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How can ADHD be managed at schools by special educators?

Managing ADHD at school by special educators

Being a special educator is a task that requires fluidity, adaptability to change, and the will to learn and meet the needs of all the students present in your classroom. Often, being a special educator would mean that you would have to tailor your teaching strategy based on the issues your different students are facing. Teaching children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, commonly abbreviated as ADHD, is also an equal challenge.

Attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is classified as a disability of the developmental kind. Most children struggle with aspects of daily lives due to their ADHD, such as forming close relationships with their classmates, crippling self-doubt or anxiety, and the notion of ‘failing’ at academics.

Students with ADHD often exhibit signs of being inattentive, hyperactive, daydreaming in class, or answering one question with another (and completely unrelated) question. They may also have issues with concentrating on the material at hand even if they are smart or sincere. During group projects, they may not exhibit useful skills, be unable to write or answer long, complicated questions, and even prevent the others in class from doing their work.

If we contrast this behaviour with what a school requires us to do, it is all the opposite. We need to pay attention, sit quietly, write answers, etc.

One can imagine how difficult the school environment would be for students with ADHD then.

In order to create a more safe and inclusive environment for students , it is the job of the teacher to ensure that every child in the classroom benefits from the lesson. To make the school or the class more comfortable with ADHD students, there are many things that you, as a special educator, can do.

Not only can our learning environment be caring, gentle, and calm but also firm, productive, and attentive.

Here are some tips that as a special educator, you can emulate in your classroom to ensure a healthy learning environment for your students.

Beginning a lesson - adhd classroom strategies:

Students with ADHD lack focus and concentration. Some things that you can do to make sure they are focused on the lesson are:

Create a unique signal to start your class, so the students know that this is lesson-time, and not play-time. These signals can be a drum roll, horn, bell, etc.
Make eye contact with your students to reassure them;
Write down all activities that you will be undertaking for a lesson on the board;
Brief the students before you begin teaching about the activities you will be undertaking throughout the lesson;
Inform the students in advance of all the materials they will require for any extra activities they will be doing;

Continuing a lesson for adhd in the classroom:

Ensure that your directions or any instructions you provide are simple;
Make use of a lot of visual aids in the lesson such as charts, 3D models, PPTs, etc.
If you find that the student is getting distracted or is losing focus on the task , use an established cue to remind them to stay focused. These cues can be something like a shoulder tap, a snap of the fingers, or sliding them a note, etc.
Structure the lesson in a way that allows for breaks.
Do not put the students in a spot or bombard them with questions in front of their peers or in front of the entire class.
Include activities in the lesson plan which allow them to release some of their energy in a way that is not disruptive to the class.

Concluding the lesson:

Give a brief summary of important points that the lesson has covered, to revise their concepts.
If there is any homework that needs to be done, repeat your instructions at least twice, and give it to the students in writing too.
Be clear about the learnings from the lesson, and avoid asking broad-ended questions that do not have a clear answer.

Some other considerations that you can make for the comfort of your students with ADHD, are:

Pay close attention to their seats. If you can, have these students sit as close to your desk as possible, or in the front row, to avoid other classroom distractions.
All the instructions should be repeated multiple times so that the students can follow them with ease;
Give a lesson organiser or an outline for note-taking and in-lesson concepts;
Ensure that the classroom is not exposed to loud noises, or distractions or that the students are seated away from windows, traffic noises , etc.
Give shorter tests, instead of long exams, and try not to have a timed exams;
Be flexible in your deadlines for assignments.