Helping Kids with ADHD Succeed in School: Tips for Parents
Helping Kids with ADHD Succeed in School: Tips for Parents
As the new school year begins, students may already be faced with the challenge of keeping up with assignments, projects, papers, and tests. Staying on top of it all and remaining organized can be a daunting task for any kid, but when your child is someone with Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) it can seem like the deck is stacked against you since the core symptoms affect what we’d traditionally think of as skills required for success with schoolwork. These include the ability to stay focused and concentrate for lengthy periods of time; time management and “chunking” of tasks into time blocks; organization and keeping track of papers; knowing what is due when in what class; and being able to manage all of this information while sitting still and without becoming distracted. Any one of these can feel impossible for a person with AD/HD, let alone the need to synthesize all of these skills to attain overall success!
Luckily, there are some proven strategies that can help kids with AD/HD demonstrate their knowledge and make the grades that truly reflect their potential. First, create a distraction-free environment “work zone” for your child at home, a designated, well-organized space that is free of distraction temptations like smartphones, TV, and the like. For some kids, especially older tweens or teens, they may find music or white noise helpful in the background while they work. For younger kids, it may come down to having a parent sit with them to help them stay on task and not get distracted.
Parents and kids can work together to take the guesswork out of time management by making a schedule of subjects to work/study and breaks to take. For example, 20 minutes of math followed by a 10 minute break, then 30 minutes of reading, then a 5-minute break, then 30 minutes of social studies and science.
Staying organized is a key element of school success and can be a real battle for students with AD/HD. We often forget that in order to make a good grade on an assignment, several things must all come to pass: The assignment must be noted and remembered, the student must understand what needs to be done, the assignment must be completed, and then kept track of to go back to school and be turned in to the teacher. Unfortunately, there are a number of “error points” where an AD/HD student may lose track of an assignment, or fail to turn it in. This is where organizers such as a binder can be useful; you can help your child designate one folder color for work that’s been assigned but not done yet and another for work that’s done and needs to be turned in the next school. You can work with the teacher to have them prompt your student to turn in everything from the “done” folder before leaving school that day. For ongoing support with executive functioning and organizational skills, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help children develop practical coping techniques.
Finally, if the study skill tips above are not quite sufficient for your AD/HD student, there are more intensive options that can include medication treatment to help with focus, or working with the school to develop a formal section 504 plan with accommodations for AD/HD (considered in the “other health impaired” category by federal education law). This can include extra time for tests/assignments, preferential seating, or resource help and tutoring through the school.
Whatever the case may be, we hope everyone is aware that there are a number of resources available to help AD/HD students succeed in school. If you’re concerned about your child’s ability to succeed in school, schedule an appointment with our team today. We’ll work with you to create a plan that supports both your child and your family.