Teaching Strategies for ADHD Children
Executive function deficits can create challenges for students with ADHD. Luckily, there are creative interventions teachers can use to help improve a student’s success in the classroom. Below is a listing of several teaching accommodations that work well for students with ADHD. They were compiled by Chris Dendy, MS and reprinted with her permission. Ms. Dendy is a leading ADHD expert and author, a former teacher with more than 35 years experience, and mother of two grown sons and a daughter with ADHD.General Teaching Strategies:
Make the Learning Process as Concrete and Visual as Possible
Written Expression- Dictate information to a “scribe” or parents.
- Use graphic organizers to provide visual prompts.
- Use “post-it” notes to brainstorm essay ideas.
- Use a peer tutor.
- Use paired learning (teacher explains problem, students make up their own examples, swap problems, and discuss answers).
- Use mnemonics (memory tricks), such as acronyms or acrostics, e.g., HOMES to remember names of the Great Lakes.
- Use “visual posting” of key information on strips of poster board.
Modify Teaching Methods
- Use an overhead projector to demonstrate how to write an essay. (Parents may simply write on paper or a computer to model this skill.)
- Use color to highlight important information.
- Use graphic organizers to help students organize their thoughts.
Modify Assignments – Reduce Written Work
- Shorten assignments.
- Check time spent on homework, and reduce it if appropriate (when total homework takes longer than roughly 10 minutes per grade as recommended in a PTA/NEA Policy, e.g. 7th grader = 70 minutes).
- Write answers only, not the questions (photocopy questions).
Modify Testing and Grading
- Give extended time on tests.
- Divide long-term projects into segments with separate due dates and grades.
- Average two grades on essays -– one for content and one for grammar.
Modify Level of Support and Supervision
- Appoint “row captains” to check to see that homework assignments are written down and later turned in to the teacher.
- Increase the amount of supervision and monitoring for these students, if they are struggling.
Use Technology
- Use a computer as often as possible.
- Use software to help teach skills.
Additional Reading:
School Tips for ADHD Kids
Resource for Teachers
Back-to-School Tips
Homework Strategies
Special Education Services
Source: Chris A. Zeigler Dendy and Alex Zeigler. A Bird’s-Eye View of Life with ADD and ADHD. Cherish the Children. 2007.
