Accommadating students with ADD
I know everybody learning abilities are different some hands on , some can read the material and have no problem. How do you effectively step aside and help the ADD student without offending them are other student who may think you showing favortism
Thanks for the suggestions. I have adult students with ADD, and the ideas you all have presented here will be very helpful to them.
Hi Renee,
Good approach in working with hyper students. By having a life time of experience with ADD you know what your students are going through and can assist them with their instructional planning and success. This is a great support to them as they prepare for their careers.
Gary
I am an instructor with ADD so I tend to overcompensate by being hyper organized and offer my class tips and guidance on how to organize their time, notes and offer test taking and study tips that helped me when i was in the same program my students are in now...
as far as disruptive students... you don't have to acknowledge every outburst and if it gets excessive i pull the student aside and tell them i appreciate their eager enthusiasism, but they need to tone it down so others can learn too...
Hi Yvonne,
What a great question! I have ADHD and have always had difficulty learning in an environment where lecture is prevalent. I agree with Gary in that using guided notes, structured outlines and extended time is helpful, without causing disruptions. I also like his suggestion of using study groups and peer tutoring. Due to the fact that I have struggled and had to develop alternative methods of studying and learning, I will usually meet with students outside of normal class hours to understand what difficulties they are having and what methods of learning, if any, they have had success with in the past. If they have a method that helps, I look at it and determine if I incorporate it to help them. Depending on the age of your students, there are websites that might provide you with some insight and direction. One is "The Child Development Institute" (childdevelopmentinfo.com), the other is add-adhs.org. I do believe that we need to help students develop learning and study skills that will help them in future classes, as well as, the one we are teaching. I commend you for your sensitivity to this issue and am confident that you will be a great teacher and advocate for your students.
Hi Yvonne,
I have found that I can provide instructional support to ADD/ADHD students through guided notes, structured outlines and extended time without any disruption of the class. I give the notes and outlines to all of the students so everyone gets the same material, it just that the ADD/ADHD students uses them more.
I also use student learning groups so there can be peer tutoring. This really helps all students but again it really helps the ADD/ADHD student the most.
Gary
