What's Your Perspective

Patience and understanding and giving the learner space for breaks where necessary

My son has ADHD and has not grown out of it, he sufferers from a range of mental health issues and despite being extremely bright he was expelled from school due to bad behaviour. I try to make neuro diverse individuals as comfortable as possible.

I truly believe regular breaks help the student to better focus after consuming his/her energy out of the classroom.

Useful information that i will put into practise.

Found information useful and will try to put some into practice where appropriate

Building a positive rapport with the learner, knowing they're made to feel welcome in the environment.

Being clear, concise and consistent is really important for all learners especially for the learners with ADHD. Writing the clear lesson objectives on the board at the beginning of every lesson just lets the learner know what is expected of them and they will feel a sense of accomplishment. At the end of the lesson, the learners can then come up to the board and tick off all the tasks they have completed.

Give the learner something physical to do, such as writing on the board for you or a teacher role like handing out forms. Provide lots of short activites 

Patience and steadiness is the key. 

Regular breaks 

Give learners regular breaks to help with concentration, ask learner to go outside classroom for few mins if the whole situation is overwhelming 

As someone with ADHD, I find that fiddling with something like a pen, listening to music or having some chewing gum allows for my brain to manage the incoming stimuli and focus properly on the task at hand. When I don't have an outlet for excess energy or can't regulate incoming stimuli, I tend to reflect inwards and that is where I experience disconnection the most.

Patience would be key to understanding 

Constantly checking to check the learner has grasped the task/knowledge and dual coding has proven to be useful

Supporting learners with fidget breaks when in the classroom. Recognising the learners triggers when overstimulated.Providing stress relief with sensory soothing proprioceptive input, like sensory toys.  

Let learners move around to find the answers from each other.

Give learners regular breaks to help with concentration. 

Break the task, and follow him/her

Patience and understanding of this could be successful.

I have found seating the learner near to the front quite useful as well as pairing them up with a model pupil to be beneficial for them

Having clear instructions with certain tasks tailored to meet their needs is also useful

I have ADHD and I find if there is too much happening at once I become overstimulated so using my headphones to block out noise helps. For my learners I have found patience and giving them tasks in smaller chunks effective. 

One task at a time. Be patient and give praises. 

break the tasks into smaller chunks that are easy to understand and carry out 

break things into simple to follow indivivdual parts

one task at a time

Helping a learner organise their work.

Patience and steadiness is the key. 

BREAKING TASKS DOWN INTO SMALLER BITE SIZE CHUNKS 

One task at a time, being patient and praise in public

One task at time 

Being consistent 

One task at a time 

Movement breaks

one task at a time

Clear objective

One task at a time.

Praise in public

supporting and being attentive to their individual learning needs

Ensure lessons are planned and prepared with additional activities as fall back options to keep engagement 

This is the first time I have worked with students with ADD/ADHD, but what I found works best so far is being as attentive as possible if they are not understanding something and repeating it for them in a clearer, more concise manner. 

Having taught ADHD learners from my first year of teaching I have used stretch and challenge activities to help this learner achieve the highest grade

Always review and check that students understand the task 

Trying to be as consistent in your routines as possible so that the individual feels secure and knowledgeable of what their day looks like. This gives them a sense of calmness, knowing and reduces anxious feelings.

Breaking down the bigger tasks into smaller manageable tasks.

I think it is crucial to have knowledge of all students to enable them to be understood and be taught and helped in a way that suits them. 

When working with SEN students, I have learnt that checking up on them and talking to them throughout the lesson makes them feel a lot more comfortable. Praising them on their behaviour, efforts and achievements can also go a long way. 

Paying attention to the student needs and working on a plan that supports there learning and engages them to not be bored

As it shows differently in boys and girls, we should be able to adapt teaching styles so that every student feels accommodated to when being taught in class 

I have found that working with young people, with behavioural difficulties, they need a solid routine - a plan that they can follow and a working style that suits the individual's needs.

All learners should have their learning adapted to their needs, if additional support is needed, this should always be put in place

Ensure lessons are planned and prepared with additional activities as fall back options to keep engagement 

Regular breaks to help with concentration

Break down tasks for students.

Use of colour and images breaks up the text

Break the task down, give them additional resources. 

break the tasks to, so they can be managed in smaller bites 

Break up tasks to make it easier and less boring

if they are with the headphone, let them be

If they don't want to learn leave them. They will have a mind set before they come into college that they don't want to learn but do not force the issue.

regular breaks and support for focus 

Use coloured paper for all learners 

regular breaks, pair work to help less able learners

one on one focus in the class, break down each topic to its fundamentals and be patient with individuals understanding each learns pace.

Breaks during the lesson, Group work, individual work, quizes

Giving extra time to complete the assignment and motivating them to focus in the class can really make a difference in their life.

We must acknowledge that learners are all individuals and therefore we have to consider their own needs, abilities and levels of learning. We should consider resources, additional time and flexibility with tasks i.e alternative assessment methods.

Its important to acknowledge that all learners have different needs. Using techniques like coloured paper, or allowing extra time to complete task, is vital to their development. 

Remembering that everyone is an individual and just because research suggests that learners with - A,B or C 'should' be treated in a particular way. This isn't always immediately correct for the individual, as we aren't aware of their previous interactions and experiences. Therefore, we need to take time to get to know them and the triggers, coping strategies and their realistic expectations of us as the teacher. Set clear and amicable boundaries and mutual expectations right from the start. 

all paperwork was on yellow so they found it easier to read also aloud extra time.

If students require coloured paper or larger texts that may help them I shall provide them and will regularly check to ensure this is effective at helping with there learning 

Using larger fonts and coloured paper can help learners who have difficulty reading

Ensuring that the work is clearly structured using sans serif fonts and making sure that coloured backgrounds are utilised where possible to ensure that students can have the best chance at understanding. 

I will either:

Talk to them 1-1 to find out which strategies work best

Get them to sit near the front of the classroom to avoiding possible distractions and triggers

Give them a leading role in group work, once a productive group is established.

I think is helpful making directions clear, concise and consistent, praising in public and giving one task at a time.

During practical lessons I do instruct my student  to do just one task/step at the time so the student does not forget or miss/jump between the tasks. 

1:1 support

Buddys 

headphones

Talk to the learner - find out any issues they may have had in the past and how do they want to be supported in the lessons

Avoid changes in the schedule; change of room, activities during the lesson and keep things simple as much as possible

Seat them at the front near me

Maintain eye contact when giving verbal instruction and break instructions down (write in bullet points on the board)

If working independently allow the use of headphones

The Three Cs:   Make any directions clear and concise and consistent. 

I will speak to the learner individually to gain an idea of what they need and what they have found useful in their previous learning environment

I will:

* Talk to them to see which strategies work best

* Sit them near the front, avoiding possible distractions and triggers

*  Give them a leading role in group work, once a productive group is established.

gain a greater understanding with student of their needs to aid learning.

Set small achievable targets, do not overwhelm the learner.  Write everything down so that they have something to reference when you are not there.  Adapt teaching methods to meet their needs

121's get to know them use different activities and set small targets and goals

Having a 1-1 with a learner, discussing how this affects them and if there are strategies that work for them.

Vary the activities used in the lesson in order to keep learners engaged and on task.

Ensure that every session has the three c's incorporated. 

Ensure that that the learner has been spoken to individually, when necessary/appropriate. 

Ensure that the lesson has been broken down effectively. 

1 to 1s

Assign a specific role/responsibility in class

Vary the pace of activities

In workbased Apprenticeship delivery it is extremely beneficial for the Apprentices to have 1:1

I find having a 1:1 tutorial with learners who have ADHD early on in the academic the most effective strategy as you can find out what previous support if any they have had in school, what their preferences are in terms of support and how you approach and what you can do as their teacher to help and support. 

1:1 to discuss strategies that the learner prefers and has tried. To give short tasks to complete and give praise and feedback regularly. 

I think praising in public, in verbal feedback and giving constructive feedback about the short comings in 1-1 tutorials will work better for the learners. 

Headphones

1:1

Buddy system

Give learner a specific responsibility within the group

Find out as much as possible about the learner in a 1-1 

Ask them what strategies you can implement to help them

Always consider all the points i have now learned

To sit down with the learner on a 1 to 1 basis and discuss what strategies work best for them.

1:1 support

buddy system 

Headphones

Seating Plan

1:1 with the learner from the start to be aware of previous strategies that have been tried and worked previously

Headphones allowed on tasks if the learner is working independently

Praise works well

Contact with parents 

effective seating arrangements

1-2-1 so that we can discuss previous support and techniques that have helped

Look at the learner as an individual, adapt our teaching to support there needs

work with the learner to overcome barriers and concerns

look at new strategies (trial and change if necessary)

It'd hard but with teacher's help they could do a lot. We could help them to sit them in a place where they could focus more and give them responsibilities to keep them busy. Give permission to use headphones to block noises when needed.

Having a right right equipment and resources available 

1:1 to find out what is working for them 

Having a friend to complete the activities 

Being organised and having access to information during and after lessons.

1-2-1's finding out what has worked in the past

Buddy system

I find recognising issues that the learner may be experiencing in class as early as possible,  avoiding the problem to escalate, is always the best, whenever possible.