Teaching Children with ADHD

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a mental disorder that develops in children. The disorder has a negative affect on a child's behavior and his or her ability to learn. It also makes it hard for a child suffering from it to function in a structured environment. Following are common symptoms of ADHD:

Hyperactivity- cannot sit still, walks, run, climbs around when others are seated, talks when others are talking
Impulsive-acts quickly without thinking first
Inattention- daydreams, sidetracked easily by what is going on around him or her

This disorder makes it hard for a child to focus which makes learning difficult They have a hard time keep their minds on one thing and get bored easily. They cannot focus and have difficulty learning new things. They have a hard time doing homework, which often goes unfinished or full of errors. They also have a hard time following instructions. As a result the children tend to have poor grades and have a hard time associating with their peers, causing them to become withdrawn.

The common treatment for children with ADHD is medication. The medication is intended to calm the child. However, many of these medications can cause problems such as becoming overweight and violent behavior. There are alternative ways for parents to treat a child suffering with ADHD so that the child will learn and develop good focus skills so he or she can learn and complete tasks.

Learning
For a child suffering with ADHD learning can be a big challenge. However, a parent of such a child can increase his or her child's learning ability by:

Home Schooling
Morning Study Time
Short Study Assignments
Repetitive Teaching
Take Breaks
Base Learning Around Child's Interest
Teaching To Complete Tasks

Home Schooling
A structured learning environment can be uncomfortable for a child suffering from ADHD. In such an environment it is required that a child sit for long periods of time, remain quiet, and focus on studying. Due to the impulsive, hyperactive, and inattentive behavior for them to function in such an environment. An alternative to sending such a child to school would be to home school. In home schooling the parent can set up a more flexible comfortable learning environment. Parents can select a curriculum that they feel would be best suited for their child's learning level. By home schooling a parent gets to know his or her child better which will help the parent to customize a teaching style that will help their child to learn.

Morning Study Time
Studies have shown that children with ADHD learn better in the morning. So parents should schedule their child's lessons and study time early, starting no later than 8:00AM. The child's most difficult subjects should be studied first.

Short Study Assignments
Because children with ADHD tend to not be able to focus for long periods of time, parents should make study assignments short. When teaching lessons parents should make them simple and to the point. Make the practice assignments short so the child will be able to complete them. Short lessons and assignments help the child to develop his or her focus skills. Short study assignments also help the child to develop his or her ability to complete work requiring the child to sit still and work quietly.

Repetitive Teaching
Repetitive teaching helps a child to retain his or her lessons. Previous lessons learned and studied should be reviewed each day. Short review assignments, worksheets and short quizzes should be given to the child.

Take Breaks
To keep the child from growing bored, a parent should allow the child to have at least a five minute break between every thirty-minutes of study time. This allows the child to rest his or her mind. This helps the child to strengthen his or her focus.

Base Learning Around Child's Interest
Even though a child may suffer from ADHD he or she, like most other children, have a special interest. Research has found that children with ADHD activities related to that interest for long periods of time. Parents should find out their child's special interest and make it apart of daily lessons. This can help the child's learning.

Teaching To Complete Tasks
A non academic way of training children with ADHD to complete tasks and develop a sense of responsibility is to have them to take part in household duties such as cleaning, cooking, yard and gardening, and grocery shopping. Parents should have their children to help them with these duties. Parents should assign a special simple tasks to the child to complete, such as making a grocery list, washing the inside of all the windows, cleaning the ice box once a week, or separating the color clothes and white clothes for washing. Break assigned task into small parts to avoid boredom and at the same time strengthen focus.

Nutrition
Providing a good nutritious diet is another very important way parents can treat their children.

Food
Studies have shown that children with ADHD are deficient in essential fatty acids and amino acids, which are found in protein rich foods. These nutrients are essential for brain development. Good food to eat with these nutrients are chicken, fish, beans. Also try vitamin supplements such as omega-3 fish oil capsules and flax oil.

Other brain boosting foods are:
Eggs
Whole grain cereal and bread
Fruits and vegetable
Natural peanut butter
Yogurt
Milk and cheese

For breakfast it is very important for parents to feed their children a high protein meal.
Parents should not give their children:
Junk food
Sugar sweets
Caffeine
Processed food
Foods with preservatives
Fried foods

Vitamins
The vitamin supplements parents should give their children are:
Thiamin
Riboflavin
Niacin
Pantothenic acid
B12
Folic acid
Biotin

Many ADHD children have been found to be deficient in these very important vitamins

There are ways parents can help their children overcome ADHD. Through patience, understanding, and proper diet, the child can live a happy normal life.