How To Deal With ADHD In The Classroom

By William Phillips


Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, abbreviated as ADHD, is a condition of the brain, signaled by a recurrent series of inattention or hyperactivity that negatively disrupts the normal functioning and development of an individual. Educators also deal with students who exhibit symptoms of the disorder, and this has an impact on academic performance in the long run. Understanding ADHD in the Classroom is important, for you can devise measures of mitigating the effects.

A parent with a child who has ADHD feels lonely and neglected, for he or she has to bear the situation alone. Recent research by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that, in the United States, virtually twelve percent of the young persons aged from four to seventeen had been diagnosed to have the disorder.

Typically, inattention, hyperactivity, or an unsteady motor functioning may be observed in a healthy individual, because these are not uncommon occurrences. However, with ADD cases, these conspicuous incidents tend to take on a heightened level. That being said, they become rather severe and tend to occur at a high frequency. In the long term, a person starts to live a low-quality societal life, and that affects their families and careers.

The nature of inattention as exhibited by individuals with ADD is varied but is signaled by ignorance, or a shrug to details, or the tendency to frequently make avoidable mistakes in school work. Moreover, a child often shows reluctance when asked to perform an assignment that calls for high mental engrossment. On the other hand, hyperactivity can is seen when a student causes a commotion in a situation where silence is expected, like in a meeting, or in a classroom setting.

Further research results have indicated that, compared to the students who had no ADHD, those with the disorder showed experienced persistent challenges with their academic work that had an adverse impact on their overall performance. It led to a plunge in their average grade scores, increased cases of school suspensions, or expulsion, high dropout rate. Eventually, all these challenges result to the child failing to complete their education to the required level.

Teachers are specifically the ones who are in constant contact with their students and are often the first parties to determine that a child has the mental condition. A teacher may recommend for diagnostic procedures to be done on a child when the sporadically loses focus after independently concentrating for a while on an assignment. This loss of interest may be elicited by a noise created by a classmate.

In a bid to head off characteristics that distract other students from concentrating in their academic works, devise some warning gestures with the learner who shows signs of ADD. The gestures could be a hand, or shoulder signal, or a sticky paper on their desk. When discussing the case with the student, find a private space to do so.

Alternatively, you may also decide to change the seating arrangement in class to try and accommodate the students, while minimizing unnecessary distractions. Changing the seating plan may simply mean placing a child away from window apertures because outdoor movements make their thoughts wander.




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