Home
>
Parenting
>
Teacher Tips: Your Room Set-Up and ADHD Students

Teacher Tips: Your Room Set-Up and ADHD Students

Thank you to all of our professional educators who dedicate themselves to our children! We know how difficult it can be working with ADHD children, so here are your teacher tips for the week, brought to you by the ADHD Information Library and ADDinSchool.com. You can read over 500 classroom interventions at http://www.addinschool.com.

Right from day one, make clear rules and post them, with logical consequences and with rewards.

Move the ADHD student's desk to where there are fewer distractions. Close to the teacher to monitor and encourage, or near a child who is better able to focus.

Privacy boards can work well, but should never embarrass the child.

Students with attentional problems do better in classrooms with four walls than in an "open pod" arrangement. Open pods allow too many visual and auditory distracters throughout the day.

It is usually better to use of rows for seating arrangement and to try to avoid tables with groups of students. Often the groups are too distracting for the ADHD child.

In the ideal setting, provide tables for specific group projects, and traditional rows for independent work. Of course, we are rarely in an ideal setting.

Every once in a while, try arranging desks in a horseshoe shape to allow for appropriate discussion while permitting independent work.

Your student's desk should be near the teacher (for prompting and redirection), away from other challenging students, and not touching others' desks. However, if you notice that your student looks around a lot to see where noises are coming from, because he is very auditorily distractible, he may benefit from being seated near the rear of the classroom. Experiment with seat location in the front of the classroom (near the board) and instructional area if your student is more visually distracted.

It is important for the teacher to be able to move about the entire room and to have access to all students. Practice "Management By Walking Around" in the classroom. The more personal interaction, the better.

Have all of the distractable students seated nearest to place in the class where you will give directions or lectures. At least as close as possible without being punitive.
To minimize distractions, seat the student away from both the hallway and windows

Keep a portion of the room free of obvious visual and auditory distractions. Have at least a part of the room free from bright, loud, or distracting objects.

Use desk dividers and/or study carrels carefully. Make sure they are used as a "study area option" rather than as a punishment.

Your student will function better when able to anticipate times requiring increased concentration. A visual representation of the day's schedule will provide another opportunity to internalize classroom routine.

Your student tends to lose focus and his activity?level may increase during the day. Therefore, schedule the most demanding attentional tasks in the morning.
In our desire to provide an engaging classroom for students, try to be aware of the auditory and visual distractions present. Attempt to place your student where these would have the least effect.

Seat those really smart and quiet girls next to the ADHD child.

Stand near the student when giving directions or presenting the lesson. Use the student's worksheet as an example.

We know that teachers are neither God to control the weather, nor the janitors to control the thermostats. But as best as you can, provide comfortable lighting and room temperature.

Use individual headphones to play white noise or soft music to block out other auditory distractions. Be sure the music is not too interesting so that it becomes a distraction.
It has become somewhat fashionable to play classical music, or baroque music, quietly in the background while students are working. This may, in fact, actually work.
Provide a quiet, carpeted space in the room as a special study section for independent reading.

Many students often bring their own distractions (toys) from home. Try to make a classroom rule about appropriate time/place to share them with classmates and limit their appearance in the classroom and on the desks. Establishing certain categories for classroom sharing on certain days can limit the number and type of items brought to school and make it more successful for the students.

Douglas Cowan, Psy.D., is a family therapist who has been working with ADHD children and their families since 1986. He is the clinical director of the ADHD Information Library's family of seven web sites, including http://www.addinschool.com, helping over 350,000 parents and teachers learn more about ADHD each year. Dr. Cowan also serves on the Medical Advisory Board of VAXA International of Tampa, FL., is President of the Board of Directors for KAXL 88.3 FM in central California, and is President of NewIdeas.net Incorporated.

car service from Midway Burlington .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare

In The News:

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says a malware app called SpyLend is posing as a financial tool, hitting 100,000-plus downloads.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says Clone Robotics’ Protoclone mimics humans with 1,000 muscles – too human for comfort.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson urges you to use Apple’s App Privacy Report to see what your apps are really up to.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about how to smoothly transfer your data from an old laptop to a new one using cloud storage or external drives.

Kurt the CyberGuy offers tips to safeguard your personal information as scammers become more sophisticated with scam texts and other methods.

WeRide's unmanned electric delivery van, the Robovan W5, has 194 cubic feet of cargo space and can carry payloads up to about 2,205 pounds

Kurt the CyberGuy recommends deleting 16 browser extensions immediately in response to a report saying more than 3.2 million web users were affected by a security breach.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

A robotics firm in China claims a robot has performed the world's first humanoid robot front flip, which is significantly more difficult than a backflip.

A digital ID may be even more secure than a physical ID. Storing your driver's license in your Apple Wallet is an ideal solution for commuters.

A cybersecurity firm has shed some light on just how common tax scams have become. Kurt the CyberGuy offers his advice for how to protect your refund.

Lifesize Plans offers immersive walk-throughs that allow customers the opportunity to tour a home's design before construction actually begins.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

A man invested $4 million in bitcoin and lost it all with a single click when he was targeted by a vishing scam, which uses phone calls to trick people.

Expandable's Touchdown is a designer trailer that promises a luxury off-grid living experience and unfolds into a home in about 15 minutes.

Major employee screening company data breach affects 3.3 million people. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson explains what happened and gives five ways to protect your data.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals mind-blowing tech that gives you sunlight on demand.

New malware "FrigidStealer" targets Mac computers. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson offers four ways to stay safe from infostealer malware.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about how lab-grown muscles power a biohybrid hand for scalable prosthetics and research.

Reports of task scams have significantly risen in the past four years, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Kurt the CyberGuy offers some red flags.

iPhones have a hidden folder that eats up storage without you knowing it. Kurt the CyberGuy offers some tricks to free up storage on your device.

A recent ransomeware attack targeted Zacks, an American investment firm, and a cybercriminal claimed to have stolen records for millions of customers.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Researchers unveiled a new soft prosthetic hand that combines the natural coordination patterns of our fingers with the decoding of motoneuron activity in the spinal column.

Accidentally deleting a text message on your iPhone or iPad is not a problem if you still need the message. Apple has a built-in way to recover it.

Teacher Tips: Your Room Set-Up and ADHD Students

Parenting