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.

The Differences Between a 504 Plan and an IEP

A 504 Plan and an IEP also have unique differences. The way in which a student qualifies for services under each plan is a major difference. It is more difficult to qualify for special education services and receive an IEP. A student must meet criteria under one of the categories of special education. A student can have a disability, yet not qualify for special education services. To qualify for a 504 Plan, a student must have a disability that is affecting a major life function. Unlike an IEP, a "major life function" does not have to be educational impact. A student can be doing well academically, but need behavioral accommodations or organizational skills due to symptoms of ADHD. With either plan, a direct connection must be made from the disability to the impairment in school. For example, a student who struggles in writing and has an ADHD, would not automatically qualify for a 504 Plan. One would have to prove that the writing problems are a direct result of the ADHD.

When is a 504 Plan is a better option?:

A 504 Plan is a better option when the student is able to function well in a regular education environment with accommodations. The 504 is generally less restrictive than the IEP, and it is also less stigmatizing.

Cons of the 504 Plan:

• Schools sometimes do not take the accommodations as seriously and reminders are
  often necessary (even though this should not be the case.)
• There are less services available through a 504 Plan.
• The 504 Plan may not be as detailed as the IEP.

When is an IEP is the better option?:

An IEP is a better option for students with a disability that is adversely impacting education. Students who need more than just accommodations to regular education would need an IEP. Eligibility in Special Education opens the door to a variety of services.

Cons to the IEP:

• Unfortunately, it is more stigmatizing than the 504 Plan.
• The process to determine eligibility for an IEP can be very long.

If you are a parent wondering, which is better, a 504 Plan or an IEP you will have to carefully consider your child’s unique needs and work closely with the school. Parents should look carefully at both options before pursuing one over the other. You may want to look at Erin N. King’s resources at www.schoolpsychologistfiles.com and www.schoolpsychologistfiles.blogspot.com

ED: Erin King is a contributing writer to the ADHD Information Library. We are grateful that she is willing to share her insights, education, and experiences with our readers. Thanks Erin.

Here are some other resources to help your child to be more successful at school:

• Special Education: The Parent's Guide to IEPs for Learning Disabilities. All about the IEP meeting, written for parents to guide them through the world of Special Education. A great resource if your child is being tested by the school district.
• The Daily Planner for Students. Help your student get more organized, and succeed at school! Turn in that homework!
• Online Diagnostic Test for ADHD: Home Version. For children, teens, and adults. Test developed by a leading professor and a psychologist. Results given immediately.
• Goal Setting for Kids: Go for Your Goals! Goal Setting & Visualization For Kids - Designed To Help You Guide Your Kids To Achieve Great Success In Life.

ADHD impacts somewhere between 6% and 9% of children in the USA and the symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, and often hyperactivity can get in the way of learning, making friends, and getting homework done quickly and accurately. Often faliures, small and large, come with having ADHD in a school environment, and these events can impact a child's self-esteem in significant ways and for years to come. So we all want to do what we can to help our children and teens with ADHD be more successful at school, at home, and with friends.

Be willing to work with your child's teachers and other school personnel to ensure your child’s needs are met, both in the classroom and after the school day has ended. Working together as a team and ensuring you are all educated about ADHD will help with this process.

When it comes to controlling the symptoms of ADHD, many families are reluctant to consider the use of some typical ADHD medications, such as Ritalin or Adderall, and prefer to use complementary and alternative medicines. If this is your preference, consider our ADHD diet program, Attend and Extress from VAXA, and perhaps EEG neurofeedback training. Each of these can make a great difference when paired with the right individual. The right intervention + the right individual = great success!

Here is a quick list of resources that we have available to you as you being the new school year:

The ADHD Information Library has over 200 articles on ADHD at http://newideas.net including a section on ADHD in School with a dozen articles to help parents interact with the school better, to help your child to be more successful in the classroom http://newideas.net/adhd/child/adhd-in-school.

Our ADHD Diet Program is available at http://ADHDdiet.info and lots of information about Attend and Extress to help with the symptoms of ADHD can be found starting at http://newideas.net/adhd/attend.

At ADD in School we have over 500 classroom interventions posted to help your child or teenager be more successful in the classroom: http://addinschool.com

And our ADHD Newsletter goes out by email about 45 times a year with articles, tips, and insights for parents and teachers. Today it is free. But we are moving toward a paid subscription model beginning in January of 2015 that will be better for everyone. As we generate income, we will be able to invest more time in the content and develop videos as well as articles. The subscription will also include a "buyer's club membership" where subscribers will be able to purchase VAXA products such as Attend and Extress at well below the "Retail less 10%" prices that are widely available online today - see http://nutrition2you.com for product details and purchase. We have not yet determined the price point, but it will be in the $10-$30 per month range - but it will provide monthly savings of $30 to $50 for those who regularly purchase VAXA products online - so we hope that it will provide great value from a cost savings point of view, and provide great value from an ADHD coaching/teaching/counseling point of view as well.

Douglas Cowan is a Marriage and Family Therapist who has helped over 1,000 ADHD children, teens, adults, and families be more successful since 1988. He has offices in Bakersfield, Tehachapi, and consults with people via Skype from anywhere in the world (English only). http://douglascowan.me

By "hitting the wall" we mean that the child simply cannot keep up with the demands of his classes, and their teacher is going to do something about the problem. This something might be getting help, calling the parent's attention to the situation, or complaining, but at least the problem is no longer being ignored.

What do you imagine the most difficult environment for a child who had difficulty sitting still, difficulty paying attention, and loved to talk to other children might be?

Imagine that this child had to go into this situation every day, and was expected to perform successfully in this environment. In fact, this child had to perform at the same level as peers who did not have the same set of problems. How difficult would this be?

For ADHD kids, it is the classroom setting that is this difficult setting.

There are a lot of distractions, yet they are told to sit still, don't move, don't talk, to pay attention to boring worksheets, and keep on task until the work is finished. None of these things come easily to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder kids. But day by day, off to school they go.

Many Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder kids "hit a wall" in school as the school year progresses.

Every week they just get a little farther and farther behind, until they're so far behind that it's impossible to catch up. They lose their homework assignments, even after they have spent hours working on them. And they study hard for tests only to perform poorly the next day. They just slip farther and farther behind with each passing week.

The disorder is most often recognized and referred for treatment in third grade.This is when kids most often hit the "academic wall." In third grade they are expected to do more and more work on their own, and they are given more homework to do as well.

We also see many referrals in seventh grade, or when the child leaves Elementary School for Junior High School, with several classes and several teachers. Many Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder kids who found ways to compensate in Elementary School are totally lost in Junior High School.

How can we help these children to be more successful in school?

One thing that you can do is to visit the outstanding resource of ADDinSchool.com . This site has over five hundred classroom interventions to help ADHD students in elementary school or high school classes. It is a great resource for both parents and teachers working with ADHD students.

ADHD in the Classroom: Helpful Hints for Teachers

1. Make clear rules and post them, with logical consequences and with rewards.

2. Look for patterns of behavior in the child. Are there better times than others? Does the child do better in structured activities than at recess? Does the child do most poorly between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. when medication might be wearing off?

3. Promote time on task, never time off task. Give a minute timer to keep on his desk. Ask the child how long he thinks it would take to perform a certain task. Let him set his own time and race against the timer.

4. Stress accuracy instead of quantity of work. This is really what you want as a teacher anyway. The child is easily overwhelmed and discouraged. Reduce the quantity of work on a page. Instead of giving 30 problems on a page, give only five or six. Then the child won't be overwhelmed, and successes will build up his self-esteem.

5. Smile.

INTERVENTIONS TO CONSIDER

6. Computers are great for 1-to-1 work and immediate feedback.

7. Use peer tutoring whenever possible. Older children to help him, and perhaps allowing him to tutor a younger child.

8. Organize the child's environment. Use dividers and folders in his desk so he can easily find things. Teach him how to organize himself better.

9. Move his desk to where there are fewer distractions. Close to the teacher to monitor and encourage, or near a well-focused child.

10. Privacy boards can work well, but should never embarrass the child.

11 .The more exciting a subject is to a child, the better he will learn.

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

12. Establish routines and notify the child well ahead of time if there are to be changes in the daily routine. This will help the child to focus better.

13. Help the child to organize his written work or numbers. Allow the child to move a pencil or his finger across the page while reading. If he's writing, allow him to use one or two fingers for spacing between words. During math, graph paper may be very helpful to organize his numbers and columns.

14. Provide a safe environment for the child. Make sure the child knows you are his friend and you are there to help him. Treat him with respect. Never belittle him in front of his peers. Both he and the other children know that he stands out, and if the teacher belittles the child, then the rest of the children will see that as permission from the teacher to belittle the child as well.

15. Listen to the child. They want to be heard too.

16. Be alert to how much movement they may need. Allow for some extra trips to the restroom, or to run some errands. You may want to allow him to run around in a designated spot in the play yard.

17. Give him a break once in a while. Know the difference between big things and little things, and don't confront him on each little thing. It is hard for these children to control themselves all of the time.

18. Help the child find his areas of strength so that he can build his self-esteem.

19. Report any significant changes in behavior or school performance to parents, school administrators, or school psychologist.

20. Be the child's advocate.

For 500 great ADHD classroom interventions visit ADDinSchool.com

Brain Warm-up Exercises: Summer is the Ideal Time to Begin

We have written about exercises to warm-up your ADHD child’s brain in the recent past and we want to encourage you to use the summer vacation months to learn these routines so that they will be “routine” by the time school begins again in the fall. Like athletes in the off-season, our children with learning challenges need to use their time wisely in the summer to prepare for the fall.

The exercises that we recommend have been gathered from a variety of sources, including my friends in education and baseball, my years in private practice, and from the book Brain Gym. They are simple to do, but like any exercise routine you actually have to do them, not just think about doing them.

They can be very helpful at activating both hemispheres of the brain for better performance in class, in sports, or just around the house.

Visit http://newideas.net/adhd-child-brain-exercises for the complete article. And by the way, my nephew Casey Fien, pictured in the article, is no longer with the Detroit Tigers organization, but is now pitching in the Minnesota Twins organization. Nice job Casey!

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.

Accommodations may be necessary to address these issues. It is important to use the least restrictive accommodations for your child. Accommodations can occur within the regular education classroom and do not always require a formal special education document such as an IEP or a 504 Plan.

There are also situations when a student will require special education to address ADHD. When a student’s needs cannot be reasonably addressed within regular education and the ADHD is negatively impacting education, then special education should be considered. As a parent, if you want the school to consider if your child should receive special education services to address ADHD, talk to your child's teacher or principal immediately.

There is a process within each school that usually begins with a meeting. This meeting will involve teachers, principals, other school personnel (maybe a School Psychologist). At this meeting, interventions to attempt with the child will be decided. If those interventions are unsuccessful, the committee may recommend a full evaluation for special education services.

If you have any questions about the process in your school system, ask your school psychologist, teacher, or principal. Parents have every right to ask questions and usually school personnel are happy to help make this process less anxiety-provoking for you. It is important for parents to understand their rights during the special education process. A copy of parental rights should be given to you, or you may look at your state’s Department of Education website.

Once a referral for a full special education evaluation has been made, schools have around 65 business days to complete the assessments (the number of days varies by state). During this process, several testing components will be completed with you and your child. The evaluators will write reports and a copy will be given to parents at the eligibility meeting. However, schools are required to have a copy available for parents to pick up two days before the eligibility meeting. It is advised, that parents take advantage of this and read reports before the meeting to help get familiar with the information and to formulate questions. The reports hold a lot of information that can be overwhelming if you are not familiar with this type of testing.

See our School Psychologist Files for more information about Special Education testing.

The eligibility committee will review the reports and then look at criteria to determine if your child qualifies for special education. Students with ADHD are typically considered under the category of “Other Health Impaired” or “OHI.” To be eligible, a student must have a documented medical health impairment (ADHD), that is adversely impacting education, and can not reasonably be addressed through regular education. The way in which a school determines the educational impact will vary among districts.

Our FAQ section at School Psychology Files has more information on ADHD and special education eligibility.

If your child is eligible for special education services, an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) will be written by a committee within 30 days. Parents are a valuable member on this committee. If he or she is found ineligible, work with your school to develop accommodations to be used within regular education.

Other resources by Erin N. King, Ed.S, Nationally Certified School Psychologist
http://www.schoolpsychologistfiles.com
http://www.schoolpsychologistfiles.blogspot.com

Here are some other resources to help your child to be more successful at school:

• Special Education: The Parent's Guide to IEPs for Learning Disabilities. All about the IEP meeting, written for parents to guide them through the world of Special Education. A great resource if your child is being tested by the school district.
• The Daily Planner for Students. Help your student get more organized, and succeed at school! Turn in that homework!
• Online Diagnostic Test for ADHD: Home Version. For children, teens, and adults. Test developed by a leading professor and a psychologist. Results given immediately.
• Goal Setting for Kids: Go for Your Goals! Goal Setting & Visualization For Kids - Designed To Help You Guide Your Kids To Achieve Great Success In Life.

Top Qualities for Your ADHD Child’s Classroom Teacher?

What would be the “ideal” qualities that you would want for your child’s next classroom teacher? As we are preparing for this next school year many parents are making their “lists” and checking them twice, hoping that the Principal will deliver the “perfect” teacher for their child with ADHD.

David, a parent from New York City, wrote us with this question, “Do you know of a good "finding the right teacher" type of checklist? We would like to give my son's (first grade) school some direction on the type of teaching style that may work best for him, and in this way assist their placement process. Thank you very much.”

While we do not have a “Finding the Right Teacher” checklist already written, we went to work on the answer to David’s question as quickly as we could. We asked Erin King, School Psychologist, for her input and Erin replied:

“In my experience I don't see parents getting to choose the teacher anyway (unless they know the principal on a personal level). But, I guess that's not the point. It seems like classrooms with a lot of structure and clear expectations provide the best success. Also teachers that use multiple modes of teaching, such as visual aids and hands on activities. Those are the main things that pop in my head. Erin”

While Erin’s point that most of the time parents do not get to choose their child’s teacher is well taken, still parents need to know what to look for, or request, if they get the chance. So Erin’s points to look for were

• Lots of Structure in the Classroom
• Clear Expectations for the Students
• Multiple Modes of Teaching, such as Visual Aids and Hands On Activities

A visit by parents to ADDinSchool.com at http://addinschool.com will give parents and teachers a list of hundreds of classroom interventions. Teachers are offered ideas from other educators and psychologists in the areas of Classroom Set-Up and Management, Lesson Presentation, Modifying Worksheets and Tests for ADHD Students, and Increasing Time on Task in Students. These would important skills for teachers working with ADHD students.

We would also recommend these character traits in a teacher (really any teacher) working with ADHD students:

• That the teacher be organized and structured, practicing self-discipline in their personal life and teaching the skills of organization and self-discipline to his/her students;
• That the teacher be sensitive to the special needs and learning differences of his/her students with learning disabilities or ADHD;
• That the teacher is passionate about teaching “students” and not just “subjects.” This is hard for some teachers to grasp, and teachers are often pressured by administrators to get through subject matter whether students “get it” or not. But there are some wonderful teachers who seek to reach the hearts and minds of their students with the material to be learned;
• All of this is wrapped up in the hearts of teachers who are caring. My children have been privileged to have sat under several caring and insightful teachers through the years. They have made positive contributions to the education, and character, of my children.

Over the years we have heard dozens of comments from parents praising the efforts of some wonderful teacher, and the difference that particular teacher made in the life of their child. To get more specific input about teachers in your community, and some direction on how to find those “wonderful teachers” at your child’s school, attend your local CHADD chapter or other ADHD support group and ask parents which teachers have been particularly helpful to their children. Network with other parents in your neighborhood who have LD or ADHD kids and learn from their experiences.

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.

Your first step in talking to a teacher about your ADHD child should be to simply explain that your child has ADHD, that it ADHD is a common childhood illness, and that you and your child's doctor are ready to provide any information the teacher requires about ADHD, including a list of books and web sites that discuss teaching the ADHD child.

Next, ask if your child is having any problems in the classroom or on the playground. If your ADHD child is having problems at school, find out what they are, whether they are likely related to ADHD, and what you can do about them.

Your child's teacher will need to know what ADHD medications your child is taking, even if he doesn't take them at school. Also explain any other ADHD treatments your child is receiving, including therapy or special diet.

Finally, find out if your ADHD child can get any special services. If you are in a public school in the United States, the answer to this is yes, there are accomodations available for ADHD kids. Private schools or schools outside the U.S. will have different ADHD accomodations.

If you feel you haven't gotten the results you hoped for by talking to your ADHD child's teacher, or if the teacher feels there is more that can be done, you can also talk to a guidance counselor. These specialists may know more about ADHD than your average teacher and may be able to help.

Our guest author for this article: Angie Dixon is a writer and ADHD mom of an ADHD son, Jack. Read more of Angie's articles here: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Angie_Dixon

Here are some other resources to help your child to be more successful at school:

• Special Education: The Parent's Guide to IEPs for Learning Disabilities. All about the IEP meeting, written for parents to guide them through the world of Special Education. A great resource if your child is being tested by the school district.
• The Daily Planner for Students. Help your student get more organized, and succeed at school! Turn in that homework!
• Online Diagnostic Test for ADHD: Home Version. For children, teens, and adults. Test developed by a leading professor and a psychologist. Results given immediately.
• Goal Setting for Kids: Go for Your Goals! Goal Setting & Visualization For Kids - Designed To Help You Guide Your Kids To Achieve Great Success In Life.

Identifying Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in the Classroom:

You see the kids in your classroom. There are two, maybe three of them. They are "space cadets," paying attention to someone or something else when they should be paying attention to you. Or they are always out of their seat, sharpening their pencil or wanting a drink. They cannot sit still for very long, and they are disturbing others. Or worse.

Are these kids ADHD? Or are they just undisciplined? Here are some questions to ask yourself, and a bit of background information for you to consider.

Eight Things Teachers Should Ask Themselves

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.

Research shows that there are several things happening in the brain of the ADHD child which causes the disorder. The main problem is that certain parts of the Central Nervous System are under-stimulated, while others may be over-stimulated. In some hyperactive kids there is also an uneven flow of blood in the brain, with some parts of the brain getting too much blood flow, and other centers not getting as much. Certain medications, or other forms of treatment can be used to address these problems.

Often the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder child has special educational needs, though not always. Most Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder kids can be successful in the regular classroom with some help. Teachers can find over 500 classroom interventions to help children be successful in school at http://www.ADDinSchool.com.

As a teacher ask yourself these questions:

1. Can the child pay attention in class?

Some ADHD kids can pay attention for a while, but typically can't sustain it, unless they are really interested in the topic. Other ADHD kids cannot pay attention to just one thing at a time, such as not being able to pay attention to just you when you are trying to teach them something. There are many different aspects to "attention," and the ADHD child would have a deficit in at least one aspect of it.

2. Is the child impulsive? Does he call out in class? Does he bother other kids with his impulsivity?

These kids often cannot stop and think before they act, and they rarely think of the consequences of their actions first. Impulsivity tends to hurt peer relationships, especially in junior high school years.

3. Does he have trouble staying in his seat when he's supposed to? How is he on the playground? Can he wait in line, or does he run ahead of the rest of the class? Does he get in fights often?

4. Can he wait?

Emotionally, these children often cannot delay gratification.

5. Is he calm?

They are constantly looking for clues as to how they are doing. They may display a wide range of moods, which are often on the extremes: they act too sad, too angry, too excited, too whatever.

6. Is the child working at grade level? Is he working at his potential? Does he/she stay on task well? Does he fidget a lot? Does he have poor handwriting?

Most ADHD kids have trouble staying on task, staying seated, and many have terrible handwriting.

7. Does he have difficulty with rhythm? Or the use of his time? Does he lack awareness about "personal space" and what is appropriate regarding touching others? Does he seem unable to read facial expressions and know their meanings?

Many children with ADHD also have Sensory Integration Dysfunctions (as many as 10% to 20% of all children might have some degree of Sensory Integration Dysfunction). SID is simply the ineffective processing of information received through the senses. As a result these children have problems with learning, development, and behavior.

8. Does he seem to be immature developmentally, educationally, or socially?

It has been suggested by research that children and teens with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder may lag 20% to 40% behind children without ADHD developmentally. In other words, a ten year old with ADHD may behave, or learn, as you would expect a seven year old to behave or learn. A fifteen year old with ADHD may behave, or learn, as you would expect a ten year old to behave, or learn.

There is a lot to learn about ADHD. Both teachers and parents can learn more by visiting the ADHD Information Library's family of web sites, beginning with http://www.ADDinSchool.com for hundreds of classroom interventions to help our children succeed in school.

ADHD Checklist for Classroom Teachers

Physical Arrangement of Room:

Use rows for seating arrangements. Avoid tables with groups of students, for this maximizes interpersonal distractions for the ADHD child. Where possible, it may be ideal to provide several tables for group projects and traditional rows for independent work. Some teachers report that arranging desks in a horseshoe shape promotes appropriate discussion while permitting independent work. Whatever arrangement is selected, it is important for the teacher to be able to move about the entire room and have access to all students.

Have ADHD students seated near the teacher, as close as possible without being punitive. Locate the student's desk away from both the hallway and windows to minimize auditory and visual distractions.

Keep a portion of the room free of obvious visual and auditory distractions. For example, have one area of desks that doesn't have interesting objects hanging over it that invite the child to study them rather than her/his work. Use desk dividers and/or study carrels. Be sure to introduce their use as a "privilege" or pair appropriate carrel usage with reinforcement, so these study aids are not perceived as punishment.

Seat appropriate peer models next to ADHD child. Stand near the student when giving directions or presenting the lesson. Use the student's worksheet as an example.

Provide comfortable lighting and room temperature. Use individual headphones to play white noise or soft music to block out other auditory distractions. Be sure the music is not too interesting so that it becomes a distraction. Introduce headphones as a privilege or pair with appropriate use with reinforcement.

Provide a quiet, carpeted space in the room as a special study section for independent reading.

Lesson Presentation:

Provide an outline, key concepts or vocabulary prior to lesson presentation.

Increase the pace of lesson presentation. Include a variety of activities during each lesson. Use multisensory presentation but screen audio-visual aids to be sure that distractions are kept to a minimum. For example, be sure interesting pictures and or sounds relate directly to the material to be learned.

Make lessons brief or break longer presentations into discrete segments.

Actively involve the student during the lesson presentation. Have the ADHD student be the instructional aid who is to write key words or ideas on the board.

Encourage the students to develop mental images of the concepts or information being presented. Ask them about their images to be sure they are visualizing the key material to be learned. Allow the students to make frequent responses throughout the lesson by using choral responding, frequently calling on many individuals, having the class respond with hand signals. Employ role-playing activities to act out key concepts, historical events, etc.

Provide self-correcting materials. Use computer assisted instruction. Use cooperative learning activities, particularly those that assign each child in a group a specific role or piece of information that must be shared with the group.

Develop learning stations and clear signals and procedures for how students transition from one center to another. Use game-like activities, such as "dictionary scavenger hunts," to teach appropriate use of reference/resource materials.

Interact frequently (verbally and physically) with the student. Use the student's name in your lesson presentation. Write personal notes to the student about key elements of the lesson.

Pair students to check work. Provide peer tutoring to help student's review concepts.

Let ADHD students share recently learned concepts with struggling peer.

When presenting a large volume of information on the chalkboard, use colored chalk to emphasize key words or information.

Worksheets and Tests:

Use large type.

Keep page format simple. Include no extraneous pictures or visual destractors that are unrelated to the problems to be solved.

Provide only one or two activities per page. Have white space on each page. Use dark black print. (Avoid handwritten worksheets or tests.)

Use buff-colored paper rather than white if the room's lighting creates a glare on white paper.

Write clear, simple directions. Underline key direction words or vocabulary or have the students underline these words as you read directions with them. Draw borders around parts of the page you want to emphasize.

Divide the page into sections and use a system to cover sections not currently being used. If possible, use different colors on worksheets or tests for emphasis, particularly on those involving rote, potentially boring work. Have the students use colored pens or pencils.

Give frequent short quizzes and avoid long tests. Provide practice tests.

Provide alternative environments with fewer distractions for test taking.

Using a tape recorder, have the student record test answers and assignments or give the student oral examinations.

Shorten assignments. If the child can demonstrate adequate concept mastery in 10 or 20 questions/problems, don't require 30-40 problems.

Organization:

Model an organized classroom and model the strategies you use to cope with disorganization.

Establish a daily classroom routine and schedule. Show that you value organization by following 5 minutes each day for the children to organize their desks, folders, etc. Reinforce organization by having a "desk fairy" that gives a daily award for the most organized row of desks.

Use individual assignment charts or pads that can go home with the child to be signed daily by parents if necessary. Develop a clear system for keeping track of completed and uncompleted work such as having individual hanging files in which each child can place completed work and a special folder for uncompleted work.

Develop a color coding method for your room in which each subject is associated with a certain color that is the that subjects textbook cover and on the folder or workbook for that subject.

Develop a reward system for in-school work and homework completion. One example of a system that reinforces both work quality and work quantity involves translating points earned into "dollars" to be used for silent auction at the end of grading period.

For children needing more immediate reinforcement, each completed assignment could earn the child a "raffle ticket" with her/his name on it. Prizes or special privileges could be awarded on the basis of a random drawing held daily or weekly.

Write schedule and timelines on the board each day. Provide due dates for assignments each day. Divide longer assignments into sections and provide due dates or times for the completion of each section.

Use visual and/or auditory cues as signals prior to changing a task and to announce that the task will be ending.

Tape a checklist to the child's desk or put one in each subject folder/notebook that outlines the steps in following directions or checking to be sure an assignment is complete. Provide study guides or outlines of the content you want the child to learn, or let the child build her/his own study guide with worksheets tat have been positively corrected.

Be clear about when student movement is permitted and when it is discouraged, such as during independent work times.

Behavior:

Keep the classroom behavior rules simple and clear. Have the class agree on what the rules should be. Define and review classroom rules each day. Implement a classroom behavior management system. Actively reinforce desired classroom behaviors.

Use self-monitoring and self-reinforcement on-task behavior during independent work time. Use a kitchen timer to indicate periods of intense independent word and reinforce the class for appropriate behavior during this period. Start with brief periods (5-10 minutes) and gradually increase the period as the class demonstrates success.

When necessary, develop contracts with an individual student and her/his parents to reinforce a few specific behaviors. Set hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly goals depending on the reinforcement needs of the specific student. Provide frequent feedback on the student's progress toward these goals.

Provide a changing array of backup rewards or privileges so that students do not "burn out" on a particular system. For example, students can earn tickets for a daily or weekly raffle for the display of positive behavior.

To improve out-of-the-classroom behavior, allow the class to earn a reward based on he compliments they receive on their behavior from other teachers, lunchroom staff, playground aides and principals.

Avoid giving the whole class negative consequences based on the ADHD child's behavior. The ADHD child, as well as the whole class, can benefit from implementation of social skills curriculum for the entire class.

Modeling and requiring the children to use a systematic method of talking through classroom conflicts and problems can be particularly valuable for the ADHD child to implement this, teachers are referred to the literature on cognitive-behavioral approaches to developing the child's self-talk and problem solving.

Praise specific behaviors. For example, "I like how you wrote down all your assignments correctly," rather than "Good boy!"

Use visual and auditory cues as behavioral reminders. For example, have two large jars at the front of the room, with one filled with marbles or some other object. When the class is behaving appropriately, move some marbles to the other jar and let the students know that when the empty jar is filled they can earn a reward.

Frequently move about the room so that you can maximize you degree of proximity control.

When appropriate, give students choices about several different activities that could choose to work on one at a time.

With students who can be quite volatile and may initially refuse negative consequences (such as refusing to go to time-out), set a kitchen timer for a brief period (1-2 minutes) after refusal has occurred. Explain to the child that the child can use the two minutes to decide if she/he will go to time out on her/his own or if more serious consequence must be imposed. Several experienced teachers insist this method has successfully reduced the extent to which they have had to physically enforce certain negative consequences with students and seems to de-escalate the situation.

Suggestions from 450 surveyed teachers, compiled by Suzanne Cardman of Long Beach State University, "Seminar In Child Language Disorders," Spring 1994. Learn more ADHD classroom interventions at ADDinSchool.com

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.

4. Before talking to the parents get a second opinion from another teacher, the school psychologist, etc.

Make a list of the behaviors that you are concerned about. Don't try to diagnose the child yourself, just report the observed behaviors.

5. Invite the parents to come in to your class and observe their child in a classroom setting.

More than one visit may be required, as often having the parent present the first time creates a "unique" situation which stimulates the child to do better than normal.

6. Be aware that the ADHD child often does very well in unique or novel situations, or in one-to-one situations. This would include a visit to a physician or a therapist to diagnose a problem.

Also be aware that the hardest place for an ADHD child is in the classroom setting. There are dozens of distractions, pressures, and rules that can be difficult for the child.

Good luck with you and your ADHD kids!!!

This material may be reproduced for non-commercial uses. Please cite the author somewhere in the material: "The ADD ADHD Information Library" at http://newideas.net , by Dr. Doug Cowan.

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?

5. What kinds of interventions are typically used in this school to help ADHD children?

6. Who is the adult on campus who is responsible for the administration of medication to children with ADHD? Are they on campus everyday? What are their hours?

7. Will the school contact me if my child fails to show up to receive his/her medication? Or will the adult on campus who is responsible for the administration of medication to children with ADHD go find my child and take care of it? Or will the school just allow my child to go without his/her medication?

We hope that some of these questions will be helpful to you, and we wish you the very best of success in this coming school year!

Here are some other resources to help your child to be more successful at school:

• Special Education: The Parent's Guide to IEPs for Learning Disabilities. All about the IEP meeting, written for parents to guide them through the world of Special Education. A great resource if your child is being tested by the school district.
• The Daily Planner for Students. Help your student get more organized, and succeed at school! Turn in that homework!
• Online Diagnostic Test for ADHD: Home Version. For children, teens, and adults. Test developed by a leading professor and a psychologist. Results given immediately.

Brain warm-up are helpful for ADHD kids.

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.

The warm up exercises below are primarily “bi-lateral” movements, where one is using both sides of his body and activating both hemispheres of the brain at the same time. Crossing the mid-line of the body with hands or knees or feet can be a challenge to some people, especially younger children. But everyone can learn to do this with time and practice.

Begin by just marching in place for 60 seconds: lifting your left foot and right hand together, then right foot and left hand, and so on. If your child has trouble with this, help them by putting a yellow dot on their right hand and left foot, and perhaps a red dot on their left hand and right foot. Then just say “yellow” and “red” to get them going…

Next is an old sumo wrestler warm up exercise that also activates both hemispheres of the brain and may give one sensation of being more focused and energized. Simply lift the right knee up to where it can be “slapped” by the left hand, then the left knee up to where it can be slapped by the right hand, and keep repeating at a “walking” pace. Slap…slap…slap…slap… Continue for about 90 seconds, or 90 “slaps.”

Your child can do these two exercises at school between classes or toward the end of recess before returning to class, and these two and a half minutes will be well invested.

At home before doing homework or going off to school in the morning, your ADHD child can also do these exercises using an exercise ball – the type that you might sit or roll on to exercise or stretch. In fact, your child can do his homework sitting on the exercise ball, and might be more focused and comfortable doing that. But here’s a tip: don’t put your child at the table to do his homework right away. Allow him to do these exercises below before he settles in to do the homework while seated on the exercise ball. Otherwise you will find him off the ball and under the table in seconds.

Begin by just having your child simply sit and balance on the ball for about 60 seconds.

The roll a bit to the left, and roll a bit to the right. Back to the left, over to the right, and so on for about 30 seconds. Once they master this, then also have them do this for about 30 seconds with their eyes closed.

Then have your ADHD child “march in place” while sitting on the ball. First, raise the “yellow” hand and “yellow” foot, then the “red” hand and foot, then repeat. They only have to raise their hands and feet a few inches. Large movements are not necessary.

After about 30 seconds of these movements, have your child cross over the mid-line of their body with their hands, simply reaching toward their opposite shoulder rather then lifting their hand upward. Do this for about 30 seconds.

At this point your ADHD child will be warmed up enough to begin with his homework, and as we mentioned before, he may benefit from sitting at the table on the exercise ball where he has to work a bit at staying balanced while he learns.

There are several other great brain exercises, but these will get you started. We hope to produce a quick video of Brian McFarland teaching a child to do a complete brain warm up routine, using both exercises that require the ball, and many that do not. Until then, these simple warm ups will help.

Here are some other resources to help your child to be more successful at school:

• Special Education: The Parent's Guide to IEPs for Learning Disabilities. All about the IEP meeting, written for parents to guide them through the world of Special Education. A great resource if your child is being tested by the school district.
• The Daily Planner for Students. Help your student get more organized, and succeed at school! Turn in that homework!
• Online Diagnostic Test for ADHD: Home Version. For children, teens, and adults. Test developed by a leading professor and a psychologist. Results given immediately.
• Goal Setting for Kids: Go for Your Goals! Goal Setting & Visualization For Kids - Designed To Help You Guide Your Kids To Achieve Great Success In Life.