Accommodations for Students with ADHD

Classroom accommodations are typically part of an IEP or 504 Plan for students who have disabilities. What each child needs to help him or her be successful in school will differ depending on the individual needs of the student, but there are some general accommodations that have been proven to be effective for students with attention deficit disorders.

Proximity or preferential seating as an ADHD accommodation
Seating the student near the teacher or away from distractions will help increase the child's chances of focusing on instruction. Try to seat the student away from doors, windows, pencil sharpeners, and other children who are likely to engage in off-task behaviors. If the student is one who is uncomfortable sitting up front, try to find him or her a spot away from the very front, but still away from high traffic areas.

Allow opportunities for movement as an ADHD accommodation
Many students with ADHD have trouble staying in one place for long periods of time. Often these students will start to fidget, squirm, or engage in negative behaviors because they've been confined to their seat for an uncomfortable amount of time. Children who need to move around should be given chances to do so. This is not to say that they are given a free pass to wander around the room aimlessly whenever they choose to do so. Give the student a task, such as picking up papers or watering the classroom plant. If you see that a child is becoming restless, establish a visual or verbal cue to do something such as get a quick drink from the water fountain.

Encouraging the use of an assignment sheet or planner as an ADHD accommodation
Parental involvement is key in any student's success. If a student has trouble returning homework, it's helpful for the student to keep an assignment sheet in his or her binder or a planner to record assignments. The parent could check the assignment sheet nightly. Sometimes, communication logs in notebooks are helpful to let the parent know how the child is progressing in school.

Provide a structured environment as an ADHD accommodation
Students with attention deficit problems respond better when the learning environment has structure and order and where there isn't a great deal of noise and distraction.

Establish a visual or verbal cue as an ADHD accommodation
In cases where a student is beginning to engage in unwanted, impulsive, or off-task behavior, the teacher and student should have a predetermined cue, such as a hand signal, to redirect the behavior. This requires that the teacher monitor the student's behavior frequently.

Other accommodations to consider that have been helpful when working with students with ADHD are peer tutoring, providing skeleton note-taking sheets, and reducing the number of required problems on lengthy assignments.

Sources:
ADDitude
Classroom experience