Organization+~+ADHD+&+Attention+Disorders

Organization ~ ADHD & Attention Disorders

INTRODUCTION Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects an estimated 3 percent to 5 percent of students, and it is characterized by two distinct factors: 1) inattention and 2) hyperactivity-impulsivity. A majority of students—85%--exhibit a combination of inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive behaviors. Common inattentive behaviors for students with ADHD include making careless, developmentally inconsistent mistakes, failure to listen, sustain attention, complete tasks, and stay organized. Typical hyperactive behaviors include fidgeting or squirming, trouble remaining seated, inappropriate running and/or climbing, difficulty playing quietly, and a general tendency to talk too much. The most common impulsive behaviors for students with ADHD include blurting out answer and difficultly wait for his/his turn. Although educators often notice inattentive and/or hyperactive-impulsive behaviors in students, an ADHD diagnosis requires that these characteristics be present in two settings. Signs must also surface before the age of 7 for an ADHD diagnosis.

MATERIALS FOR IN-CLASS PRESENTATION, Nov 17, 2009

Mini-whiteboards displaying each sentence of this following paragraph:

Mr. Cartwright has 4 minutes to tell you about the ways he would make accommodations for his students with ADHD during a lesson on the organization of a paragraph. He’ll focus on putting ideas into chronological order. First, he will bring his students with vision problems and distractibility problems (i.e., those with ADHD) to their pre-assigned spots on the floor in front. Then, he will call on his “Paper Passers” to distribute the handout to all students. After all students have their papers and pens ready, he will discuss the schedule for the lesson and talk about the importance of putting our ideas into chronological order.

LESSON PLAN 8:00 AM – 8:01 AM Discuss schedule. 8:01 AM – 8:05 AM Discuss importance of organizing our ideas; have students discriminate between a poorly organized paragraph and a well-organized paragraph. 8:05 AM – 8:15 AM Introduction of the key components of a paragraph that is well-organized with regard to chronological order of ideas. 8:15 AM – 8:25 AM Introduction of student assignment; have students brainstorm things they do to get ready for school in the morning; make a bulleted list of all student ideas using laptop and projector. 8:25 AM – 8:28 AM Assign one idea per table group; have students write their idea in big print on their group’s mini-whiteboard 8:28 AM – 8:35 AM Invite group spokespersons to come the front with whiteboards; have students face the class while the seated students coach the whiteboard holders into the correct chronological order for their idea; confirm order. 8:35 AM – 8:40 AM Have students generate ideas that would be different for getting ready for a big trip; call on students to share ideas; record on a separate bulleted list. 8:40 AM – 8:55 AM Direct students to create their own paragraph describing their routine before leaving on a big trip. Lots of interaction. Use of cold-calling to keep all students on their toes and engaged with the lesson. Frequent shifts in activities. Activities interspersed with instruction. Demonstration as well as direct instruction.
 * Objective ** : Students will organize the ideas of their paragraph into chronological order.
 * Assessment ** : Students will write a one-paragraph story, “What I do to get ready for a trip.”
 * Schedule: **
 * Supports for Attention: **

DISCUSSION A key characteristic of ADHD lies in the child/student’s difficulty with behavioral inhibition. Students often find it challenging to wait their turn. Additionally, these students tend to interrupt conversations and find it hard to resist potential distractions. Furthermore, they find it difficult to stay focused on tasks that require effort but that are not inherently exciting. In the next paragraph, I will discuss what I have done for my students with ADHD in my actual classroom. After that, I will touch on the key factors and accommodations I considered when designing a lesson to meet the needs of students with ADHD--call it my idealized classroom—while also weaving in some discussion of the factors at play in my actual classroom.

In my own classroom, I have two students with ADHD, both of whom also fall into the category of students with LD. Of the accommodations I outlined above and incorporated into my lesson plan that facilitate learning for students with ADHD, I have to admit that I haven’t incorporated them all on a daily basis. While I do in fact have special front row, floor seating for these students, and I do in fact allow them to get up and move around more freely than other students, I haven’t gotten in the habit of posting period-by-period agendas. I know that my macro schedule for the day doesn’t suffice for the these students, but I also don’t want to run the risk of proposing a schedule that I rarely follow, given my continual poor allocation of time slots.

In an ideal classroom, **a down-to-the-minute schedule would always be posted** **on the board //and// on the students’ desks.** This helps students with ADHD specifically because with their difficulty learning rules and routines comes a tremendous need for structure. Another key component of a well-differentiated lesson is **brevity and clarity of the key points**. Information should always presented in chunks. At the same time, it is okay and in fact beneficial to **intersperse activities throughout the lesson** rather than following the mold of first presenting the material and then practicing/demonstrating learned knowledge or skills.

It is important to provide students with ADHD with a true learning environment. For them, that means **giving them a seat (or spot on the floor) that minimizes distractions**. Since the students have difficulty staying seat, and spot on the floor where they can sprawl out, or an exit row seat where they can stand and stretch frequently, may be ideal. Alternatively, non-stationary seats can be purchased that require constant physical input to remain upright—these can be a good way for students to stay active while promoting attentiveness.

To circle back onto the planning aspect of a lesson, I have found that it is incredibly important to **delineate between each new section of the lesson as it is it presented**. Specifically, it is very helpful to students with ADHD to know that what the teacher is saying is linked to one facet of the lesson or another—new material presentation, description of in-class activity, directions for the independent activity, guidelines for homework, etc. So, just because you may have laid out a precise schedule and discussed it at the beginning of the lesson, does not mean students will know what is being presented to them at each step of the way. To combat any misunderstandings, don’t shy away from saying something as simple as, “now I am going to give the instructions for the in-class activity that we will all take part in,” while also pointing to the reference point on the schedule (students needing the extra structure can use a mini-schedule posted on their desk).

Sources:

Rooney, K.J. Teaching students with attention disorders. //Intervention in School and Clinic//, 30(4), 221-225.

Vaughn, Sharon, Candace S. Bos and Jeanna Shay Schumm. //Teaching: Exceptional, Diverse, and At-Risk Students// //in the General Education Classroom. 3rd edition//. 2003, Pearson Education, Inc.