ADHD (inattentive) DD - support strategies for secondary school/home?

[BritabroadinAsia]

Have just had a great meeting with lovely Ed Psych regarding this. In a previous life I was an SEN teacher, and both she and I agree that meds are not for DD1. She has recommended a number of things for the teaching staff to implement, but I would love to hear of any successful strategies to support focus in class, attention, organisation, completion of homework etc.

DD is now in year 8 (just gone back to school) and is coping but its all very effortful, IYSWIM. Lots of paddling underwater to maintain the progress, lots of fatigue and a few tantrums at home to boot, plus a fair amount of 'scaffolding' on my part. She is a world class procrastinator (like her DM) needs lots of sleep and can become anxious if she thinks she has not followed the rules/forgotten a piece of equipment etc.

I would love to hear any specific strategies anyone has found that help both at school, and also for us at home to support her, whilst encouraging independence (and will appear reasonable to a pubescent nearly-teen who finds my 'help' a bit helicopter-ish, I think!)

[TheSecondOfHerName]

I don't have any advice, but am hoping for tips to help DD who is about to start Y7. She had GDD and has mostly caught up, but she still has some difficulties:
Distractibility, inattention
Immature speech
Delayed large motor skills
Sensory issues
Slow processing speed
Zero sense of direction

She has worked really hard on her organisational skills, but I still think she is going to find the move to secondary school a huge challenge.

[TheSecondOfHerName]

Does your DD have a homework diary / planner?

[BritabroadinAsia]

Yes, she does - and when she uses it properly it helps.

I have to say that my DD found the transition v hard from primary, where her needs were dealt with in a low key way by her lovely class teacher (no diagnosis at that point, and she had been doing ok academically so there were no massive red flags). It was the big step up in independence, organisation, homework etc that really alerted us to the fact that something wasn't quite right.

If your DD has a diagnosis (and IEPs?) in place already I think you should be in a good position to be asking her new school how they will support her. Something that came out out of my meeting was about having a key adult (in our case it will be her form tutor, but doesn't have to be) to really support her in school with ensuring her planner had all the right info recorded, because it was hopeless if she had only written down part of what she had to do, or had forgotten when the work had to be handed in by etc, and also to just check in with her and reassure her... of course,all this needs to be committed to an IEP and put in place, so we shall see! But it sounds as if your DD will really need someone to mentor her, as she might find it overwhelming, and very tiring too.

Good luck! Hopefully someone else will come along and give us both the benefit of their wisdom

[TheSecondOfHerName]

We have practised the bus journey several times and I've made a checklist for the front door of things she needs to take. I've found out how to replace her bus pass when if she loses it.

I think the challenge is going to be when she gets home each afternoon: I will want her to get into the habit of unpacking her bag and working out what homework she needs to do. She will want to go straight to bed and listen to music or watch something on iplayer to unwind, as the school day will have taken everything out of her.

[SplashesMarks]

Not sure if this would help - but I myself live by lists as otherwise I forget things - or just get anxious that maybe I've forgotten something

I have a list of everything I need to so every evening and morning - I print off lots of copies and use one everyday - and mark off what I've done

On the list I include things like the essentials that must be in my bag for the next day - that way I never forget anything. I even have 'shoes' on the list so i remember to make sure my DCs shoes are waiting at the door every evening to save the stress of having to look for them in the morning.

Without this list my life would be a disaster!

[Pootrouble]

My dd is about to start year 7 and has ADHD hyperactive type have you seen my thread on Coffee for ADHD? Maybe worth a try for your dd it may help her focus

[BritabroadinAsia]

Grrr - just lost my reply...

Thanks pootrouble, I did have a read, and tried her with a fairly weak coffee the other morning - will be interested to hear how your experiment pans out.

And splashes, I have been drawing up colour coded lists and timetables and enjoying using lots of lovely felt tips rather too much for her bedroom. We've also tried to keep very specific storage spaces for her things, although getting her to keep to the system can be a bit of a challenge! I empathise with your need for lists - I decided that I also need a list for stuff I've already done, so I don't forget that. Although keeping a marked off list would be a good idea too.