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Step 1
Communicate with the child's support system. Establish a regular time to call or email the child's parents to help keep home and school rules consistent and so you can know what's going on in the child's life. If the parents are comfortable, you might also speak to the child's doctors or counselors to gain more insight.
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Step 2
Start positive. Make your first communication with the students and their families positive. Focusing on the student's positive aspects will not only help him grow respectful of you, it will help you grow respectful of him. This will help when a child with ADHD is having a bad day.
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Step 3
Break it down. Break assignments into smaller pieces, such as having a child show you her paper after each set of 10 math problems. Not only will this give her a little break after each group of problems, it will also allow you to give her positive feedback periodically.
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Step 4
Make excuses to move. Students with ADHD need to move around a lot. Instead of constantly reminding him to sit down, give him reasons to move. Send him on errands to other teachers (even if that errand is just to send a blank note) or have him help you move things around the classroom.
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Step 5
Change your expectations. Allow your children with ADHD to complete their work while standing at their desks instead of expecting them to sit. Or have them put up a folder on their desks to block their view of classroom distractions.
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Step 6
Give visual clues. Laminate pictures of the classroom rules and tape them to the students' desks. Create a silent signal you can give to the children to help them remember to focus. Make a chart to help them keep track of positive behaviors.
