Working with Students with ADHD & Executive Functioning

Presented by: Tanya A. Perry

List all the annoying behavior traits among your students with your group. When done, we will share and discuss.

Activity #1Drawing

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What is ADHD?

● Attention deficit hyperactivity

disorder (ADHD) is a

neurobehavioral disorder that

mainly affects children. According

to the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention (CDC), the term

neurobehavioral refers to “the way

the brain affects emotion,

behavior, and learning.”

●●

Three Types of ADHD

● predominantly inattentive type

● predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type

● combination type

Three Symptoms of ADHD

● Inattention: getting distracted easily, having poor concentration

and organizational skills

●● Impulsivity: interrupting, taking risks

● Hyperactivity: never seeming to slow down, constantly talking and

fidgeting, difficulty staying on task

Because everybody is different, two people may not experience these

symptoms in the same way.

Predominantly Inattentive

Someone with this type of ADHD may show more symptoms of inattention than of

impulsivity and hyperactivity. They might also have impulse control issues and problems

with hyperactivity at times, but these aren’t the main characteristics of inattentive ADHD.

People who suffer from inattention often:

● miss details and are distracted easily

● get bored quickly

● have trouble focusing on a single task

● have difficulty organizing thoughts and learning new information

● lose pencils, papers, or other items needed to complete a task

● don’t seem to listen

● move slowly and appear as if they’re daydreaming

● process information more slowly and less accurately than others

● have trouble following directions

Predominantly Hyperactive-ImpulsiveThis type of ADHD is characterized by symptoms of impulsivity and hyperactivity.

Although people with this type can display signs of inattention, it’s not as marked as the

other symptoms, including:

● squirming, fidgeting, feeling restless

● difficulty sitting still

● near-constant talking

● touching and playing with objects, even when inappropriate to the task on hand

● trouble engaging in quiet activities

● impatience

● acting out of turn, not thinking about consequences of actions

● blurting out answers and inappropriate comments, interrupting

Children with hyperactive-impulsive type ADHD can be a disruption in the classroom,

making learning more difficult for themselves and other students.

Combination Type

People who have combination type don’t show predominantly

one type of symptom as with the other two types of the ADHD.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) explains that

most children have combination type ADHD. Diagnosis of the

combination type means you show at least six symptoms each of

inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity.

Example of Combination Type Symptoms

Inattentive:

● miss details and are distracted easily

● have trouble focusing on a single

task

● have difficulty organizing thoughts

and learning new information

● lose pencils, papers, or other items

needed to complete a task

● don’t seem to listen

● have trouble following directions

Hyperactive-Impulsive:

● squirming, fidgeting, feeling restless

● difficulty sitting still

● near-constant talking

● touching and playing with objects,

even when inappropriate to the task

on hand

● trouble engaging in quiet activities

● impatience

***Must have 6 of each to meet Combination Type Symptoms. Take a moment and visualize having those symptoms yourself and having to sit in a classroom all day to learn.

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What is Executive Functioning?

Executive Function is a set of mental skills that help you get

things done. These skills are controlled by an area of the brain

called the frontal lobe.

Executive Function helps you:

● Manage time

● Pay attention

● Switch focus

● Plan and organize

● Remember details

● Avoid saying or doing the wrong thing

● Do things based on your experience

● Work or go to school

● Do things independently

● Maintain relationships

When EF isn’t working as it should, your behavior is less controlled.

Two Types of Executive Function

Organization:

Gathering information and structuring

it for evaluation.

Example: You see a chocolate cake

Organizational part: Remind yourself

that the slice may have hundreds of

calories.

Regulation:

Taking stock of your surroundings and

changing behavior in response to it.

Example: You see a chocolate cake

Regulation: Tell yourself that eating the

cake conflicts with your goals like

eating less sugar or losing weight.

Children and Executive Function

Warning signs that a student may be having problems with executive function include

trouble in:

● Planning projects

● Estimating how much time a project will take to complete

● Telling stories (verbally or in writing)

● Starting activities or tasks

● Remembering

No child is alike so accommodations and interventions may vary when working with

them at school.

How to Help Manage Executive Function Issues?

● Take a step-by-step approach to work

● Rely on visual organizational aids

● Use tools like time organizers, computers, or watches with alarms

● Make schedules and look at them several times a day

● Ask for written and ASL instruction whenever possible

● Plan for transition times and shifts in activities.

Teaching to the ADHD Student

➔ Try to provide an outline with key concepts or vocabulary before presenting lesson.

Student can follow along and see main concepts and terms as you present.

➔ ADHD kids are easily bored, even by you. Try to increase the pace of lesson

presentation. Resist the temptation to get sidetracked.

➔ Include a variety of learning activities during each lesson. Use multi-sensory

presentations. Use interesting pictures related to the material to be learned. Many

teachers use apps to make lessons interesting.

➔ Provide self-correcting materials for immediate feedback to the ADHD student. (help

them to work independently)

➔

Continued➔ Use cooperative learning activities, particularly those that assign each student in a

group a specific role or piece of information that must be shared with the group.

➔ Let ADHD students share recently learned concepts with struggling peers.

➔ Monitor ADHD student during tests, especially multiple choice, fill in the “bubble”

tests. S/he can get off track and fill in the wrong places or become so frustrated that

s/he might answer at random to simply complete the tests.

➔ Emphasize that part of the work routine is to “check your work”. Students with

ADHD tend to complete work and turn in without checking it over. Give ADHD

students some instruction in how to check his work and practice with him.

➔

Continued

➔ In assignments that require research reports and creative writing, have ADHD

student dictate the words to someone rather than writing it down. ADHD

student can then copy the words using a laptop. This will yield greater output on

tasks requiring expressive written language skills by removing the written

component.

➔ Use color-coding for concepts

Optimizing Worksheets and Tests

*Give seat work one sheet at a time, if possible. This will help prevent your student from

feeling overwhelmed.

*Identify your student’s goals with the student’s involvement is shown to be more effective.

Goals should be simple and easy to understand. (Organize and write notes, for example)

*Alternate between high-and low-interest activities.

*Schedule five-minute period to check over work before turning in homework or tests.

*Cue student to stay on task with a private signal.

*Seek to involve student in lesson presentation

Solutions In the Classroom:

❖ Seat ADHD kids close to the teacher and away from doors or windows.

❖ Allow everyone in the class to try study carrels, privacy dividers, earphones, or

earplugs to block distractions during seat work or tests.

❖ Provide peer assistance in note-taking and ask student questions to encourage

participation in discussions.

❖ Use a variety of strategies to accommodate the multitude of learning styles in

the room.

Solutions In The Classroom continued:

❖ Include visual, auditory, and kinesthetic facets to all lessons, plus opportunities

for students to work cooperatively and individually.

❖ Avoid reprimanding a student who becomes distracted. Instead, redirect him in

a way that does not cause embarrassment. Ask the student a question you know

he can answer, or give nonverbal cues, such as patting him on the shoulder, to

bring the child back into focus.

❖ Praise and recognize any achievements (small achievements means a lot to

ADHD students)

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The Obstacles: Children with ADHD struggle to stay focused on lectures or any tasks that

require sustained mental effort. Sometimes, this distractibility appears

intentional, but remarks such as “Earth to Amy!” or “Why don’t you ever listen?

will not correct this attention deficit. If children could pay better attention,

they would.

The Obstacles:

Keep in Mind...

Teachers should avoid punishing or making negative comments about ADHD

student’s behaviors either in front of the class or make comments on their assignments.

For example:

Scenario:

You know Jack has ADHD and struggles to stay on task and remain focused. This has

affected the quality of his work on his worksheet. Jack also struggles to stay seated as

he would get up to ask for water, restroom break, sharpening pencils and sometimes

wandering around. What do you do?

Positive VS. Negative Comments Goes a LONG Way.

Building Confidence in your Students

● ADHD students are called out a lot more than non-ADHD peers

○ Redirection

○ Prompts

○ Corrections

● Extra Supervision

○ More likely to be reprimanded than non-ADHD peers

● How Your Negative Response Affect Students (Both ADHD and NON-ADHD)

● Self-Esteem at Risk

○ At school and home

You Are...

Original

Imaginative

Brave

Inventive

Resourceful

Confident

Curious

Fearless

Ambitious

Determined Enthusiastic

Hard-working

Empathetic

Helpful

Creative

Articulate

Dynamic

Flexible

Funny Courteous

Flexible

Adaptable

Decisive

Sociable

Perceptive

**Organized

Honest

Personable

InnovativeEasy-going

KindResponsible

Insightful

Punctual

Focused

Connected

Spontaneous

Expressive

Joyful

Persistent

Patient

Don’t Blame the Parents

*Often it is easy to blame parents for ADHD children’s behavior.

*Remember ADHD is regulated by the brain, not by poor parenting skills.

*Parents with ADHD children are reportedly to be facing higher stress levels, anxiety

(and guilt), depression, and marital problems.

*Support from the school and teachers are very important

We, As Teachers...Children living with ADHD is a lifelong struggle. They sometimes become depressed,

isolated, feel misunderstood, not being able to handle relationships, and experience

many other negative effects stemming from ADHD. They become very frustrated at

times when they WANT to do well but have very difficult time exercising control.

We, as teachers, have the obligation to nurture and help ALL student grow and shine;

help them feel confident. The world is a hard place. We need to make their schools and

classrooms a place where they can be themselves to make mistakes. They need to be

complimented for doing the work because it is TWICE hard for them than for students

with no other disabilities.

It takes PATIENCE to work with ADHD kids because they FORGET and do need

repeating in order to finally remember something.

And Most of All…

They need YOU to believe in THEM.