Teaching a child with ADHD is difficult. Parenting that child is even more difficult and being that child is the most difficult. It is important to remember, first of all, that the child is not choosing to misbehave or be inattentive. In fact, the very act of focusing or attending to a task may be nearly impossible for the child.
A child with ADHD has trouble focusing. When told to go pack his backpack at the end of the day, he may get lost and find himself over by the pencil sharpener, not sure what he was supposed to do or where he was supposed to be going. This same child may have trouble writing down assignments, completing a simple task or following a class lesson while the girl behind him keeps tapping her pencil on her desk.
Ironically, this same child with ADHD probably does not have trouble focusing in some areas of life. Video games may hold his attention for hours on end without taking a break. This does not lessen the validity of his disability, though, as this is what Dr. Phelan calls a high interest activity.
To jump into the mind of the child with ADHD a teacher has to attend to every sound around her at the same time. She has to also plan dinner, think about what she will do after dinner and day-dream about going for a walk in the woods at the same time. There is so much going on in the head of the child with ADHD and the ability to shut out some thoughts is simply not there.
Remembering this when working with a student who struggles with ADHD may help the teacher have a little more patience. Read some tips for working with students who have Adhd.
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