Just like a pitcher goes through a series of exercises and a routine of throwing in the bullpen to warm up for pitching in a game, your child will benefit from “warming up his brain” through a series of simple exercises. Have your ADHD child “warm up” prior to doing his homework, or when possible prior to taking a test at school. It won’t hurt, and may just help your child a lot!

The exercises described below are collected from a variety of sources, including my years in private practice, seasons as a pitching coach, from my friend and professional educator Brian McFarland, and from resources such as the Brain Gym book. The exercises below are fairly simple and the “warm up” can take range from just a few minutes to about fifteen minutes, depending on your schedule. Read more of the article...

If your child has ADHD, talking to his teacher may be the most important thing you can do to help him function more effectively at school in spite of his ADHD, and maybe even because of the ADHD.

Most teachers want to help their students, and most teachers have had ADHD kids in their classes before, if they've been teaching long. In general, teachers want to understand ADHD and the ADHD child and in particular they want to understand your child, their student. Read more of the article...

By Erin N. King, Ed.S, Nationally Certified School Psychologist

Choosing a 504 Plan vs. an IEP

When a child is diagnosed with ADHD, parents often wonder what they need to do to ensure their child gets the most support from the school. Terms such as 504 Plan, IEP, and OHI are suddenly thrown into the mix. It can be confusing for a parent to know which route to pursue. Before anything, it would be important for parents to understand what a 504 Plan and an IEP are. In a broad sense, they are both detailed plans, created by the school and parents to outline how a student with a disability will learn. A 504 Plan and an IEP are both intended to protect a student with a disability to ensure that they are learning in the least restrictive environment. Read more of the article...

We received the following comments to Erin King's article on Special Education that we wanted to pass on to you, our readers. The author of these comments is an attorney, which means that by training he anticipates things going wrong, and only gets involved when bad things have happened. Though we see his words as too harsh, his advice is good: Put things in writing!

William A. Rossbach, Esq. sent a message using the contact form at
http://newideas.net/contact.

re: advice to parent of ADHD afflicted chile by: Erin N. King, Ed.S Read more of the article...

How do I find out if my Child with ADHD qualifies for Special Education?

By: Erin N. King, Ed.S
Nationally Certified School Psychologist

Children with ADHD or ADD often have unique difficulties in school, academically and/or behaviorally. It may be more difficult for these children to focus and they may miss valuable information in academic lessons or instructions for assignments. They may struggle with organization to the point that they forgot what the homework assignment was, or they lose completed work before it is turned in. Children with ADHD may have difficulty sitting still during instruction or act out due to impulsivity. Read more of the article...

Identifying Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in the Classroom:

It's back to school time! Here are some questions that parents might want to ask the school to try to optimize the management of a child with ADHD:

1. What strategies does this school have for assessing, and meeting, the needs of an ADHD child?

2. Who are the people that provide actual evaluations or assessments of children at your school? If they are making an assessment of my child, will they contact me to get a good family history, developmental history, and medical history of my child?

3. Is there a school psychologist on campus? Is there one available? Does he/she do achievement and ability testing?

4. Is there an advocate or case manager available to my child? Read more of the article...

HINTS FOR TEACHERS of ADHD Students

1. Don't buy into the line, "He'd behave if he wanted to."

That may or may not be true. He may behave just fine from time to time, and if you encourage him, he may do well for periods of time. But his problem is not that he does not want to behave, rather his problem has a medical basis as described on this site.

2. Understand that of all kids with ADHD, about 60% or so are hyperactive, and that 40% or so are not hyper at all.

Also know that about 60% are male, and about 40% are female.

Not all kids with ADHD cause problems. And only one out of three with the disorder will ever get help from a professional.

3. Don't dismiss the behaviors as just either poor parenting or poor classroom management. Read more of the article...

ADHD in the Classroom

Often the ADHD child has special educational needs, though not always. Most Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder kids can be successful in the regular classroom with some help.

Identifying Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – ADHD – in the Classroom

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the phrase that is used to describe children who have significant problems with high levels of distractibility or inattention, impulsiveness, and often with excessive motor activity levels.

There may be deficits in attention and impulse control without hyperactivity being present. In fact, recent studies indicate that as many as 40% of the ADHD kids may not be hyperactive. Read more of the article...