Students with ADHD and ADD

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Students with ADHD and ADD

• Ava Watts Arp
• Math Methods
• EDUC 383
• Spring Semester , 2008

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• Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions
  about ADD and ADHD. As a result, students with
  ADHD are often labeled as unmotivated, lazy, and
  problem children.
• ADHD is a disruptive disorder that is
  characterized by levels of inattention,
  impulsivity, and overactivity.

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Students with ADHD and ADD

• May have difficulty concentrating on schoolwork
• Frequently interrupt conversations and activities
• Have difficulty remaining seated when they are
  required to do so
• Have difficulty making and keeping friends
• While others may be quiet, slow moving, and dreamy

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Students with ADHD/ ADD present the following
challenges for teachers

• They demand attention by talking out of turn or
  moving around the room
• They have trouble following directions
• They often forget to write down homework
  assignments, do them, or bring completed work to
  school
• They often lack fine motor control, which makes
  note taking difficult and handwriting hard to
  repeat
• They often have trouble with operations that
  require ordered steps, such as long division and
  solving equations.
• They usually have problems with long-term
  projects, where there is no direct supervision.

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How to teach children with ADD/ADHD

• Display classroom rules so that the students know
  what behavior is acceptable and unacceptable up
  front.
• Establish a daily routine and warn them of
  changes ahead of time because kids with ADHD do
  not handle surprises well.
• Provide clear and concise instructions for
  academic assignments and break larger assignments
  into smaller sections.
• Show students how to use an assignment book to
  keep track of homework and daily assignments.

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Children with ADD/ADHD (cont).

• Provide regular and frequent breaks.
• Seat the child away from distractions and next to
  students who will be positive role models.
• Establish a secret signal with the child to use
  as a reminder when he/she is off task. If you see
  the child is getting off task walk by a put a
  sticky note on his/her desk reminding them to
  stay on task.
• Post a daily schedule and homework assignments in
  the same place everyday.
• Use visuals such as charts, pictures, and color
  coding whenever possible.
• Summarize key points and always establish eye
  contact.

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• Presenting Material Using Math Content Standard
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• This standard says to use a variety of
  instructional strategies and tools to promote
  student understanding.
• Since one of the strategies for teaching kids
  with ADHD is to use visuals whenever possible, I
  would make sure that as I was presenting the
  lesson to this class that I would have some type
  of manipulatives to use to go along with the
  lesson.
• For Example When teaching students to add
  integers, I would use color coded counters. The
  blue counters would represent positive numbers
  and the red counters would represent negative
  numbers. These show students hands-on how to
  match them up to cancel each other out and find
  the answer. It is a very good practice for
  teaching the rules for adding integers.

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Resources and Websites

• ADHD in the Schools Assessment and Intervention
  Strategies. G. DuPaul and G. Stoner. 2003. New
  York Guilford.
• An ADHD Primer. L. Weyandt. 2001. Boston
  Pearson, Allyn, and Bacon.
• Behaviorally Effective School Environments. M.
  Shinn, H. Walker, and G. Stoner. 2002. Bethesda,
  MD National Association of School Psychologists.
• How Can Teachers Help Students with ADHD?
  Education World. Diane Weaver Dunne. 2007.
• http//adhd.kids.tripod.com
• http//www.helpguide.org
• http//www.addinschool.com