Best approaches for inattentive adhd in class

[Ozgirl76]

So to start, I don’t think my son actually has adhd, BUT he does display some traits of either this or auditory processing issues, (although I don’t think he would be diagnosed), the key one being that he can find it hard to concentrate in class. He says when the teacher does a lot of initial talking he finds that his attention wanders to different things and then he has to ask for clarification. Once he knows what he’s doing he can stay on task and does generally ok.

So, if you have a child like this, or have a child with adhd inattentive type, what have you found are your best strategies to help your child focus at the instruction phase of class learning?

He’s 12 years old.

I was thinking that we can see on his school computer what the lesson is going to be about, so would it help to read through this at home the night before so he has a little prior knowledge? Taking notes? Anything else?

thanks so much in advance.

My child is younger but we have found a theraband really helpful - its a large rubber band that goes round the legs of the chair. You fidget by moving your legs against it and it helps you remain focused.

I'd also recommend getting his ears tested properly - not just hearing but hearing across all ranges, pitches etc with work to correct if needed. The key clinic offer this privately in a few locations but its very expensive, you might be able to find someone independent closer to you. Theoretically NHS offer something similar as part of speech and language therapy but we know a lot of SEN kids and don't know anyone who has managed this on NHS - possibly different in different areas?

Thank you, I’ll have a look at a theraband.

I think his hearing is ok, he has had it tested before. I had wondered about testing for auditory processing disorder but at home he’s fine - I can give him a list of things and he’ll do them but I compensate as I’ll stand in front of him and make sure he’s listening and get him to repeat it back - none of which I can expect a teacher to do!

He says he just finds himself trying to listen and then he’ll see something on the wall and do things like try to name every person in class in alphabetical order, or count how many posters are around the wall etc.

I've got adhd and I still need to read instructions or work things out for myself as an adult. I can't listen to verbal instructions it just doesn't work for me. I would consider asking for a bullet point or two explaining the task to be written down so he can look at that in the lesson. Looking up topics in advance so he can read about them/ watch BBC Teach videos might work so he has more context in advance. You could have a talk with him about how he learns best and try and work out how to use his interest and learning style for what he needs to know. Can you talk to his form teacher to see if they have any assessment or support they can offer for the things he's finding hard?

My son has ADHD and actually finds it easier to focus when he's doing more than one thing!

He's high school age and they provide him with a scribble pad so he can doodle in class.

It caused a problem when he had a supply teacher though who wasn't aware he was allowed to doodle and draw during lessons!

This may or may not be helpful, but I'll say it as I can see you're on board with not blaming the teacher here.

Would it help if he realised how rude he is being to the teacher?

I think what you're saying here is the teacher is saying something like 'today we're going to focus on x. Here's how you do it.' Your ds once she's finished 'what are we doing?'

I'm writing as a teacher here, but tbh I'm fed up with it. It's happening more and more and more.

I have started being much much stricter with it, and tbh I'm seeing positive results.

I've been a teacher long enough to think tik tok etc is to blame. Attention spans are non existent.

Are stricter methods to deal with this the way forward? No phone for example.

It's very helpful that the school let's you see in advance what the lessons are about! I would think it surely would help him to do a little prep in this case.
I wonder if it might help if he checks with the teachers if they don't mind him taking notes as they speak. That would help keep his mind on the lesson. It would also help him to have a print out of the PowerPoint on his desk if the teachers use this.
But I think help him find style of note taking that he likes. Seems win win to me he can actively listen and he has notes to aid his understanding.

DS is diagnosed with inattentive ADHD so that might make adifference, but his teachers are all briefed so as to bring his focus back into the classroom. This takes many forms, but the main one is that he has to sit in the front (or near the front) and teachers are supposed to ensure he is paying attention. Most do it quite lightly (and I suspect, it's not just for DS' but others too) by saying his name, tapping on his desk, directing their attention to him at the front of the lesson etc. It is worth discussing this with the school SENCO to see if such strategies can be employed.

At primary school he had a tutor who used to tee up maths for him ahead of the actual lesson, that was helpful, so I'd agree that if you can do that via the online sustems the school employs, that might be good.

A fidget toy can be helpful. Something he fiddles with in his pocket or under the desk (quietly - nothing that rustles etc).

Using the resources it seems are provided ahead of time and making notes, creating visual organisers and colour coding is useful.

If the new ideas can be connected to something he already knows, and is concrete, this will help him tune in and remember.

Definitely work with the teachers though. If they know he is struggling to pay attention, they can better decide where to sit him, and help him sequence decisions and get started, breaking down instructions.

Yes I’m going to talk to him about sitting at the front and also reading through notes before class.

Hes actually going into year 7 as we’re in Australia here so he’s just starting having a different teacher for each lesson. When he starts I’m going to talk to them about whether he can take notes or have written bullet points. He’s also better with written instructions and can follow them much better.

Thank you - yes I’ll do this. I’ve told him about watching the teacher directly as they’re talking as well. He’s fairly committed to sorting this out as he says he doesn’t like that he daydreams.

What do you find best helps with children focusing? You mention you’re strict with it -what are the strategies that work best?

Hes not doing it on purpose and wants to improve.

I would talk to the school asap - is Australia a January start? I'd make it a priority as ideally it would have been flagged before the year started. Taking notes should not be a problem I would think. In terms of instructions in writing, I think this is pretty common now and most teachers at high school would have this as part of their presentation or on the homework list.

Reading with interest as DC2 shows similar behaviours and signs of inattentive ADHD.

DC2 is already at secondary, with constant moving between classrooms. As a warning, I guarantee that a theraband would be left behind in class and lost within the first day here.

TBH any decent high school teacher will write the instructions on the board, or have it on the PowerPoint. It's called 'dual-coding' in the grade, as not many of us are good at purely visual or purely verbal instructions.

• trade, not 'grade'!

Hes not doing it on purpose and wants to improve.

I absolutely get this. My dd has ADHD so I see it from both sides, from getting the best for her and out of her, to being a teacher with heading towards half the class now needing separate instructions of some kind.

Anyway, stricter. I have told my class I will be telling them what we are doing once. If they don't listen, they can sit on the side (swimming teacher) and wait for the next task. I started trialling this about a month ago. So far, I've had 100% success. No one has had to sit out twice. So, I'm leaning towards thinking they CAN all do it, ADHD just find it much harder to do so, and need to employ their own strategies.

It’s never actually been flagged as a problem - he’s a very sweet boy and doesn’t mess around or play up and has been really popular with teachers so I don’t think they’ve minded going over things. Plus it’s not like he retains nothing - he’ll politely say “excuse me, could you just go over this part of the instructions” and they do.

This is coming from him rather than the school.

Okay, that makes sense. But I'd say at high school teachers will be less willing to go over things. Having said that, I'd also expect that at high school there's more options for him to put in place strategies that work for him without it being a big deal. eg taking notes would be, I'd think, expected vs at primary school. Or in our case, Ds is allowed to use a keyboard at high school but his primary school wouldn't allow this.

That's basically the key point about ADHD - there are things that are just really really hard for them.

What do you mean by "employ their own strategies"? Because I think your approach sounds a bit black and white- get it right, or you lose out. But if you've left out a step (eg they can take notes or they're allowed to mouth what you're saying or whatever) then that's fair enough.

One factor we have with ADHD and DS is that of course, there are many things they CAN do but it IS harder. So we often have a really good start to the year - DS goes in with lots of good intentions and he really does try very hard. But then, as the year progresses, the effort required to maintain that level of performance is just too much for him.

Interestingly, DH had a similar experience at high school. His parents promised him a trip to visit a friend if he got all As one term... he worked his butt off and he did it. But he never managed it again. He told me that he wanted to, but it was just SOOOOO hard he couldn't maintain that level of effort longer term. But his parents just saw it as him slacking off and not continuing to put the effort in. [and yes, we think DH has inattentive ADHD as well]

Don't worry @OhBling, I'm not a mean teacher, on the contrary, I'm just trying to find a strategy that means every child in my class gets an opportunity to progress. This one is working so far, if I get to a child which being stricter simply does not work for, I'll adopt.

And to add your son sounds like a real credit to you, I love that he perseveres and is polite that will get him a long way in secondary school.
I think if you can keep regularly working with him and encourage him and praise him for maintaining a good attitude that will really help. And encourage him to do activities outside school work, sport, drama anything he likes so school doesn't become the only thing . I'm a secondary school teacher and honestly school needs to be kept in its place!

What do you mean by "employ their own strategies"?

I mean each individual has their own way of focussing. For me, I curl my toes up tight in a ball. It kinda hurts but I can focus when doing it.

And sometimes people can follow their thoughts off on a tangent about something the speaker said in one sentence only to realise they'd missed several other things being said. Then get accused of not listening

Or it can take a minute for what is being said to be heard then unravelled by the brain

More thinking time is the answer, and checking in with the child to see if they've understood, not this awful zero tolerance approach that I had to grow up with.

Actually sport is the one area where he totally shines. He plays quite high level tennis and his coach says he’s one of the easiest children he’s ever had to teach as he shows him something once and he can do it.
He plays the cello too and I sit in on his lessons and his teacher has to show him something quite complicated and he can follow easily.

It’s just when they do a lot of talking that he zones out.

To be clear, I don't actually have a problem with being strict. Certainly, with DS, clear and well communicated expectations are best for him. Just that there needs to be room for the child to figure out what will work for them, which, reading between the lines, does seem to be something you're doing in your classroom.

One thing that DS did in year 7 which must have driven his teachers absolutely CRAZY, but that they all (very kindly) accomodated in that they prioritised the OUTCOME rather than the process was that he struggled with the organisation of his books. So he'd turn up to maths, and would do his maths work in his science book or his geography in his history book. But, on the plus side, if they didn't make a big deal about it, the work got done. If they did, it landed up being chaos in the classroom (or at home when he was doing homework) and the work didn't get done. I felt the teachers were a LOT more accomodating and able to look at the big picture than I would have been, so I was extremely grateful!