Teaching Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

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Teaching Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Introduction

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a psychiatric disorder characterized by impulsive actions that are not related proportionally to the age of the affected person (Wender, 2000). It affects children at the age of 6-12 years where the disorder causes a lack of attention and leads to poor performance in classes. Handling the affected pupil becomes critical since the concerned parties must restore the pupils attention. In class, I have a student who requires special attention according to the following needs and accommodations because he suffers from ADHD.

Needs and Accommodations

This child needs more guidance than the others since the disorder has impaired his ability of planning, organizing eventualities, controlling impulses and completing his tasks. In light of providing special learning, I will guide him repeatedly to ensure that he does the right thing at the right time. Continued guidance is considered as one of the psychological diagnoses of ADHD since it instills a consistent routine of tasks which leads to rehabilitation (Wender, 2000). In light of offering this guidance, I will emphasize on the instructions at the individual level instead of using a collective approach.

Secondly, the pupil needs to be understood psychologically to remove misconceptions of defiance. It is important to understand that a child who is suffering from ADHD condition wishes to make his tasks normally. He desires to make his work tidy, plan his work and complete assignments in time. However, the disorder hinders him from implementing his skills in real situations. In cases where the child seems to be ignorant of assignments, the teacher should understand that he is willing to complete all the tasks in the right manner. This understanding becomes a vital aspect in the process of helping the child because his actions are not misconceived for deliberate negligence (Wender, 2000). This understanding enables the teacher to accommodate and tolerate embarrassing actions that emerge as a result of hyperactivity and deficient attention.

Also, the child needs appreciation after performing the task in the classroom. Regrettably, pupils suffering from ADHD perform tasks without recognition. Mostly, their efforts are dismissed resulting in withdrawal from the social circles. In this special plan, I will supplement this behavior by recognizing the efforts of this child (Wender, 2000). This recognition will raise his self-esteem and develop his confidence when participating in class. It will encourage him to adopt a sense of organization and plan his mind to sustain that appreciation. For instance, I will appreciate his efforts to complete assignments daily. As a result, he will work hard to complete all assignments that are given in class due to the motivation arising from appreciation. This tendency will transform his organization and improve the level of attention to academic tasks. The same tactic will be applied to his participation in class. When the pupil answers questions in class, I will make sure that other pupils appreciate the participation through clapping. In some instances, he will be given biscuits and sweets so that he relates participation to these awards. Consequently, the pupil will try to answer questions in class continuously. This implies that appreciation is a fundamental need of children who develop their social status and improve attention.

Lastly, the pupil needs consistent evaluation to determine whether his behavior is improving or worsening. In this case, assessment becomes vital because he might respond negatively to an action intended to improve behavior. As a result, his original behavior must be compared with the current ones so that progress is sustained (Wender, 2000).

Steps of Helping the Students

I have a pupil who is suffering from ADHD in my class. In light of helping this child, there are three methods of diagnosis which include counseling, lifestyle tactics, and medication. However, medication is used in cases of severe symptoms of ADHD disorder. This implies that it is not the most fundamental way of correcting the disorder. On the other hand, counseling is more effective when it is applied to pupils of the same age group which mostly includes children from 8 to 12 years old. This implies that lifestyle tactics offer the best option of correcting ADHD disorder which is applicable at all ages. In the process of applying lifestyle tactics, there are six steps involved in the process of correcting this disorder. It is essential to note that although these steps are not sequential, they can be applied simultaneously so that one step does not follow the other (Hammerness, 2009).

Step1: Positive Approach

As a teacher, the first step of helping a pupil who is suffering from ADHD is attaining the status of a positive thinker. Positive thinking enables the teacher to understand that the affected pupil has the best intentions even though they might portray a negative behavior. This sets the stage for transforming their behavior since it allows inculcating calm and focused strategies in the process of applying these techniques. By positive thinking, I will see his actions from a positive perspective since I understand that his behaviors are related to the ADHD disorder (Hammerness, 2009).

Step 2: Create a Consistent and Structured Routine

In the process of teaching this pupil, I will create a structured routine of giving tasks such that the pupil can predict the course of events. In this case, it becomes easier for the child to complete tasks that are arranged predictably. In order to implement this technique, I will draft a time table reflecting the working schedule. Then, I will provide a wall clock in class to ensure that the student is conversant with time. Also, the schedule will be simplified in a manner that is easy to follow the sequence of the tasks. This avoids the confusion that may arise due to a congested working schedule.

Step 3: Create Expectations and Rules

It is necessary to make rules that are simple, clear, and easy to follow since the pupils with ADHD tend to respond positively to systematic orders (Hammerness, 2009). These rules will be written down and hanged on the wall where the pupils can read them daily. It is important to remind the pupil about the rules to instill a sense of understanding. The consequence of disobeying these rules and the respective reward of obeying them should be clarified to the pupil. At this point, praising the pupil becomes very critical when he obeys the rules. This tendency encourages him to uphold those rules to gain more appreciation.

Step 4: Encouraging Movement and Leisure

Hyperactivity implies that the pupil has more energy than the body needs for normal operation. This is why they do a lot of activities to dispose of extra energy. Consequently, I will organize several playfields that will provide the opportunity to use the energy which can result in unnecessary movements in class.

Step 5: Facilitate and Recommend Special Diet in School

Although diet does not have a direct effect on the presence of ADHD, it affects the mental conditions of the pupil and disrupts his behavior. Balanced and enough diet stabilizes the mind to ensure that hyperactivity is controlled.

Step 6: Help Him to Make Friends

Lack of attention affects the ability of the pupil to make social relationships. In this light, it is important to encourage other pupils to play with the boy and make them understand his situation. This ensures that the student is not isolated from the others.

Assignment 2: Classroom Visit

In preparing for this task, I visited a classroom that dealt with pupils who have physical and mental disorders because I am not conversant with this field of teaching. During the assessment, I discovered some essential strategies that the teacher can use in teaching and controlling pupils.

Teaching Strategies

Individualized Consideration

Understandably, the pupils who were in this class had special disorders at individual levels. As a result, the teacher addressed the students individually and solved their problems at personal levels. The teacher avoided collective teaching and explained basic theories on the blackboard. During a brief interview after class, he said that individualized consideration ensures that pupils problems are solved according to their disorders because they affect them differently. Also, he argued that individualized consideration eliminates discrimination because many pupils fear contributing to class as a result of low self-esteem (Henderson & Lawrence, 2011). In perspective, this was an excellent strategy because it focuses on all students according to their afflictions.

Motivating Class Participation

When he explained basic theories on the blackboard, the teacher posed questions to the student to evaluate their understanding. Pupils who answered questions were awarded sweets according to the number of questions answered. Surprisingly, he awarded the pupils regardless of whether the answer was right or wrong. This encouraged them to participate in the class proceedings regardless of their academic competence (Henderson & Lawrence, 2011). He also facilitated a clap for all students who answered questions on the blackboard even if they were wrong. This was meant to create confidence and raise their self-esteem.

Controlling the Class

Rules and Regulation

Controlling the class was fairly difficult due to the presence of pupils who suffered from ADHD disorder that exhibit hyperactivity. However, the teacher had drafted some rules which restricted the pupils conduct. When they adhered to the rules of the classroom, they had the opportunity of being the best pupil of the week. On the contrary, disobeying the rules was discouraged by giving punishments that included kneeling and standing for the whole lesson. As a result, students struggled for the selection and tried to avoid punishment. The two parallel strategies maintained order in the classrooms and reduced unnecessary movements (Henderson & Lawrence, 2011).

Conclusion

Although ADHD disorder is a depressing psychiatric condition, psychiatrists have developed some ways of fighting with this psychological menace as envisaged in the six steps. Although the six lifestyle steps are preferred to other methods, the combination of counseling, lifestyle, and medication is the best. The combined model results in faster progress than the application of a single method (Hammerness, 2009).

References

Hammerness, P. G. (2009). ADHD. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.

Henderson, J. P., & Lawrence, A. D. (2011). Teaching strategies. New York: Nova Science Publishers.

Wender, P. H. (2000). ADHD: attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adults. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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