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.

family-safe home cleaners Lincolnshire ..

In The News:

Tired of AI customer service loops? These insider tricks help you escape "frustration AI" and get real human help when you need it most for urgent issues.

Unlock richer audio from your streaming apps with simple tweaks to volume normalization, equalizer settings, and quality preferences for cleaner sound.

Scammers are sending fake Facebook settlement payout emails that mimic legitimate notices from the privacy settlement administrator to deceive users.

Holiday shopping scams surge as fake refund emails target distracted consumers during Black Friday and holiday seasons, costing Americans billions annually.

The AI-powered IRMO M1 exoskeleton features four modes, including turbo, eco, training and rest for hiking, running, cycling and sports with eight-hour battery life.

OpenAI announced upgrades for its ChatGPT Images platform on Tuesday, saying the program can now make more precise edits and produce images more quickly.

Chrome for Android now turns web articles into AI-powered podcast conversations. Get hands-free browsing with Google Gemini's natural audio summaries.

LastPass faces $1.6 million fine from U.K. regulators after 2022 data breach exposed 1.6 million users. Password manager failed proper security controls.

Petco disclosed a data breach exposing customer Social Security numbers, financial account details, and driver's license information due to a software error.

Baseball teams can now analyze complete swing mechanics in normal training environments using Theia's markerless AI system that processes standard high-speed footage.

Smart home hacking fears overblown? Expert reveals real cybersecurity risks and simple protection tips to keep your connected devices safe from hackers.

MIT develops needle-free glucose monitor using light technology. Revolutionary device could replace painful finger pricks for diabetes management.

The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.

Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.

Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.

Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.

Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

Teacher Tips: Your Room Set-Up and ADHD Students

Parenting