How To Help My ADHD Child in School

You might find yourself worrying about your child's schoolwork, and in turn you start to ponder say to yourself "I need to learn how to help my ADHD child in school!"

Preparation for School

Since you cannot physically be with your child during the school day, you need to find ways to prepare him or her for the classroom. One way to go about doing that is to require some sort of quiet reading or work time at home before your child ever enters a classroom setting. Of course, your child might already be receiving early intervention at home, so that will be helpful in preparation for a formal schooling setting.

Sitting in a desk all day can be extremely difficult for any child, especially one who is suffering from the symptoms of ADHD. Therefore, get your child acquainted to being still a little bit at a time. Start with ten minutes of quiet reading/puzzle/etc. time per day and then slowly increase the amount of time that he or she has to spend seated.

Conversations with Medical and School Personnel

You should not feel as though you cannot talk to anyone about your child's ADHD. The best way to find out the methods which you should employ are to talk to people who are professionals in the field. Ask your child's therapist about ways that you can start preparing him or her for the schooling situation. You might want to ask your regular doctor for recommendations on who to talk to.

Make sure that the school is aware of the situation, so that the teacher knows that he or she will have to make sure that your child's needs are taken care of. There are plenty of services available in schools today for children of all ages, so you want to make sure that you take advantage of them from as early on as possible. Finding solutions to the problems early are helpful in preventing-or at least lessening-them later.

Reinforce School Behavior Plans

The teacher in the classroom will most likely have some sort of behavior plan in place, but it is best if you reinforce that with a system of your own. Students with ADHD will often respond to behavior plans that include positive reinforcement and consequences for acting in an inappropriate manner. If your child behaves in a way that is in line with proper behavior, reward him or her with a movie, ice cream treat, or another object. Eventually, your child will start to associate positive behavior with feeling good, and you will not have to give a tangible reward forever.

Make sure you ask the teacher to alert you when your child acts out in the classroom, if he or she does so at all. You should have a discussion with your child about why that behavior is inappropriate and have a proper consequence lined up with it. Make sure that you are strong and stand your ground. If a child gets out of a punishment once, he or she will always try to get out of it...and may even be successful. Do not allow your child to watch television for the rest of the night, revoke computer privileges, or forbid play dates for the next three days.

These are a few of the ways in which you can help your ADHD child in school.