How to Teach a Child With ADHD to Follow Directions

Many children have difficulty following directions. For a child with ADHD, this may be one of the hardest things to master. Children with ADHD are often easily distracted and sometimes stop in the middle of one task to do something else that catches their attention. With a lot of patience and understanding, you can help your ADHD child learn to follow instructions and carry out tasks.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Patience
• Understanding that children with ADHD are easily distracted
• Positive attitude

1. Break down large jobs into smaller assignments. Be sure your instructions are clear and easy to understand. Telling a child with ADHD to "clean your room" can confuse and frustrate the child because he does not know where to start. Give your child one instruction at a time. As your child completes each task, give him the next step. Continue until the task is completed.
2. It is very important for a child with ADHD to have a daily routine. Routines are less distracting and the child always knows what to expect. If you child is older and can read, use a checklist. For instance, rather than telling your child to "get ready for school," make a daily checklist of all the tasks he or she needs to complete in order to get ready for school - get out of bed, get dressed, eat breakfast, wash face and hands, brush teeth, get bookbag, go to bus stop. As your child completes a step, she can check that step off the list. This gives your child some direction and keeps her attention on the task at hand.
3. If your child does not read, you can make a checklist using pictures. Take a picture of your child. Take a picture of your child doing each step that is required to get ready for school. Put the pictures in order and have your child turn each picture over as the task is completed.
4. Always be positive. Remember that a child with ADHD is easily distracted. If you give your child a task to complete and he get side-tracked, simply remind him of the task. It is important to understand that he is not intentionally failing to complete the task. A gentle reminder can get the child back on track.
5. Praise your child. It is very important that you praise your child often--not only for completing tasks, but also for making an effort to complete the tasks. If you child fails to complete a task, encourage her to pick up where she left of and get it finished. Be sure to use positive encouragement, and never berate your child for not completing a task. Children with ADHD sometimes need several reminders in order to keep from becoming distracted by other things going on around them.

Tips & Warnings

• Be patient when your child becomes distracted.
• Gentle, positive reminders work better than harsh criticism.
• Give clear, concise instructions that your child can understand one step at a time.
• Never compare your child's performance with the performance of other children.