Adapting Education for the ADHD Student

Students with ADHD often find it difficult to function in a traditional classroom.  Many people believe that medicating these students is the right answer, but the reality is that medication is a decision for each family, and their physician.  This is not an issue that can be controlled within the classroom. Beyond medication there are a number of things that will help students with ADHD succeed in school.
ADHD students, maybe more than “normal” students, need to have a stimulating curriculum.  Having an ADHD diagnosis does not really mean that the child cannot concentrate.  Parents often tell stories of how the child finds an interest and will spend untold hours researching or enjoying that interest.  The problem is not that they can’t concentrate; it is that they need to be enticed to concentrate.  If the schoolwork is boring, there is no chance of engaging the student.  Many children who suffer with attention deficit need curriculum that is made for them, something that moves fast, is colorful, and engaging. A computer based or online curriculum can be a good alternative to more common book based curricula because it allows the student to move at their own pace. Additionally, online course work can be done with headphones on which can limit the amount of outside audio distraction the student has to filter out.
Another tip to help with concentration is to allow the ADHD student to fidget or play with a small toy as they are taught.  This seems like it is counterproductive since most students need to apply all of their attention to the teaching that is being done.  For a student who has difficulty focusing the toy just might provide the focus necessary for them to concentrate on learning.  Other students find that doodling while listening to instruction allows them to pay better attention.

Allow the student to move around, or stand up when being taught.  This is sometimes difficult to
do within a traditional classroom because their movement is distracting to the other students.  Because the student with hyperactivity has trouble being still something as simple as sitting in at a desk can lead to a great deal of frustration and pent up energy.  When moving around the class, or standing up prove difficult to incorporate into a classroom, something like using exercise balls instead of standard chairs will allow the students to burn additional energy balancing on the ball.  These usually do not prove too distracting for the remainder of the students.
 Students with attention and hyperactivity issues have another thing in common.  Most of them do not like to write.  When asked why, one hyperactive student stated that writing was slow.  She was frustrated because she could not write as fast as she could think and that made it difficult for her to be creative on paper. To help this student with this learning issue, the teacher adapted lessons, quizzes, and tests so that all of them could be accomplished orally.  The student made marked improvement with this adaptation.  Teaching keyboarding
skills, so that the student might find a faster method of recording information might also help.
The bottom line is that adaptations can help a student with attention deficit and hyperactivity become more successful in the traditional classroom.  However, traditional classrooms are not designed with these students in mind.  In a perfect world, these students would have a curriculum tailor-made for their individual needs, that moved at their pace, instead of expecting the student to conform to the pace of other students.  They would be able to move when they needed to, take frequent breaks, make noise, doodle, and speak out loud without
concern for disturbing others.  They would be in a familiar setting that was comfortable for them, and had minimum distractions.
One final adaptation that might be made for an ADHD student is to give them as much of the perfect world as you can.  Some families are doing just that by bringing the student home to educate them.  Homeschoolin ADHD students can be a great alternative if the traditional classroom setting proves too difficult for them.  Of
course, homeschooling is not for everyone, and may not be feasible if both parents must work outside of the home. But when considering what adaptations might work best for a non-traditional student, sometimes non-traditional school, in the form of homeschool, can be an option.
Small changes in how classrooms are set up and how material is presented can change the way students with ADHD process the education that is available to them.  Taking small steps to reduce the frustration and utilize excess energy can go a long way toward having a more cooperative student.  With more and more students receiving this diagnosis, it is becoming more important to find ways to help these students excel. Adaptation in education is the key to academic success for students with ADHD.