Teaching Students with Attention Deficit Disorder Students with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) can be found in nearly every classroom in the United States today. According to a recent study(1), up to 7.5% of all school children have the disorder. In addition to experiencing frequent emotional disruptions, the academic challenges these students face in school can be highly frustrating. Reading comprehension and mathematics are just two of the critical academic areas that can be difficult for ADD students. What Is Attention Deficit Disorder? Attention Deficit Disorder is thought to be a neurological disorder. It is characterized by slower brainwave activity in the frontal regions of the brain, which impacts normal function of neurotransmitters, a critical component of the nervous system. Individuals are born with the condition, and it tends to run in families. Children and teenagers with ADD are often easily distracted, may be impulsive, have difficulty attending to or completing some tasks, and require modifications in the classroom. It is important to remember that ADD students: are no less intelligent than students without the disorder can be forgetful want to be successful can be helped by informed teachers will probably not ask for help How Do I Educate ADD Students? Teaching a student with ADD calls for an understanding of the individual's unique characteristics in order to meet educational needs. Effective teachers employ a wide variety of intervention strategies to accommodate ADD students within their classrooms. However, children and teenagers with ADD are not all alike. No single intervention strategy will serve all students. Consider these relatively simple strategies for helping ADD students to be successful. Teaching Strategies for ADD Students Maintain a low-distractive and non-threatening work environment. Provide a seat near the teacher and/or a seat by a student role model for peer tutoring. Teach in close proximity with a soft voice tone. Eliminate broadcasted sound from computers or other equipment. Praise appropriate behaviors. Teach well-planned and concise lessons. Review prior skills and learning for making connections. Verbalize lesson objectives and behavioral expectations. Identify all necessary materials for the lesson. Provide a lesson outline with key words and concepts prior to the lesson. Utilize multi-sensory presentations. Check for understanding by questioning throughout the lesson. Be prepared to probe for understanding to identify students requiring additional assistance. Alternate between physical and seated activities. Close the lesson with a restatement of lesson goals and objectives. Adapt assignments willingly as necessary. Provide concrete assignments in writing. Break instructions into sequential steps. Model examples, coach, and supervise. Monitor progress carefully on extended projects. Encourage the use of books-on-tape for extended reading assignments. Allow the use of a calculator. Prepare students for transitions. Announce a five- to ten- minute warning that the lesson is about to close. Preview the upcoming lesson and how to begin preparing. Always supervise transitional times. Provide information in advance of any changes in routines. Utilize prompts and instructional tools. Use visual cues and hand signs to enhance communication. Employ egg timers for self-monitoring. Highlight key words on worksheets. Use a pointer to focus attention on lesson components. Teach students to fold or cover worksheets to focus on one aspect at a time. Provide testing and evaluation preparation. Give test specifics in writing prior to the test. Provide a practice test or quiz. Review test design. Allow alternate methods to demonstrate learning. Give support. Frequently praise publicly to encourage positive behaviors and effort. Briefly reprimand directly and privately to redirect. Refrain from sarcasm or criticism. Consistently coach organizational skills, scanning for key information, and using mnemonic devices. Keep parents informed. Look for positives. Accept ADD students. Be flexible. Celebrate successes and achievements. ADD Students Require Appropriate Support Effective teachers employ intervention strategies to foster independence and learning for the ADD students within their classrooms. While interventions are vital, the goal of assisting ADD students is to support without crippling. Therefore, start by choosing the lowest level accommodations possible before moving to higher levels of support. Accommodating ADD students with effective strategies fosters long-term rewards for students. It is worth the extra effort by teachers to help ease frustration, achieve success, and meet educational goals. Read More about Helping ADD Students in the Classroom Attention Deficit Disorder Association Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Educating Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Footnotes: 1. Mayo Clinic research, reported in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, March 2002. This article was contributed by Mollie Crie, an educator with 22 years in the classroom. She currently teaches for Bedford County Schools in Forest, Virginia.