs to have techniques and procedures to use with his or her class that may have an ADD student. The site Dealing with Impulsive Behaviors provides several techniques to use with your ADD students. It suggests to conduct role-playing activities so the ADD student can see possible solutions to problems and practice them during the day. Furthermore, implement a classroom behavior management system. Actively reward the behaviors that you want the students to do. Focus on the positive. Set hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly goals depending on the reinforcement needs of the ADD ADHD student. Go to this website to find more procedures to use with your ADD student so he or she can have a successful school year.
Also worth taking a look at is the site titled Presenting Your Lessons. Remember that people with Attention Deficit Disorder are typically easily bored. This site offers various ways for you to present your lessons to an ADD student so you will not lose the student during the lesson. For example, allow your students to make frequent responses throughout the lesson by using choral responding, frequently calling on many individuals, or by having the class respond with hand signals. Prepare hands-on activities to help your students stay actively engaged. Use cooperative learning activities where each child in the group is responsible for a role. The key is to always keep them involved.
There are many things that can be done to help those with ADD ADHD. There are several good clinical interventions, ranging from medications to non-medication treatments. These classroom interventions that you read about in the above mentioned websites are also very helpful! Ritalin is often prescribed for ADD ADHD students. The site article strongly disagrees with the use of ritalin. There are definitely alternatives to ritalin, but you need to be aware of the alternatives. Do you think ritalin is too easily prescribed to children?
