- A question I am frequently asked is, what can the school do to
help my child with ADHD? (gentle music) Aside from medication,
accommodations can be made to optimize the environment to help a child with
ADHD, focus and learn. Some of those accommodations
will be outlined next. (gentle music) Hi, and welcome to my channel. I'm Kim Feeney with Butterfly
Beginnings Counseling. I'm a Licensed Independent Social Worker, and a Registered Play
Therapist Supervisor. I have 10 years of
experience helping children and families lead
healthier emotional lives. And this is something I would like to help your family with as well. So, subscribe, hit the bell
for weekly notifications on the latest content. Students with ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, have difficulty with
attention and self-control. To help these children, a partnership between parents and school is very beneficial to the student. Well, this video discusses
school accommodations. To receive some parenting
tips, download my free guide, 20 Parenting Tips for Kids with ADHD, with the link below in the description At school, behaviors can
look like inattention, distractibility, hyperactivity, impulsivity and disorganization, all of which can get in the
way of the child's learning. If we want children with ADHD to succeed, we must set them up for success, starting first with the
classroom environments. Utilize flexible seating,
such as wiggle chairs, standing desks, footrests, seat cushions or resistance band on the chair legs. This allows the child to move, which helps to regulate
their nervous system. You can also help to
eliminate distractions by increasing the space
between desks or work tables, and set up preferential
seating close to the teacher, and or away from high traffic areas. Try designating a quiet
workspace in the classroom, in case the child becomes flooded and needs a quiet place just
to calm down and regulate. ADHD kids thrive off of
structure and routine. So have the teacher post a
written or picture schedule of daily routines and roles when possible, and then let the student know in advance, about any changes that
the schedule may have. The next area we will discuss are ways to increase organizational skills. Teach the student to use
an assignment planner or an electronic calendar. If possible, provide them an
extra set of books at home to eliminate forgetting, and the back and forth
between home and school. This will increase their
ability to complete assignments. Provide the child with folders and baskets of supplies to
keep the desk organized, such as a basket for markers, one for headphones and
electronics, and one for papers. Use color coded materials
for each subject, such as green for science
or purple for math. And then in the upper
grades provide type notes or an outline of the lesson
to help them follow along with the note taking
and increase the ability to process the lesson and follow along. When a teacher is giving instructions, have them give the directions
out loud and in writing or pictures, and then have
the student repeat them, to ensure that they understand. Provide the student a lesson outline that details instructions and assignments. Keep the instructions
simple, clear and concrete. Limit the directions to
one or two at a time. This helps the child to remember. Utilize pictures and graphs to
help create visual interests. These children often need to
learn the multiple modalities, such as auditory, visual
or hands-on kinesthetic. Provide a detailed rubric
or outline that describes the elements of a successfully
completed assignment. Let the student know what
they're striving to achieve, and then help the student
break up assignments into smaller, more manageable pieces. Again, and for one or
two directions at a time, don't go for a five or six and then the student not get lost. When the student is completing
tests and assignments, allow understanding to be
demonstrated in different ways, like oral reports, posters
and video presentations. Provide the child different ways to respond to test questions, like saying the answers
out loud or circling them. To avoid overwhelm, minimize
the number of questions and problems per worksheets. Instead, schedule frequent short quizzes, instead of one long unit
end test or quiz at the end. Accentuate the positive, by
giving credit for assignments that either have partial
work or late work, and then work with the
student to develop a plan to complete the full assignment later. Grade assignments for
content, not for neatness. These kids often are
disorganized and messy, so the handwriting skills
are sometimes limited. And allow the students
extra time and quieter space to work on tests and projects. And in effort to manage behaviors, use a behavior plan with a reward system. Use nonverbal signs like
a sticky note on the desk, or a hand on the shoulder to
get the student's attention and indicate the need for
things like a mindfulness break. And make this communication two-way, so the student can then
begin to read the cues in their own body and takes
breaks when they need it. Talk through behavior problems
one-on-one with the child, when they are in a regulated state. Check in frequently, to
monitor the student's emotional temperature
or frustration level. In play therapy sessions with clients. I have worked together with the kids to create five point scales, based off their favorite
characters from movies, TVs or video games. I've used characters from Minecraft, Marvel Super Heroes, or Go, Dog. Go!, to implement this scale. For examples and illustrations, check out the links
below in the description. When kids have ADHD,
it's important to talk with their teachers, your school, about how it affects them. This will let teachers find
ways to help your child be successful in the classroom. Here are some tips for talking
to your child's teachers in school about your child's ADHD. To begin with, make a
scheduled appointment, instead of trying to catch
teachers in the morning or after school, set up a
15 to 20 minute appointment, that's gonna be enough time to begin the conversation
without interruption. If it's necessary, provide some
psychoeducation about ADHD. Your child's teachers may know
something about the disorder, but they may not have enough
good information on it. Ask the teacher how
familiar they are with ADHD, and whether they've taught
kids with ADHD in the past. If their knowledge is limited, or if their examples don't resemble what your child's behaviors
and distractions are, you can explain ADHD as a condition that affects kids in different ways. For instance, not all kids
with ADHD are hyperactive. Some kids just struggle with inattention. Give the staff specifics on
how ADHD impacts your child. And since ADHD does look
different for every child, let the teachers know what
they're most likely to experience from your child in their classroom. Does your child tend to talk out of turn? Is it hard to get your child back on track when their attention wandered? Is your child very disorganized? If your child has a hard time
controlling their emotions, that's important for
the school to note too. Discuss the current
accommodations in place. Don't assume your child's
teachers know the details of your child's IEP or 504 Plan, especially if the child is
going to a different school. Provide a copy and ask them to
look over the accommodations. Also, make it clear that
you do expect your child to meet the school expectations
with this support in place. Be open to sharing strategies that have and have not worked for your child. If there are strategies or
systems your child has used successfully with teachers in the past, share them, maybe a daily
schedule was helpful, or maybe you gave cues
that help your child notice when it's time to get back on task. Explain why the strategies
were successful. And again, be sure to mention
what hasn't worked too. Teachers may suggest things
that have worked well for other students in their classrooms. They might have ideas on
how to adapt techniques to fit your child's needs,
or to improve strategies that haven't worked for
your child in the past. Again, together, you
can come up with a plan for trying informal
strategies to help your child in the classroom environment. Remember, we are looking
to form a partnership to best help your child. Asking how you can help,
shows that you want to work as a team to make sure
everybody has a good year. It can make them feel supported
and reassure the teachers that you're available for
further communication. Teachers who feel supported maybe more likely to reach out to you before a problem becomes
large and unmanageable. Be sure to work out the
best way to stay in contact. For example, do they prefer
email, text or telephone. Establishing a working
relationship with the school, is the most effective
way to help your child with ADHD to succeed. Again, if you're looking for
tips to help at home too, remember to grab 20
Parenting Tips for ADHD Kids with the link below in the description. If you found this video
helpful, give it a thumbs up, subscribe and share with
a friend or a teacher. Here are some other videos
that you also may find useful. Thank you for watching and
wherever you are in your day, hug your child, and make it a great one.
