Wednesday 28 June 2017

Classroom And Environmental Accommodations For ADHD

By Ryan McDonald


Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder affects about three to five percent of the population. With its rampant nature, almost every teacher is likely to encounter it at one point in life. This calls for tactics on classroom and environmental accommodations for ADHD. This will help you deal with instances of disruptive behaviors like leaving the seat, calling out and interrupting activities.

To make classroom learning easier, these students should sit close to the teacher. Keep them away from disruptive environments like doors and windows. Create more spaces between desks and ensure that the teacher is close to the student when teaching. Seat cushions, foot rests and resistant bands, among others should be provided to assist such students to improve focus.

Assignments are part of the education system. Because of the limitations in the level of assistance that can be provided by the teacher, the questions should be fewer and broken down into simple sentences. The exam environment should be quiet and more time provided to such a student to complete the exam. Such intervention as loud answers and filling answers on question paper are welcome.

ADHD students will be disadvantaged if education and examination rules are too strict. They need a lot of assistance in the learning process. For instance, paying attention to neatness during examination will lead to total failure. Other than focus on the answer, attention should be on effort and attempt at working out the question. Do not be mad when the paper is turned in late or partially complete. Such students have a short concentration span and thus are unable to handle long assignments.

The classroom environment is crucial in determining how well a student grasps the content. Though the instructions are written on scripts, they should be read out loud. The use of pictures and images makes instructions easier to understand. It helps if a buddy of the student can take the notes on his behalf. Constantly check on the student to ensure that he or she understood the lesson. Simplify and clarify the instructions if your student is struggling.

The behaviors of these students will be out of ordinary. To accommodate their shortcomings, you should reward them using a behavior plan. Do not shout at the student. Rather, use a one-on-one approach to deal with behavioral challenges. Monitor whether your student is experiencing frustrations and ignore some acts as long as they are not disruptive.

Tests are likely to disadvantage an ADHD student. Make provisions for extended time to accommodate distractions. The assignments or tests should be spaced so that the student does not feel overwhelmed. Allow verbatim scripting alongside assistive devices like voice to text software, spellcheckers, reference charts and calculators, among others.

ADHD is impossible to treat. The interventions and medicines available are only meant to manage symptoms and improve the functioning of such students or staff. Some of these intervention measures include medication, training, education, physiotherapy or a combination of these interventions. Remember that the symptoms may vary from one person to the other. Attention to individual condition allows such a person to achieve full potential.




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