Chapter 2: High-Incidence Disabilities

ADHD is probably the most common disability I encounter in my classroom.  I usually have at least 3 or 4 students who take medicine for ADHD every year.  These students can vary greatly in their academic ability but they share many behavioral traits.  They usually are the children who are up constantly out of their seats, find it difficult to complete tasks, and demonstrate impulsive behaviors.  To accommodate these students, I use chunking to break my lesson into smaller parts so they can understand it and not be overwhelmed with the information.  I also provide frequent breaks to prevent fatigue.  No child likes to sit in their seat for hours, so I try to get the children up and moving as often as I can.  We do a lot of group work and dramatizations to get the students using their bodies.

One area where I feel like I struggle to help my ADHD students is finding a way to curb the impulsivity.  Many times I find that my students understand the material, but when taking tests their impulsive nature takes over and they choose incorrect answers.  This type of behavior is also seen in the way ADHD students interact socially.  It's hard for many of these children to keep friends because they are quick to anger and sometimes act out violently.

I think the best way to help with this weak area is to focus a lot of class time on decision making.  At the beginning of the school year, we act out scenarios and discuss if the people made good or bad decisions.  One lesson on decision making is not enough.  I need to continue to make that a focus in the classroom so that these students are constantly asking themselves, is this a good decision?  You could also take material from the curriculum to integrate decision making skills and content.  For example, when reading a novel or story, students can analyze the decisions made by characters in the book.  Making good decisions is something all students can use, but especially students with ADHD.