Children / young people with ADHD are some of the most challenging children that you will ever come across! They can also be some of the most loving, caring, delightful and enthusiastic children you will ever meet.

They are vulnerable young people who need support to overcome their challenges, raise their self esteem and to enable them to reach their full potential. If these young people are to improve their life chances, it is vital that the adults around them have an insight and understanding of the challenges that face them every day.

How does ADHD affect a child at school?

Socially and Emotionally, due to their core ADHD symptoms, children / young people will -

• Often have difficulty in making and sustaining friendships
• Often have very poor self esteem
• Often have poor relationship with teachers and other adults - they are often seen as troublesome
• Sometimes become depressed
• Often be thought to be rude, thoughtless, selfish, insensitive, anxious, and immature

Educationally, due to their core ADHD symptoms, children / young people -

• At secondary school, often have difficulty with timing and organisational skills
• Often off task, leave things until the last minute, procrastinate
• Often fall behind with school work and underachieve
• Often have difficulty completing tasks - they forget instructions / explanations, fail to complete home work and project assignments
• Have poor motivation and are easily frustrated

Behaviourally, due to their core ADHD symptoms, children / young people can -  

• Often be demanding
• Get easily frustrated
• Be restless, fidgety and talkative
• Often disruptive and accident prone
• Interfere with other students and things
• Have a general lack of self control
• Be very bossy and volatile
• Be easily distracted
• Find change in routine difficult eg supply teachers, change of module

Helpful Strategies

In order for schools and colleges to support student with ADHD appropriately ADHD Training is essential, however there are some basic strategies that will help.

Support for students - this should be adult lead and proactive rather than reactive

• Identify with the student where they feel they need support
• Suggest areas where you feel it appropriate e.g. start of lessons, organising work and projects, explaining / keeping on task, making to do lists
• Make contact with the parents / carers of the student and keep them informed of the work you are doing and how they can help

Teaching / instruction techniques

• Ensure class room rules are clear and simple, actively reinforce desirable behaviour
• Provide an outline for the lesson so that the student knows what to expect
• Arrange the class room so that the child can be away from distractions such as windows etc and be near the teacher without it looking like he / she is being punished
• Make use of pictures, coloured paper, cartoons, CD Roms, computers, music and DVD's to keep the child stimulated
• Teach routines for everyday activities and encourage the child to follow them
• Make sure the child has all the necessary equipment and materials for the lesson
• Use visual prompts, to let child know that they are - on task, too noisy, fidgeting etc
• Make sure that you have eye contact and check Childs understanding when giving instructions

Suggestions for the class room

• Allow children to take frequent breaks
• Allow student to move around
• Play soft music in the classroom during independent work
• Try to use visual materials in lessons
• Provide handouts
• Make a quiet study corner in the class room
• Make sure that the student has a clear view of the teacher when they are speaking
• Allow students to use a tape recorder instead of taking notes
• Use stories and mnemonics to help memory and demonstrate a point
• Break projects down, use mind mapping to help student plan

Keeping on task

• Agree a way with the student to give prompts when attention wanders - this could be a touch on the desk or arm, saying their name etc.
• Use specific genuine praise when on task
• Give help to settle in to task, make sure that expectations are reasonable, don't give tasks that the child will fail at make sure that unobtrusive help is at hand
• Build in out of seat, hands on or talking activities to appeal to different learning styles and keep child motivated
• Give tasks in small bite sized chunks to keep child motivated and stimulated rather than overwhelmed allow a short break between chunks
• Help child to develop a checklist system so they can check off jobs! - stress one step at a time
• Remember to reward work completed well this only needs to be a word of praise - be specific
• Be sensitive to the time of day and environmental factors, too hot or cold, stuffy, lunch time, medication time etc.
• If long spells of quiet, listening or sitting still are required, provide blue tac or a stress ball to keep hands occupied, or allow the child to play a game instead of expecting them to wait

Training

ADHD Solutions CIC provides training for schools and individual coaching for Teachers and Learning Support Assistants. Our ADHD Awareness training sessions provide a background to ADHD and appropriate strategies. This training can be delivered from a minimum of one-and-a-half hours up to a full day session. Please contact us for more information

Suggested Resources

There are numerous publications and web sites available to help those who work with children and young people to do so more effectively
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