Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder - ADHD (Children)

We have listed some tips below on how to help your child with ADHD.

• Have an assigned area to do homework
  Remove clutter from the workspace.
• Keep outings short
  If you know that certain environments are more than what your child can handle, do not expect more than what your child can give.
• Focus on the positive 
  Praise your child often for good behaviours (e.g. "Thank you for keeping your toys"), instead of focusing on negative behaviours.
  
• Positive comments should outnumber negative comments by 2:1, ideally 4:1.
• Try to redirect (not reduce) their behaviours
  To help your child positively use their physical energy, schedule sports classes for your child or allow him or her to fetch things.
• Have a routine at home and familiarise your child with it.
• Have a safe place that they can play in.
• Make your expectations clear and specific
  For instance, say, "walk next to me" rather than "don't run".
• Behaviour charts
  Come to an agreement with your child about a target behaviour and note how often your child can achieve it (e.g. to complete a homework assignment with only two reminders over the course of a week).
• Deal with problem behaviours through a range of graded responses
  Response options may include: ignoring, letting consequences take their natural course (e.g. a toy left out in the rain gets spoilt), explaining logical consequences (e.g. response from the teacher for not doing homework) and imposing timeouts.
• Keep instructions brief and clear
  Make eye contact with your child before giving important information. Repeat your instructions.

We have listed some tips below on how to help a child with ADHD to learn better.

• Sit the child near the teacher's desk, at the front of the class.
  
• Limit copying from the whiteboard.
  
• Place the child away from children who will provoke him or her.
  
• Allow the child opportunities to move around, e.g. to clean the whiteboard or bring books to the teacher.
  
• Maintain eye contact with the child when giving verbal commands.
  
• Give instructions slowly and clearly
  Avoid multiple commands. Ask the child to repeat the instruction before attempting the task.
• A child with attention issue should not be humiliated in front of the class. He or she should instead be frequently praised for appropriate behaviours.
  
• Get the child's attention before giving important instructions.
  
• Encourage the child's strengths, e.g. musical ability, athletic abilities.
  
• Provide a system of record keeping of appropriate behaviours 
  Younger children may respond to sticker rewards and older children can be rewarded with a token system.
• Identify criteria for success and increase expectations consistently.
  
• Have pre-established consequences for misbehaviour
  Focus on loss of privileges rather than physical punishment.

Here are some strategies that teachers may use in classes to help children with ADHD.

• Preview previous lessons before starting a new lesson
  Clearly state the aims of the lesson.

• Provide advance warning before the lesson ends
  E.g. give a warning of 10 minutes before they are due to hand in their work or tell the students how much time they have left to complete their work.

• Tell students how to prepare for the next lesson
  E.g. ask them to come to the front of the classroom for instruction.
  

• Break tasks down into smaller parts/chunks and give sufficient time for completion of each part/chunk.

Children with ADHD can lack the executive functioning skills that would help them organise themselves and multi-task. 60 to 80% of children with ADHD underachieve academically because of problems with work production and consistency.

The tips below may be effective in helping children to stay organised.

• Have a notebook where the children will note down all the homework they have to do.
• Use colour-coded folders to help them organise assignments for different subjects (e.g. red for Maths, orange for English etc.).
• Assign a buddy to help them organise their assignments in the correct folders.
• Teach the children to read a watch and to use the watch to complete assignments on time.
• Allow the children to break up long assignments so that there are scheduled breaks for physical activity.
• Create a timetable and display it where it is easily visible to the children.

Children with attention difficulties or hyperactivity need frequent reminders to reinforce appropriate behaviour and stop inappropriate behaviour.

• Verbal praise
  Praising the children with simple phrases such as "good job" will encourage them to persist in the appropriate behaviour. It is also a good practice to praise them when they are doing well in completing an assigned task.
  

• Reprimands
  Reprimands are effective if they are brief and are directed at the children's behaviour.
  
• Ignoring
  In some instances, it is helpful to ignore the children's behaviour, especially if they are misbehaving to get attention.
  
• Establish simple non-verbal cues
  E.g. by giving the children a "look" as a reminder to refocus on their work.
  
• When talking or teaching the children, move closer to them so that they can focus on you more easily.

Children with ADHD may have low self-esteem and self-confidence. They may have experienced stigma as not everyone believes ADHD is a neuro-behavioural problem. Some people believe that it is the fault of the children or due to poor or bad parenting. Children with ADHD may also suffer from anxiety or depression which may undermine the efforts made to build their confidence.

• Encourage the children to do things where they will experience success
• Encourage and praise them often