Teaching Students with ADHD During A Pandemic
Kyra Shelley
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Learning Target 1: At the end of this lesson, readers will understand what ADHD is and how to help students with it.
Learning Target 2: At the end of this lesson the reader should be able to describe three ways the pandemic has affected a student with ADHD.
This is a picture of my brother and I when we were little. My brother was diagnosed with ADHD just last year, but we know he has had it since he was little. Growing up in school, it was very difficult for the teachers to help my brother without getting angry, because they had no experience with students with ADHD. He was constantly sent to the principals office and even in high school recently, kicked out of zoom calls for being a disruption. Because of this reaction from teachers he has not been able to fully participate in class for 11 years, since he is constantly being taken out of class time and put in school suspension or kicked out of online school.
As a sister and an individual pursuing becoming a teacher, I would love to help inform you all on ADHD and how to teach a student with it.
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (What is ADHD, 2021). Children with ADHD tend to be labeled as the bad kid and class clown. They are typically the kids who are always daydreaming, wiggling in their seat, and even rage with anger. Studies have aslo shown that males typically get diagnosed more than females. The ratio is 4:1 (Ramtekkar, U., Reiersen, A., Todorov, A., & Todd, R., 2020).
ADHD can be expressed in many different ways. Not always is it expressed outside of their bodies. Many times it can be a million thoughts running through their head at a time, which impairs them from focusing on just one thing.
50% of individuals with ADHD also have an Anxiety or Depression disorder as well. Bullying is one of the major causes of anxiety and depression in children with ADHD. A mental illness usually develops because they are not able to fully fit the norm. They are always a little bit different than everyone else and it can be hard to accept that.
Ways to help students with ADHD while online or hybrid
Give your student/students a task during class. ( ex. having them time your lesson, or help you call on people to answer questions)
Positive reinforcement and feedback
Allow breaks to move around
Give or send them a fidget toy to play with during class
Extra time to finish tests/quizzes/homework
In conclusion, teaching a student with ADHD is not entirely super difficult once you get the hang of it. Learning the different quirks and triggers for your students can also help with keeping your students engaged. As future teachers, our job will be to help our students grow into amazing individuals and help them learn the skills necessesary for success. ADHD is something we as teachers can work with. We should never have to kick a student out of our class for something they cannot control. It is our job to help them and lift them up when they get tempermental and hyper. We should put new practices into our teaching to help our students be successful.
Quiz
What is a sign that a student has ADHD?
a. Asking a lot of questions
b. Losing their belongings
c. Sleeping during class
d. Tapping their foot aggresively
Penny was continuously getting up and standing on her seat in class because she is having trouble sitting still. What is the best thing you can do to help Penny stay focused during class?
a. Give all your students a break to stretch and wiggle
b. Let her continue distracting the class
c. Send her out of class
d. Yell at her in front of the class
References:
What is adhd? (2021, January 26). Retrieved February 15, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/facts.html
What is adhd? (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2021, from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/adhd/what-is-adhd
Ramtekkar, U., Reiersen, A., Todorov, A., & Todd, R. (2010, March). Sex and age differences in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms and diagnoses: Implications for dsm-v and icd-11. Retrieved February 15, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3101894/
Melinda. (n.d.). Teaching students with adhd. Retrieved February 15, 2021, from https://www.helpguide.org/articles/add-adhd/teaching-students-with-adhd-attention-deficit-disorder.htm
Tips for teaching kids with adhd. (2020, September 18). Retrieved February 15, 2021, from https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/childhood-adhd/adhd-tips-teacher
Answers:
D
A
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