Help ADHD and SPD Kids Excel in School Work

Lynne Robertson, OTR recently gave a workshop at Christian Academy of Knoxville called "Are You Paying Attention?" What drew MY attention was the promise that we'd gain an understanding of, and practical suggestions dealing with, those days when your child spends more time chewing his pencil than using it, or more time falling on and off the chair than doing his math.

The explanation that stood out to me was that as adults, we process information from our heads down. So when we tell a child to "calm down" we are asking them to use their brains to calm their bodies. A child needs to calm their body first in order to use their brain. And she did indeed provide practical suggestions for how to achieve that.

A reluctant writer can gain better hand control by lying on their stomach and using an angled surface. One inexpensive solution was to flip over a 3-ring binder for a writing surface. Using shorter pencils like those used at golf and miniature golf courses also assists the small hand in writing.

Allowing "fidget toys" can actually relax your child's brain enough to hear and understand you. Smart Toys and Books has a variety of small fidgety toys to choose from.

Sucking a thick substance like applesauce or a thick smoothie through a straw can calm a revved-up child enough to learn and arouse the active brain of a more placid one. If you have one of each like I do, this is a sure win.

If your child has difficulty reading, find out where they like to read. Some children, believe it or not, can read beautifully while sitting atop a ladder. Other children, particularly the slow-starters, like to hang up side down or with their head hanging off the edge of the chair or sofa. Just make it safe for them to indulge. Success breeds success, so when they feel excited about reading, they can begin doing so in the more traditional posture of sitting.

Shouting out addition or multiplication facts while trampoline-jumping or swinging is another way to get the child's brain to remember and use the information.

And one of my favorites: allow a reluctant or panicky speller to tap out the letters with their feet or hands, using the body to free up the mind. Her suggestions were to put large letters on the floor, written on squares of cardboard or laminated paper to be tapped with the feet; or to hang these letters on the wall and ask them to walk up and down touching the letters to spell a word. You wouldn't want to do this for an entire spelling lesson, but mixing it up with the usual writing or spelling aloud should make the learning experience more fun.

Lynne also stated that it's important to understand our child and his needs before applying discipline in any area, but particularly in school work.