School is generally where one can't help but see ADHD as a disability. Where is the hope for ADHD students? One of the things parents would do well to remember is that often it's just a matter of changing the educational approach to utilize the positives of ADHD. Again, the best way to level the playing field is to allow your child's skills to be used and developed. ADHD becomes an advantage when a parent makes the effort to fit the child's unique world.
Diane: Danielle was fortunate in that she did not have the horrific time in school that many children with ADHD experience. I don't know if it was because of her high IQ, wonderful teachers, or just plain luck, or maybe for all of these factors. However, it is far more common for children with ADHD to experience trauma when introduced to formal education. These kids often give the appearance of being unhappy or very nervous and anxious when they arrive at school in the morning.
Surprisingly, neither Dennis nor I fault teachers for their inability to manage this type of child perfectly. Thankfully, there are wonderful men and women out there who still want to make the world a better place for our kids by becoming teachers.
One of my friends, Joan Wooten, is married to the Senior Director of Counseling at Focus on the Family. She is a second grade teacher - the kind of teacher every parent would wish for their child. While on a hike with me in the woods one day, she described the success she had had in the classroom with a young boy with ADHD. I asked her to write down her observations, and they are so much in agreement with what Dennis and I recommend for parents that we wanted to share them with you:
Having a child in class who has been diagnosed with ADHD does not have to be a threat or a frustration to a teacher. It is definitely true, however, that a teacher needs to have a basic understanding about ADHD: that ADHD is a developmental difference, that it appears with a variety of symptoms, that it is not the result of poor parenting, that it can be managed within the classroom in most cases. Treatment Of ADHD In Children Without Drugs
Teachers need to be educated about simple, practical techniques to use when working with an ADHD child that foster self-confidence and generate hope in the heart of a struggling student.
A gently persistent and informed mother a few years ago awoke me to her son's needs when he first entered our school. She wrote me a personal, insightful letter about her son and included a book on ADHD in which she had highlighted simple modifications and accommodations that would help him to have less frustration and more success in the classroom.
She knew him and his needs well, and as we team up together to provide the best working environment, reasonable expectations, end structure for him, he began to be more engaged, motivated, and connected to his classmates. Morn was his best advocate and cheerleader, frustrated at times, but always believing he could be a winner. Parents need to do that for their ADHD kids, and teachers need to listen and learn from what they have to say.
Many of the ADHD children that have come through my class over the years have been bright, verbal, funny, delightfully creative youngsters who were desperately trying to deal with academic and/or social insecurities.
Being overwhelmed with too much input at one time, unable to stay focused long enough to complete assignments, having trouble remembering or following a sequence of directions, having difficulty organizing thoughts in order to answer a question, or just trying to find a pencil, were merely a few of the roadblocks these ADHD children faced daily.
My heart would go out to these "lost" students, and I would find myself moved to do whatever I could to ensure their success while encouraging them to cope and work with their differences. Sometimes all it takes is for a teacher to believe in a child's ability to be successful in order for that child to truly experience success. Treatment Of ADHD In Children Without Drugs
Dennis: It's true! A parent and teacher teaming together to help a child with ADHD makes all the difference in the world. If an ADHD kid knows a teacher likes him, he can go to the moon! But he'll get into trouble if he senses that a teacher doesn't like him. These kids work best with someone who is calm and steady. If they know someone believes in them, they will give everything to that person. They remember kindness from teachers, believe me. Someone once said that rules without relationships lead to rebellion. An ADHD kid won't rebel if he has a relationship with his teacher, but if there are only rules, then there are problems.
I had a speech professor at Baylor University who had a real impact on my life because he was such an encourager. Dr. George Stokes could see my future as a public speaker. He gave me a B on every speech I wrote because of my poor grammar, but it didn't matter to me because he gave me hope. I think that's the reason my favorite Bible verse is Hebrews 10:25: "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the day approaching."
So many Christians engage in what they call "constructive criticism," but it gets old fast. What I needed as a student struggling with ADHD was encouragement. A person can "feed" on one encouraging remark all day long! ADHD kids get enough criticism in one school year to last a lifetime. Dr. Stokes helped me change my attitude about myself.
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