Supporting Children With ADHD

Supporting Children with ADHD At Primary School

Help create a structured environment so that children have less problems with starting and completing tasks, making transitions, working with others, following directions, organising multi-faceted projects and maintaining attention: Children need structure, short work periods, more individual instruction, positive reinforcement and an interesting curriculum. Try the following:

• Having rules clearly displayed on the wall

• Establishing a daily classroom routine – have regular times for stories, desk work, etc

• Displaying the day's lessons on the wall or board

• Providing structure through lists, timetables, timescales and regular reminders

• Appreciate and accept that the child cannot help her/himself: her/his behaviour is not prompted by naughtiness

• Have positive expectations

• Monitor progress regularly throughout the lesson

• Be consistent, firm, fair and patient and give constant feedback and rewards

• Display ‘classroom rules’ which are unambiguous and written in a positive way

• Use deliberate eye contact when speaking to her/him (almost ‘staring’)

• Allow ‘time out’ if required to move/de-stress/breathing/relaxation

• Adopt stop, think, do approaches

• Adopt when and then approaches

• Facilitate a quiet space in school that is accessible (chill out zone/tent)

• Support smooth transitions between lessons (minutes earlier to/from lessons with a reliable buddy)

• Use learning mentor/buddies

• Allow de-stress, tactile or fiddle toys: tangle toys, stress shape etc

• Allow to doodle/make notes/mind maps when listening

• Consider access arrangements for tests/assessments/exams

• Minimise stress

• Make learning FUN – all children hate being bored

• Sit near you; near the blackboard; at the front of the room; away from windows; away from bright, colourful displays

• Count-down to transitions (in 10, in 5 etc)

• When taking turns in a group, use a timer to set limits

• Remind the whole class before they speak to give one sentence only.

• Remind the whole class to put their hand up if they want to talk, not one child

• Encourage pupils to stop and think before talking - this will help a child with ADHD to learn to slow down before talking - you can do this by waiting 10 seconds before you accept answers from the class

• Remind the whole class about the rules for interrupting - If one persists, talk to them on their own – not in front of the class

• Use visible reward/motivations systems not punitive

• Do not mention their diagnosis/medication publicly – would you like it?

• Try desktop screens to minimise distractions

• Use large type on hand outs

• Have one ‘calm wall’ – consider sensory/distractibility overload

• Be kind