The little troublemaker that is every teacher's predicament is perhaps the edgy ADHD in the classroom. He is the one who exhibits the complete opposite of what classroom structure desires to achieve.
In the classroom, a student should sit still, but our troublemaker fidgets; he should pay attention, but he is elsewhere in his thoughts; he needs to listen quietly, but he bursts out in inconsequential chatter; and he must follow instructions, but he always ends up lost and frustrated. This child does the exact opposite of what is required of him, not because he is being difficult but because his behavioral disorder does not allow him to act like a well-behaved ordinary student.
Unfortunately, on top of the erratic behavioral impulses of the student with ADHD in the classroom, teachers may unknowingly do the following mistakes to aggravate such behavior:
1. Seating the ADHD student as far away as possible from the teacher's table to avoid interruption.
2. Seating the ADHD student near the window to allow him to entertain himself with the view.
3. Starting the day with the easiest material and progressing in level of difficulty throughout the day.
4. Not using visual aids, pictures and colors to illustrate the lesson.
5. Relying on long lectures without writing outlines for note taking.
6. Giving long quizzes rather than shorter ones.
7. Trusting that the ADHD student will develop organizational skills on his own.
The ADHD student in the classroom should be seated near the teacher's desk as much as possible. His proximity with the person of authority and lack of distraction will motivate him to exert more effort in paying attention, also this will allow the teacher to monitor the student's behavior and immediately call his attention back to the lesson.
The ADHD student has extremely short attention span. Thus, lessons must not be progressively difficult, rather the most difficult lesson should be taken up in the morning while his attention is at its peak and progress to the more simple ones throughout the day to minimize his frustration in trying to understand the lessons.
The teacher must also ensure to provide outlines for note taking to assist and make it easier for the ADHD student. Moreover, shorter quizzes are recommended for ADHD student because this involves shorter coverage and will give him a better chance in performing better.
An ADHD in the classroom can indeed prove challenging to a teacher. Indeed, the teacher is placed in the catch-22 of frustration and fulfillment. Howerver, a teacher's position in the classroom provides her the best opportunity to help alleviate the behavioral disorder of her ADHD student.
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