Teaching Students with ADHD - HelpGuide.org × Online Therapy Meditations Mental Health Health & Wellness Children & Family Relationships Aging More Donate Your trusted nonprofit guide to mental health & wellness for ★★★★★ HelpGuide is a top-rated nonprofit Our mission is to provide empowering, evidence-based mental health content you can use to help yourself and your loved ones. Donate Get In Touch HelpGuide uses cookies to improve your experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. Accept ADHD and classroom challenges If you’re a teacher, you know these kids: The one who stares out the window, substituting the arc of a bird in flight for her math lesson. The one who wouldn’t be able to keep his rear end in the chair if you used Krazy Glue. The one who answers the question, “What body of water played a major role in the development of the Ancient Egyptian civilization?” with “Mrs. M, do you dye your hair?” Students who exhibit ADHD’s hallmark symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity can be frustrating. You know the brainpower is there, but they just can’t seem to focus on the material you’re working hard to deliver. Plus, their behaviors take time away from instruction and disrupt the whole class. Students with ADHD may:Demand attention by talking out of turn or moving around the room.Have trouble following instructions, especially when they're presented in a list, and with operations that require ordered steps, such as long division or solving equations.Often forget to write down homework assignments, do them, or bring completed work to school.Often lack fine motor control, which makes note-taking difficult and handwriting a trial to read.Have problems with long-term projects where there is no direct supervision.Not pull their weight during group work and may even keep a group from accomplishing its task. Think of what the school setting requires children to do: Sit still. Listen quietly. Pay attention. Follow instructions. Concentrate. These are the very things kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD) have a hard time doing—not because they aren’t willing, but because their brains won’t let them. That doesn’t make teaching them any easier, of course.Children and teens with ADHD often pay the price for their problems in low grades, scolding and punishment, teasing from their peers, and low self-esteem. Meanwhile, you, the teacher, feel guilty because you can’t reach the child with ADHD and wind up taking complaints from parents who feel their kids are being neglected in the classroom. But it doesn’t have to be this way. There are strategies you can employ to help students with ADHD overcome learning challenges, stay focused without disrupting others, and Accommodations: what you can do to make learning easier for students with ADHD.Instruction: the methods you use in teaching.Intervention: How you head off behaviors that disrupt concentration or distract other students. Your most effective tool, however, in helping a student with ADHD is a positive attitude. Make the student your partner by saying, “Let's figure out ways together to help you get your work done.” Assure the student that you'll be looking for good behavior and quality work and when you see it, reinforce it with immediate and sincere praise. Finally, look for ways to motivate a student with ADHD by offering rewards on a point or token system. Dealing with disruptive classroom behavior To head off behavior that takes time from other students, work out a couple of warning signals with the student who has ADHD. This can be a hand signal, an unobtrusive shoulder squeeze, or a sticky note on the student's desk. If you have to discuss the student's behavior, do so in private. And try to ignore mildly inappropriate behavior if it's unintentional and isn't distracting other students or disrupting the lesson. Affordable Online Therapy Get professional help from BetterHelp's network of licensed therapists. FIND A THERAPIST NOW HelpGuide is reader supported. We may receive a commission if you sign up for BetterHelp through the provided link. Need urgent help? References Neurodevelopmental Disorders. (2013). In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. American Psychiatric Association. Get more help Last updated: October 6, 2022 Related Guides Try online therapy Get professional help from BetterHelp’s network of 20,000 licensed therapists. Get matched and schedule your first video, phone or live chat session. GET 20% OFF HelpGuide is reader supported. We may receive a commission if you follow links to BetterHelp. Learn more.