Blooming Early Years

Students with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can have a hard time focusing in class. They might also have trouble remembering directions or act impulsively even if they know the rules. However, there are effective and impactful strategies for teaching kids with ADHD to make all students thrive in your classroom.

Teaching kids with ADHD can be challenging but rewarding. These children have unique needs that require creative strategies. Your child’s teacher is your partner in a fair and equitable education, but does he/she have the ADHD tools she needs?

With the right tools, you can help them shine and succeed. In this article, we will explore effective strategies for teaching kids with ADHD. These tips will make learning fun and manageable for them.

The strategies for teaching kids with ADHD in this article will help all students, even those with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) learn to the best of their ability in any classroom.  Let’s move on and learn how to support your child’s success!

Why are these Strategies for Teaching Kids with ADHD Important?

These strategies for teaching kids with ADHD are very important because they address their unique learning challenges. Kids with ADHD often struggle to focus and stay organized. Without proper support, they might feel frustrated and fall behind in school.

Using effective strategies helps them stay on track and feel confident. These techniques create a positive learning environment, which is essential for their success. With the right approach, you can reduce distractions and encourage better focus.

Additionally, these strategies teach life skills like time management and problem-solving. They are not only helpful in school but also in daily life. When kids feel supported, they are more likely to enjoy learning and reach their potential.

By using these strategies for teaching kids with ADHD, you can make a lasting difference in their academic and personal growth.

Effective and Key Strategies for Teaching Kids with ADHD

Parents, is your child’s teacher doing everything possible to support learning? Teachers often dictate the success or failure of a child’s education — particularly if that child has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD).

Next to parents, teachers are the most influential people in a student’s life. The best teacher will develop ADHD strategies to show students that they are capable and worthwhile.

Here are some strategies for teaching kids with ADHD that work to establish a supportive, structured classroom that will encourage learning, enforce discipline, and boost self-esteem.

A. How Schools can Devise Effective Strategies for Teaching Kids with ADHD‎

Did you know?‎

“Parents report that only about 1 in 3 children with ADHD receive behavioral classroom management.”

There are some school-based management strategies for teaching kids with ADHD shown to be effective:

1. Behavioral Classroom Management

The behavioral classroom management approach encourages a student’s positive behaviors in the classroom, through a reward system or a daily report card, and discourages their negative behaviors.

This teacher-led approach has been shown to influence student behavior constructively, increasing academic engagement. Although tested mostly in elementary schools, behavioral classroom management has been shown to work for students of all ages.

2. Organizational Training

Organizational training teaches children time management, planning skills, and ways to keep school materials organized to optimize student learning and reduce distractions. This management strategy has been tested with children and adolescents.

What kind of teaching and supporting positive behavior‎ does this management strategy require? These two management strategies require trained staff, including teachers, counselors, or school psychologists to follow a specific plan to teach and support positive behavior.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that the school environment, program, or placement is a part of any ADHD treatment plan.

AAP also recommends teacher-administered behavior therapy as a treatment for school-aged children with ADHD. You can talk to your child’s healthcare provider and teachers about working together to support your child.

What You Can D0:‎

• Assign work that suits the student’s skill level: Students with ADHD will avoid classwork that is too difficult or too long.
• Offer choices: Children with ADHD who are given choices for completing an activity produce more work, are more compliant, and act less negatively. Establish, for instance, a list of 15 activity choices for practicing spelling words like writing words on flashcards, using them in a sentence, or air-writing words.
• Provide visual reminders: Students with ADHD respond well to visual cues and examples. For instance, demonstrate a skill like essay writing on an overhead projector or the board. When children get to their independent work, leave key points about a topic visible on the board. Post important concepts the children will use again and again on brightly colored poster boards around the room.
• Increase active class participation: Group strategies include asking students to write their answers on dry-erase whiteboards and showing them to the teacher, asking students to answer questions in unison (choral response), having students give a thumbs up or down if the answer to the question is yes or no — a level palm if they don’t know the answer. Paired learning is also effective. Have students work through a problem in a group and discuss it for maximized understanding.
• Encourage hands-on learning: Create learning opportunities where children experience things first-hand. Have students write and act out a play, record an assignment on videotape, or take apart and put together a model of a miniature eyeball when studying the human body.

B. Special Education Services and Accommodations

Most children with ADHD receive some school services, such as special education services and accommodations. Two laws govern special services and accommodations for children with disabilities which are:

• The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Learn more about IDEA vs Section 504

The support a child with ADHD receives at school will depend on whether they meet the eligibility requirements for one of two federal plans funded by IDEA and Section 504.

What are the Main Differences between an IEP and a 504 Plan?‎

• IEPs: Provide individualized special education services to meet the unique needs of the child and are governed under the Federal law known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
• 504 Plan: Provides services and changes to the learning environment to meet the needs of the child as adequately as other students and is part of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Find out more about IEP and 504 Plans.

What You Can D0:‎

• Post classroom rules for students with and without ADHD: With input from students, establish short, simple classroom rules. State them in positive terms that convey what you want students to do.
  • For example, instead of saying: “No loud talking when you come into class,” say, “When you come into class, check the assignment on the board and start working quietly.” Or, “Sit down first and then you may talk quietly with your neighbor until I start teaching.”
• Establish classroom routines: This will help students with ADHD stay on task. Routines for all students can include: homework always being written on the board, “row captains” checking to see that assignments are written and that completed work is picked up, etc. Students with ADHD can check in with the classroom aide at the end of the day to make sure they understand the homework assignment and what’s required of them.
• Give appropriate supervision to ADHD students: Children with ADHD require more supervision than their peers because of their delayed maturity, forgetfulness, distractibility, and disorganization. Help these students by pairing them with classmates who can remind them of homework and classwork, using student partners to team up on a project, and involving classroom aides as much as you can during and after class.

C. Accommodations

IEPs and 504 Plans can offer accommodations for students to help them manage their ADHD, including the following:

• Extra time on tests.
• Instruction and assignments are tailored to the child.
• Positive reinforcement and feedback.
• Using technology to assist with tasks.
• Allowing breaks or time to move around.
• Changes to the environment to limit distraction.
• Extra help with staying organized.

Did you know?‎

“Parents of children with ADHD report receiving more services through an IEP than through a 504 plan.”

There is limited information about which types of accommodations are effective for children with ADHD. However, there is evidence that setting clear expectations, providing immediate positive feedback, and communicating daily with parents through a daily report card can help.

What You Can Do:

Some students with ADHD may need school accommodations to address academic challenges. Make sure they get them. Some accommodations can be as easy as monitoring the student’s work and developing a plan to help him not fall behind and even accepting the occasional late assignment — this can give the student confidence and get her back on track.

Other common ADHD accommodations include:

• Extended time on tests
• Shortened assignments
• Instruction in note-taking or designating a class notetaker
• Segmented assignments for long-term projects (with separate due dates and grades).

The Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) makes the following recommendations for accommodations:

• Reduce potential distractions: Always seat students who have problems with focus near the source of instruction and/or stand near the student when giving instructions to help the student by reducing barriers and distractions between him and the lesson. Always seat this student in a low-distraction work area in the classroom.
• Use positive peer models: Encourage the student to sit near positive role models to ease the distractions from other students with challenging or diverting behaviors.
• Prepare for transitions: Remind the student about what is coming next (next class, recess, time for a different book, etc.). For special events like field trips or other activities, be sure to give plenty of advance notice and reminders. Help the student in preparing for the end of the day and going home, supervise the student’s book bag for necessary items needed for homework.
• Allow for Movement: Allow the student to move around or fidget, preferably by creating reasons for the movement. Provide opportunities for physical action — do an errand, wash the blackboard, get a drink of water, go to the bathroom, etc. If this is not practical, then permit the student to play with small objects kept in their desks that can be manipulated quietly, such as a soft squeeze ball, if it isn’t too distracting.
• Let the children play: Recess can promote focus in children with ADHD so don’t use it as a time to make up missed schoolwork or as punishment, as you might for other students.

D. What Teachers and School Administrators can Do to Help

For teachers, helping children manage their ADHD symptoms can present a challenge. Most children with ADHD are not enrolled in special education classes but do need extra assistance daily.

Helping Students with ADHD‎

Positive discipline practices at school can help make school routines more predictable and achievable for children. Children with ADHD benefit when schools use positive rather than punitive disciplinary strategies.

Close collaboration between the school, parents, and healthcare providers will help ensure the child gets the right support. Here are some tips for classroom success:

1. Communication

• Give frequent feedback and attention to positive behavior.
• Be sensitive to the influence of ADHD on emotions, such as self-esteem issues or difficulty regulating feelings.
• Provide extra warnings before transitions and changes in routines.
• Understand that children with ADHD may become deeply absorbed in activities that interest them (hyper-focus) and may need extra assistance shifting their attention.

2. Assignments and Tasks

• Make assignments clear—check with the students to see if they understand what they need to do.
• Provide choices to show mastery (for example, let the student choose among written essays, oral reports, online quizzes, or hands-on projects.
• Make sure assignments are not long and repetitive. Shorter assignments that provide a little challenge without being too hard may work well.
• Allow breaks—for children with ADHD, paying attention takes extra effort and can be very tiring.
• Allow time to move and exercise.
• Minimize distractions in the classroom.
• Use organizational tools, such as a homework folder, to limit the number of things the child has to track.

3. Develop a Plan that Fits the Child

• Observe and talk with the student about what helps or distracts them (for example, fidget tools, limiting eye contact when listening, background music, or moving while learning can be beneficial or distracting, depending on the child).
• Communicate with parents regularly.
• Involve the school counselor or psychologist.

4. Partner with Parents

For best results, teachers must partner with the parents to ensure that their child is ready to learn in the classroom. Here are some guidelines to share with the parents of your students with ADHD:

• Communicate regularly with the teacher about problems.
• See that your child’s ADHD medication is working effectively at school and during homework sessions.
• Help your child organize papers for evening homework and prepare for the next school day.
• Watch your child put completed homework in the proper folder.
• Monitor completion of work in the classes that he is in danger of failing.
• Save all completed homework until the semester is over.
• Talk with the teacher about using a daily or weekly report, if needed.

Extra Strategies for Teaching Kids with ADHD

1. Give Transition Warnings

ADHD can make it hard for students to transition from one activity to another. Giving advance notice can help students switch gears and be prepared for what’s next.

One way to do this is by using nonverbal signals. As one example, you can tell students you’ll tap on their desk as a sign that you’ll call on them next.

2. Give Feedback with Respectful Redirection

Since kids with ADHD can have trouble managing emotions, it helps to give feedback that’s immediate, calm, and concise.

Respectful redirection is a positive behavior strategy you can use to give in-the-moment feedback without making a big deal of it. Address the issue with the student as quickly and as privately as possible.

Learn how to use respectful redirection.

3. Break Directions into Chunks

Students with ADHD can have trouble following multi-step directions. One way to help is to break down directions into manageable chunks. This may take a little more of your time at the start of an activity. But it will save you and your students time, confusion, and frustration in the end.

Imagine that you’re giving students class time to work on ongoing art projects. First, you could review the purpose of the project. Then go over the materials list and give students time to take them out. Once you’ve checked that all students have their materials, give clear instructions for how to continue working on the project.

Share with families how they can break down assignments at home.

4. Set a Timer

Knowing there’s a limit to how long an activity will last can make it easier for students with ADHD to stay engaged. You can use a timer to show the time left in an activity or how much time until a break. Timers can also warn students about transitions.

Try projecting a physical timer on your document camera. Or use one of the many free classroom timers you can find online.

Keep in mind that timers can make some students nervous. If you have anxious students, try a different strategy.

5. Use Checklists and Schedules

Time management and organization can be challenging for students with ADHD. They may have a hard time getting to class or finishing tasks on time. Or they may have trouble finding materials in their backpacks, lockers, or desks.

Schedules and checklists can help students get organized. You can also send home these organization printables so families can help their kids get organized.

6. Take Brain Breaks

Sitting still for long periods can be hard for students with ADHD. Brain breaks can help by switching up what they’re doing for a few minutes.

Brain breaks are quick, structured breaks using physical movement, mindfulness exercises, or sensory activities. Movement breaks like stretching give students a chance to get up and move around. Relaxing brain breaks like deep breathing can help calm students and allow their minds to settle enough to shift focus.

Explore different kinds of brain breaks.

7. Use Wait Time

Students with ADHD sometimes rush to answer a question or say the very first thing that comes to mind. Wait time, or “think time,” is a strategy that helps students with ADHD and those who need more time to process information.

With wait time, you ask a question and then pause for three to seven seconds before taking responses. This pause helps students think about their answers before sharing. And when students see that wait time is a part of your routine, they’ll know they don’t have to rush to give a response.

8. Teach with Empathy

Remember, students with ADHD don’t mean to misbehave or get distracted. They’re often trying as hard as they can to pay attention or stay organized. But ADHD can make it harder for them. When you keep this in mind and approach your students with empathy, you can help them feel understood and supported.

More information for Teachers and School Administrators

CHADD’s National Resource Center on ADHD provides information for teachers and educators from experts on how to help students with ADHD in the classroom.

E. Parent Education and Support

How to Best Advocate for your Child‎

As a parent, you are your child’s best advocate. Being aware of what you can do to ensure that your child receives needed services and accommodations is an important step in helping to advocate for your child.

A parent’s support in education is essential for a child’s growth and development.

What Every Parent Should Know

• School support and services are regulated by laws. The U.S. Department of Education has developed a “Know your rights” letter for parents, a resource guide for educators to help educators, families, students, and other interested groups better understand how these laws apply to students with ADHD so that they can get the services and education they need to be successful.
• Healthcare providers also play an important part in collaborating with schools to help children get the special services they need.

What You Need to Do

Focus on the Positive

• Establish a positive relationship with students who have ADHD: Greet them by name as they enter the classroom or when calling on them in class. Create a class bulletin board for posting students’ academic and extracurricular interests, photographs, artwork, and/or accomplishments.
• Provide frequent, positive feedback: Students with ADHD respond best to immediate feedback. Use positive praise, such as “You’re doing a great job” or “Now you’ve got it.” If a student’s answer is incorrect, say, “Let’s talk this through” or “Does that sound right to you?”
• Ask questions rather than reprimand: If the student misbehaves, in class, ask, “Is that a good choice or a bad choice?” The student will get the message that his behavior is inappropriate.

To meet the needs of children with ADHD, schools may offer:

• ADHD treatments, such as behavioral classroom management or organizational training;
• Special education services; or
• Accommodations to lessen the effect of ADHD on their learning.

Also, measures can be taken to help students who have ADHD succeed in the classroom.

The CDC funds the National Resource Center on ADHD (NRC), a program of Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD). The NRC provides resources, information, and advice for parents on how to help their child. Learn more about their services.

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience more obstacles in their path to success than the average student. Therefore, teachers and parents are really critical in the means for devising effective strategies for kids with ADHD to do well in school.

Key Takeaways

• Some ADHD strategies take extra time to set up, but they save time in the end.

• Not all strategies work for all students. so, you have to work with your students to find the strategies that work best.

• Families can use some of these same ADHD strategies at home.