This is the home of Katherine West's education column, which discusses strategies for dealing with ADD, giftedness, and other learning issues.

Classroom Tips for Your ADD Child
by Katherine West

I think that our schools are still operating way back in the dark ages. Why do we do research and find out new psychological data and information, yet the teachers and school administrators just stubbornly ignore the statistics, plodding on with business as usual? I do not see the sense in ignoring the statistics and research. School officials are hurting our children with their laziness and closed minds. There is a need for change! When 30 % of children are medicated for ADD, there is a need for change. Many times classroom intervention can help the student to learn without the danger that prescription stimulants like Ritalin bring with it. It is easier to medicate the kids. It is easier to NOT teach our children to cope with their impulses. How will they learn? Yes, I know that schools and institutions and that they are very slow to change, but we as parents need to nudge our schools along!

I feel very passionately about this subject. You are probably asking yourself, "I wonder how this little Miss Know-it-all would change things?" My thirteen-year-old daughter is ADHD. We did the Ritalin. We did the newest drug- Adderal. We finally decided to use interventions. The teachers were not so willing to try this approach. They needed some persuasion. I became her school's worst nightmare. I demanded change! Most people do not like to rock the boat. Most parents want to be that well-liked parent. I think my daughter's education is more important. I have never worried about being popular.

Well, this is how I would start changing things in the schools. By changing the way that first-graders are introduced to elementary school, we will change their attitude toward school. I believe that there should be much more free-roaming and creative play throughout transition from kindergarten to first-grade. I equate the first grade in our current education system to a sort of  'kiddy boot camp'. When I went to kindergarten and first grade in the early seventies- yes, I am that old- it was playtime! We were enamoured with the education system, for it was fun. By the way, I want to thank Professor Welch, my sociology teacher, for that 'kiddy boot camp' analogy. He is so witty!

The first thing I would change in early primary education is the stifling manner in which children are told to sit down, hush up, and do it the teacher's way. By encumbering creativity and originality, the current education system is not the best learning environment for our children. What is taught above all? Do it my way! Follow directions! Conform! This is a very dangerous way to treat our children. We stop their creativity when we do this. We tell them that their unique approach isn't worthy of praise. We push them away.

Since ADD or ADHD is closely related to both Autism and Tourette's Syndrome, there are many things that we can learn from advice doctors and psychologists give those patients also. I have combined a few of these with the interventions listed below. Later in elementary school, I believe there is much that can be done to enrich all children's learning experiences. These are simple interventions that take very little of the teacher's precious time. Some of these are even basic common sense. Here is the list.

A Few Interventions that Work:

1. Use a highlighter. (many ADD children are very right-brained and visual.)
2. Allow movement in the classroom (If there is movement, the kinesthetic learner will thrive)
3. Send the ADD child on errands. (This not only makes the child feel important, boosting self-esteem, but also gives the child many more opportunities for movement.)
4. Interact physically with the child. (A touch on the arm or head can keep his or her attention on task.)
5. Foster a good relationship with the ADD child. (This will make the child try harder.)
6. Refrain from embarrassing the child or disciplining the child in front of his or her peers. (Since the ADD child struggles with peer relationships this is crucial. This will distance the child from you, and increase the teasing that the child must endure)
7. Encourage the child and the child's parents to involve the ADD student in many sports and other activities. Usually, the ADD child thrives in a busy environment.
8. Never discipline ADD behavior, but offer them ways of coping with their impulsive urges.
9. Always discipline non-compliant behavior! This is when the child willfully disobeys rules and limits. (Using positive reinforcement helps, but punishment on the basis of consequences is also effective.
10. Never punish by withholding sports or other school-related activities. The ADD child NEEDS to stay active. A better punishment option is the restriction of TV viewing or computer time. Extra chores is another good discipline tool.
 

We also have a long way to go until we can get an optimum environment for both right-brained and left-brained children. So much of the education system is audio, rather than visual. Even though as high as 65% of students are now right-brained, as opposed to back in the forties and fifties when that percentage was left-brained. Television and the video culture has changed the way we are programmed. We are very visual which is good. We are more creative which is wonderful. Some of us are both right-brained and left-brained equally. Many of us  that are become writers. We can visualize and also hear the story, so it is easier for us to write what we experience.

Also, I feel that there is a need for interventions and modifications for ADHD students, as well as students with other learning disabilities.

I am concerned with the mainstreamed ADD and ADHD children that are capable of average or above average grades.  There currently is not a program to help them succeed in a regular classroom setting. Sadly, these bright kids get lost in the shuffle. While there is adequate help for the severely learning disabled, the average ADD or ADHD child is cast out upon the open tide that we call the education system and left to drift aimlessly.
 
A Few Tips:

11. Use Highlighters (many ADD children are very right-brained and visual)
12. Allow movement in the classroom (If there is movement, the kinesthetic learner will thrive)
13. Send the ADD child on errands. (This not only makes the child feel important, boosting self-esteem, but also gives the child many more opportunities for movement.)
14. Interact physically with the child. (A touch on the arm or head can keep his or her attention on task.)
15. Foster a good relationship with the ADD child. (This will make the child try harder.)
16. Refrain from embarrassing the child or disciplining the child in front of his or her peers. (Since the ADD child struggles with peer relationships this is crucial. This will distance the child from you, and increase the teasing that the child must endure)
17. Encourage the child and the child's parents to involve the ADD student in many sports and other activities. Usually, the ADD child thrives in a busy environment.
18. Never discipline ADD behavior, but offer them ways of coping with their impulsive urges.
19. Always discipline non-compliant behavior! This is when the child willfully disobeys rules and limits. (Using positive reinforcement helps, but punishment on the basis of consequences is also effective.
20. Never punish by withholding sports or other school-related activities. The ADD child NEEDS to stay active. A better punishment option is the restriction of TV viewing or computer time. Extra chores is another good discipline tool.

A simple thing such as a highlighter can make a world of difference in a child's success in the classroom. Something as nondescript as a touch on the arm from a teacher can be the motivation for an inattentive student to stay on task. The best advice to any parent or teacher is be creative! Try new things. Never get so complacent that you think you know it all.

I feel that there should be many of these proven innovations put to use. Still, these and other simple solutions to complex problems go on being ignored. I know that it is difficult to change any type of an institution; however, this would make the teacher's job much less difficult in the grand scheme of things.
Copyright Katherine West 200-2001
 

The #1 Thing that a Parent or Teacher Can Do for an ADD Child
by Katherine West

There are many things that help ADD and/or ADHD children. Some of these tips are educational, emotional, or social in nature. The great thing about advice that helps special needs children is that it is also applicable to ALL children. Whatever helps the learning disabled also aids children that are considered to have normal learning abilities. The truly great thing about the human race is that we are more alike than we are different. Keep in mind that common sense and common kindness go a very long way in both parenting and teaching any child.

What is the best thing that you can do to help you ADD and/or ADHD child in general?

Becoming educated about all symptoms and behaviors of Attention Deficit Disorder and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is the very best gift that you can give to your child. Read every thing that you can on the subject. Search for advocacy groups in your community or online. Also learn the laws pertaining to the disorder and the state school policies. The reason that educating yourself is so important is so what you learn about this disorder will aid you not only in dealing with the learning disabled child, but also in speaking to teachers and school officials with an ease and authority that they will ensure a good response.

How to talk to a school official about additional help for your child:

Sometimes telling a school principal that our child needs to have tutoring or classroom modifications is not enough. Many times the school official replies that there is no funding for this, or they say that there is no way that they can accommodate your child at this time. They give us parents the old brush-off. This is why you must be educated- know what the law is! Know your child's rights. Also know the school system's financial situation too. This will not only gain your respect in the school official's eyes, but it will give you ammunition.

On a recent discussion with my youngest daughter's principal about giftedness training in art, he told me that the school could not afford this help, even if the state identified my daughter as gifted in art he could only allot fifteen minutes of art instruction. What do you think I replied to this?

Your rebuttal can make all the difference:

I told him that not only do the academically gifted children receive in excess of 1 1/2 hours of additional coursework for their giftedness, but they also receive supplies that are funded by the school. (We were asked to buy supplies for Cayli's 15-minute sessions.) I then asked him if any of these students had "proved" their giftedness in ways other than by standardized tests or grades. He then asked me what I meant. He took the bait..

Sales 101:
(This is an old sales trick I learned when I worked for my mother selling life insurance. Baffle your audience with an unassuming question, piquing their curiosity. Then just as they utter the question to clarify that usually goes something like this: "What do you mean?" Then "BAM" you whack them over the head with your best weapon. This changes depending on what you are selling of course. In this case it was my daughter's artistic abilities.)

Many people do not even think that they are selling something on a daily basis, but in reality we always are. Every time you walk into a meeting or even the grocery store, you are selling. What are you selling? Yourself! Any good salesman will tell you that selling yourself is the first step toward any sale. The second step is to know your product. This is where the education about your child's learning disability or gift comes into the picture.

What I replied to her principal- the "BAM" response:

I replied that my daughter had won several art contests, one of, which was a statewide art contest, held by the Governor of Ohio. Her work had previously toured the state for a year. I also informed him that her artwork and computer graphics are currently on display at http://www.rainydaycorner.com, and I invited him to take a look at them. I asked him again if any of the academically gifted children had proved themselves yet. He didn't reply. He said that he would check with her art teacher and get back to me. I thought I had gotten the brush-off, but a few days later I found out that I was wrong.

What he did do what juggle some of Cayli's classes and give her another 45-minute art class in addition to the hour she was already getting in art training. Do you think that he would have done that if I would have uttered a simple, "Oh, ok." in response to his claim that the school was unable to aid my daughter's needs? I don't think so.

Being educated about all the facets of your child's special needs, gifts, disorders, or even just the law can help you to ensure that your child gets a top education. Remember to be persistent, pleasant, and above all, knowledgeable! Education is always the best defense against stupidity and the best offense for success. -Kat
Copyright Katherine West 2001

Other article on giftedness: Is Your Child Gifted?

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