How many times a teacher called you in to complain about your child's unruly ADHD school behavior? Children diagnosed with ADHD are notorious for being labeled as troublemakers because of their inability to control their impulses and change their behavior to avoid consequences. Though these ADHD kids may be smart, sensitive, and caring, their positive traits tend to get overshadowed when they talk before thinking, get up during class, or shove somebody on the playground.
This doesn't mean that your child has to spend the rest of the school year getting into trouble. You can do things to help your child learn to self-regulate and control these impulses for better classroom behavior. These changes won't happen overnight, and it will require lots of patience and perseverance on your part. But with a little work, your child's behavior will eventually turn around.
Change seating arrangements
Some classroom problems can be resolved by changing up the seating arrangement. For instance, students who are easily distracted by other students focus better when seated at the front or center. But if the child is disruptive to others, his or her antics become a distraction for others when seated at the front. Students like these usually do better at the front corner; there are fewer distractions from other students, and they are less likely to distract other students.
Establish expected behaviors
Write down expected school behaviors on an index card and have it taped to your child's desk. Some kids with ADHD learn to check themselves when they see rules like, "Raise your hand before speaking" directly in front of them. If privacy is a concern, keep this paper on your child's notebook, inside the desk, or any place where your child can easily see it.
Don't ignore major misbehaving deeds
ADHD is not an excuse for children to get away with aggressive behavior and other forms of misconduct. Impose consequences if your child misbehaves at school, but make sure your child learns from the experience. For instance, instead of merely grounding your child for hitting another student, explain why this behavior is wrong and what the right reaction should have been.
This doesn't mean that you should go on imposing consequences on every single misdeed reported by the teacher. Minor, harmless behaviors like fidgeting can be ignored. In fact, research shows that fidgeting in the classroom helps ADHD kids focus better.
Reinforce good behavior
Children of all ages look to parents for approval, and it helps to encourage desired behavior by giving praise when your child behaves well. Compliment your child when he or she follows the rules or makes an effort to do something the teacher wanted. Verbal signs of approval should come with a comment on the specific behavior and actions that your child did right.
This doesn't mean that your child has to spend the rest of the school year getting into trouble. You can do things to help your child learn to self-regulate and control these impulses for better classroom behavior. These changes won't happen overnight, and it will require lots of patience and perseverance on your part. But with a little work, your child's behavior will eventually turn around.
Change seating arrangements
Some classroom problems can be resolved by changing up the seating arrangement. For instance, students who are easily distracted by other students focus better when seated at the front or center. But if the child is disruptive to others, his or her antics become a distraction for others when seated at the front. Students like these usually do better at the front corner; there are fewer distractions from other students, and they are less likely to distract other students.
Establish expected behaviors
Write down expected school behaviors on an index card and have it taped to your child's desk. Some kids with ADHD learn to check themselves when they see rules like, "Raise your hand before speaking" directly in front of them. If privacy is a concern, keep this paper on your child's notebook, inside the desk, or any place where your child can easily see it.
Don't ignore major misbehaving deeds
ADHD is not an excuse for children to get away with aggressive behavior and other forms of misconduct. Impose consequences if your child misbehaves at school, but make sure your child learns from the experience. For instance, instead of merely grounding your child for hitting another student, explain why this behavior is wrong and what the right reaction should have been.
This doesn't mean that you should go on imposing consequences on every single misdeed reported by the teacher. Minor, harmless behaviors like fidgeting can be ignored. In fact, research shows that fidgeting in the classroom helps ADHD kids focus better.
Reinforce good behavior
Children of all ages look to parents for approval, and it helps to encourage desired behavior by giving praise when your child behaves well. Compliment your child when he or she follows the rules or makes an effort to do something the teacher wanted. Verbal signs of approval should come with a comment on the specific behavior and actions that your child did right.
Dr. Yannick Pauli is an expert on natural approaches to ADHD and the author of the popular self-help home-program The Unritalin Solution. He is Director of the Centre Neurofit in Lausanne, Switzerland and has a passion taking care of children with ADHD. Click on the link for more great information about what is adhd.
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