Adaptive Learning
As we begin a new year, Country Citizens has developed an Adaptive Learning page with the mission to support parents in the education of their children. It is exciting to see that we will have a new administration in 2025 that has plans to Make America Great Again by sweeping out the ineffective and developing a strategic education system. However, when God blesses a marriage with a beautiful child, it then becomes the parents' responsibility to train up a child in the way they should go, rather than relying on a school system or curriculum. Whether you choose to homeschool or advocate for your child's needs within the public education system, there can be behaviors, learning challenges, or development stages that raise questions or concerns. So each month we will discuss adaptations that can be made in your child's learning journey to help them succeed. We will begin the year discussing ADHD and ways to support your child.
WHAT IS ADHD:
ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This condition can affect brain development and function in attention, activity level, and self-control. ADHD includes three groups of behavioral symptoms. Students can struggle with:
-Inattention: struggle to carefully think about, listen to, and watch someone or something
-Hyperactivity: excessive movement or restlessness
-Impulsivity: acting spontaneously or under stress or emotions
​WHAT THIS MAY LOOK LIKE:
The National Resource Center on ADHD’s website (CHADD) lists the symptoms of each type:
Inattentive presentation:
-Fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes
-Has difficulty sustaining attention
-Does not appear to listen
-Struggles to follow through with instructions
-Has difficulty with organization
-Avoids or dislikes tasks requiring sustained mental effort
-Loses things
-Is easily distracted
-Is forgetful in daily activities
Hyperactive-impulsive presentation:
-Fidgets or squirms in chair
-Has difficulty remaining seated
-Runs about or climbs excessively in children; extreme restlessness in adults
-Difficulty engaging in activities quietly
-Acts as if driven by a motor
-Talks excessively
-Blurts out answers before questions have been completed
-Difficulty waiting or taking turns Interrupts or intrudes upon others
EDUCATIONAL ADAPTATIONS:
In my teaching career, I have had the privilege of working with elementary students with a wide range of disabilities. During this time, I have found each student learns at their own pace. There is no “cookie-cutter" student and what accommodation worked for one may not work for another. However, I have noticed that with consistency, clear expectations, and support you will see progress. In working with students with ADHD, I have found that many feel frustrated, defeated, and/or a lack of motivation. Therefore, it is important to find what motivates the student, provide consistent encouragement, and regularly check their level of frustration and allow time for clarification on expectations.
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1. Be consistent in rules and discipline.
2. Keep your own voice quiet and slow.
3. Establish a clear routine. Construct a timetable for waking, eating, play, television, study, chores and bedtime. Slowly your structure will reassure him until he develops his own.
4. Demonstrate new or difficult tasks, using action accompanied by short, clear, quiet explanations. Repeat the demonstration until learned. The memory traces of a hyperactive child take longer to form. Be patient and repeat.
5. Designate a separate room or a part of a room that is his special area. Avoid brilliant colors or complex patterns in decor. Simplicity, solid colors, minimal clutter and a worktable facing a blank wall away from distractions help concentration. A hyperactive child cannot filter overstimulation.
6. Do one thing at a time: Give him one toy from a closed box; clear the table of everything else when coloring; turn off the radio/television when he is doing homework. Multiple stimuli prevent his concentration from focusing on his primary task.
7. Read his pre-explosive warning signals. Quietly intervene to avoid explosions by distracting him or discussing the conflict calmly. Removal from the battle zone to the sanctuary of his room for a few minutes can help.
8. Do not pity, tease, be frightened by or overindulge your child. He has a special condition of the nervous system that is manageable.
9. Openly discuss with your physician any fears you have about the use of medications.
10. Share your successful tips with his teacher. The outlined ways to help your hyperactive child are as important to him as diet and insulin are to a diabetic child.
Here are a few suggestions from a book by Dr. Domeena Renshaw entitled The Hyperactive Child. Focus on the Family states, “Though her book is now out of print, Dr. Renshaw’s advice is still valid” (She was addressing the issues of a boy, but would apply to girls too.)
Dive deeper with understood.org
​Try a simulation to see ADHD through a child’s eyes.
Get answers to common questions about ADHD.
Explore a collection of ADHD personal stories.