Teaching children with ADHD

Friday, October 24, 2008

A colleague made a comment to me recently that has caused me to give a great deal of thought to the problems of teaching children with poor concentration. The comment was "do you feel you have to constantly bully children who have ADHA?". My reaction was to identify with her feelings of frustration as a teacher. However, I also felt quite alarmed at the thought that any students of mine may feel bullied. Having given this a great deal of thought I have become more aware that there are children who need much more focussed attention from me throughout the lesson. They need constant feedback and encouragement. These children also tend to be less likely to have the tools to work out problems for themselves when they get home. This puts pressure on me to provide as much help and instruction as possible. The general result of this is that I feel as if I am talking non-stop during the half hour lesson. This scenario presents me with the dilemma "does this child feel bullied"? It can be very difficult to achieve a balance between maintaining a friendly relaxed relationship and striving for each child to achieve their potential. I would love to hear from any children, parents or teachers who have anything to say about this problem.

posted by Sharon @ 9:09 PM