ADHD Child? A Letter for their Teacher |
Do you have an ADD child going to school this year? The following is a standard letter given to many teachers by the parents of ADD children. Although teachers are learning more and more lately about ADD, many are not familiar with the disorder and could benefit from reading this. Please feel free to copy. My son has ADD and I give this letter to his teacher at the beginning of each year. It has always helped us begin a successful, open relationship that has benefited my child's education.
Dear Teacher,
I would like to talk to you about my child and the coming school year. First I want to brag about him. He is bright, fun-loving, and energetic. Nevertheless, to be honest with you, you may not admire these qualities in the classroom.
Although he is bright, he may not finish his assignments. And even though he "knows" the material, he may still fail a test. He is bright alright but he may not remember where he put his book or pencil. He is chaotic in his approach and is disorganized. He is the kid who won't raise his hand, and will blurt out the answer before you finish the question. One day he might zip through his work, and get everything right, and the next day he may be so bogged down that he might not even try, or his work will be messy.
His fun-loving attitude causes him to be disruptive in class. He may say and do things without thinking. He might not get along with his classmates. His behavior is not age appropriate. His fun-loving may cause his classmates to reject him, ostracize him or tease him. He has this "get it over with" attitude, and rushes through assignments. He will go from one activity to another, he might complain of being tired and then when something he is interested in is presented, suddenly his focus will sharpen and he is right on target.
He is energetic and will not sit still. He will get up and sharpen his pencil a hundred times. He will fly his pencil through the air like an airplane, or pick a hole in his sock with it. He describes himself as "not sitting still, even when I am sitting still." He gets too excited over things and may overreact. He may have a hard time calming down after gym or lunch. Ask him what the rules are and he can tell you what they are, but he may not always follow them - he is so impulsive.
You see, he has a problem, a neurologically based problem, known as Attention Deficit Disorder. Statistics say that there is one child in every classroom who experiences symptoms of this Disorder. This year my child is the ADD child who is in your class. His ADD affects his behavior and learning. He is a challenge to both his parents and teacher.
This year can be successful if both you and I plan for his success. If we recognize ADD as a problem and understand how it causes him specific problems, we can plan strategies and interventions. Fortunatly we do not have to do this job alone. There are professionals who can help us. The pediatricians, psychologists, special educators and you and I can form a team to address my child's problem. We can help each other and share what has and has not worked. We will have to make new plans.
My child is a child with a "disorder". Nevertheless, from what I have learned about ADD, with appropriate home and school accommodations, my child can overcome his disability and become an adult who achieves his potential and contributes to society. However, we have to plan for his success today.
I would like to thank you for reading this. Please feel free to contact me about my child. I have also enclosed some basic ideas for teaching ADD children.
Guidelines for Teaching the ADD Child......
- Communication between parent and teacher is vital for the child's success. Daily notes are a good idea.
- Structure, routine and organization provide a predictable learning environment.
- Post rules, state rules, enforce rules, keeping rules, few, important and to the point. ADD kids need to be informed of even obvious rules. ADD children often miss the obvious.
- Seat the child in an area of the class that has the least distractions, away from open doors, windows, out of frequent traffic routes. Seat as close to where the teacher most often stands as possible, seat with well behaved peers.
- Set the precedent of acceptance and tolerance of the ADD child to foster class acceptance and the child's self-acceptance.
- Nothing improves the ADD child's attention more than praise.
- Alternate in-seat activities with out-of-seat activities. ADD children love to be helpers. Running an errand for you, helping to pass out papers, etc., helps release some of the tension he has held in while seated.
- Involve child in class discussions to help focus his attention. Frequent eye contact, a gentle touch, a secret code; all are ways to communicate discreetly for him to focus on work, or to positively reinforce a time of "on task behavior".
- Write home work assignments in the same place on the board every day. Check the ADD child to make sure he got it down correctly. Homework assignments may have to be adjusted.
- Be aware of when/if the child receives his medication, if it is not long acting, you can expect an increase in behavior as the medication wears off, three to four hours after it was administered. Report any changes to parents. Since many ADD children do not take medications on weekends and holidays, your observations are vital to ensure the child is on the right dosage and that we are giving it at the best time of day for our child.
- ADD children need frequent, positive feedback.
- Break up work, assignments and directions into steps.
- Ask assistance from parents and school support staff to work on specific problems.
