Helping Children with ADHD in School

Sunita, a 38-year old housemaker, wishes that if her son’s teachers were more familiar with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), she could have provided better support to him. ADHD has posed a different kind of challenges in front of her son. Especially, things related to his academic performance and social interactions in the school environment got affected badly.

This is true. Not only Sunita, almost all the parents with kids suffering from ADHD face this issue while sending them to school. ADHD in children may act without thinking and have trouble focusing. They may understand what's expected of them, but have trouble following through or completing tasks because they can't sit still, pay attention, or attend to details. The severity of ADHD symptoms can vary widely.

ADHD affects about 10 per cent of school-age kids. Boys are about three times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with it, though it's not understood why.

About half of all kids with symptoms of ADHD have a specific learning disability. The most common learning problems are with reading (such as dyslexia) and handwriting. Although ADHD isn't categorized as a learning disability, its interference with concentration and attention can make it even more difficult for a child to perform well in school.

Because bullies often target students who seem "different," certain health conditions, including ADHD can put kids and teens at higher risk of being bullied. So, the person who can really help children in schools is TEACHERS. While teachers can’t completely cure children of the disorder, they can certainly help them by providing a secure environment. Medical part will be definitely played by a doctor only. ADHD treatment in homeopathy is clinically effective for all types of emotional and psychological problems in kids.

ADHD treatment in homeopathy helps to restore children to their natural state of emotional health and overall well-being, without side-effects. Homeopathy believes in individualized treatment, wherein healing is targeted at the entire child, not just at the specific disorder or illness. 

Putting forward, you don’t need to become a doctor to help children suffering from ADHD symptoms; little understanding of the disorder will give you an idea on how to help them.

Below given are certain pointers on how teachers can help kids with symptoms of ADHD in school:

• Communicate with parents and ask for their help. Keep a daily journal of behavior and progress notes to share with parents.
• Be sensitive to self-esteem issues. Provide feedback to the student in private, and avoid asking the student to perform difficult tasks in front of classmates.
• Reduce distractions by seating the student near you instead of a window.
• Keep instructions clear and brief, breaking down larger tasks into smaller, more manageable pieces.
• Teach the student how to use a scheduling and assignment book. Teach good study skills, including underlining, note-taking, and reading aloud to help with focus and information retention.
• Stay on the lookout for positive behaviors to praise, such as staying seated, not calling out, taking turns, etc.
• Pair the student with a buddy to do an end-of-day checklist so the right books, materials, and other important stuff go home.
• Ask the school counselor, psychologist, or special-ed teacher to help design behavioral programs to address specific problems in the classroom.
• Have brief, regularly scheduled exercise breaks and find opportunities for the student to be active, such as standing while working on assignments or delivering materials to the principal's office.