Do you want to provide your child more information about ADHD that is written for them.  Below are a few of the books that I have found useful.  I recommend that parents read these books first before passing them on to their child to make sure it is a good fit for them.  I have found that when a child who has ADHD, but is not hyperactive, some of the messages about hyperactivity can be confusing.  You know your child best so you are in the best position to make that decision.

Let me know your thoughts about these and other ADHD books!  I would love to add to my library.

Putting on the Brakes: Understanding and Taking Control of Your ADD or ADHD second edition, by Patricia Quinn, M.D. and Judith Stern, M.A. (They also have an Activity Book with the same title.)

• “The Survival Guide for Kids with ADD or ADHD”, by John F. Taylor, Ph.D.
• “Cory Stories: A Kid’s Book About Living with ADHD”, by Jeanne Kraus
• “Otto Learns about his Medicine: A Story About Medication for Children with ADHD”, by Matthew Galvin, M.D.
• “What to Do When You Worry Too Much: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety”, by Dawn Huber, Ph.D.
• “Eagle Eyes: A Child’s Guide to Paying Attention”, by Jeanne Ghent, M.A.

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Please join me in welcoming guest writer Livia McCoy to My Attention Coach.  She has provided us with an outstanding article on on helping students with ADHD and ADD. 

Students with attention difficulties often struggle in school.  Young students are asked to sit still and listen at a time in their life when they really want to be outside playing—and I am talking about those who do not have attention issues.  Add attention issues on top of their young age, and you have problems.  For some students, they are able to sit still and listen as they get older and more mature.  But, for others the problem persists throughout their schooling.  I often say in my workshops that we as teachers need to change the way we view these kids.  They are not placed in our classroom to make our lives more difficult.  They are normal, interesting, often very bright children who need extra support in order to be successful in school.  Several “tricks” that I use to help these students include using predictable routines each day, teaching them how to wiggle without disturbing others, providing visual cues, and giving them listening practice.

Children with problems paying attention need predictability and routine.  (This helps all your students, so there is an added benefit.)   My computer applications class starts every single day with three, 10 second timings typing a frequently used word.  This is followed by them recording their best score in a spreadsheet.  After that, we do one-and-a-half minute timing on several frequently used words that I dictate.  Then I introduce today’s lesson which takes me about 5 minutes.  Students work for 30 minutes on their assignment, do a write-to-learn activity for 5 minutes and finish up using typing software to practice keyboarding.  What we do in the lesson portion is very creative and varies widely from day-to-day.  But the predictable routine helps me to get them settled down and working very rapidly.  Having a plan for every minute keeps them busy doing productive work until the bell rings to leave.  Having the predictable routine helps them to enter the room, get ready for the first activity, and be ready to move along at predictable times without a lot of explanation needed for each part of the class.

Some children just cannot sit still.  They tap their fingers on the table top, kick their foot against the leg of the table, stand up, sit down, go sharpen their pencil, adjust the blinds—I could go on, as you probably know.  A couple of things can help these children.  First of all, allow them to get up as often as you can.   Try to think of something helpful for them to do.  They can help you pass out papers, help arrange the chairs into a circle, erase the whiteboard, or get supplies out of the cabinet. Secondly, you can teach them how to wiggle without disturbing others.  (This needs to be done discretely so that they are not embarrassed about it.)  Children can wiggle their foot back and forth without kicking the table.  Show them how, and have them practice it.  Develop a signal between you and them that means, “You are kicking the table leg.  Please wiggle without kicking the table,” so you can help them without embarrassing them in front of the other students.   They can carry a stress relief ball and squeeze it under the table out of sight of the other kids.  Or, you can have them think of something they like to do.  Allow it as long as it does not interrupt the learning of other students.  I used to show a video about the scientific method.  I was always intrigued by a statement in the video that said, “Solve the problem with the problem.”  I see this as the perfect example.  These students need to wiggle and I am teaching them how to wiggle in ways that do not disturb other people.

Students with attention issues are often impulsive and blurt out answers without allowing other children a chance to speak.  I have found a simple technique that works well for them.  You may have to use this with all the kids in order to not single out one child.  Each child receives a certain number of cards.  You can use playing cards, index cards, or something you create on your own.  The number of cards is the number of questions they are allowed to answer during a particular lesson.  If you decide to give them five cards, each time they answer a question you take a card.  When the cards are gone, they have to wait until they receive more cards to answer more questions.  This visual cue helps them to see that everyone needs a chance to answer and dividing it equally allows everyone to participate more.  Gradually, they will not need the visual cue.  They will begin to think before answering and “save” their card for a question they find especially interesting.

In the last several years I have begun experimenting with giving my students listening practice.  I explain to them that we are going to do a “pretend test” and that there is no way it can affect their grade.  I tell them the purpose of the activity is to help them learn to listen better.  It actually serves another purpose.  They are also reviewing what they have been studying which helps them to get ready for an upcoming test (one that does count).  I explain to the students that I am going to ask a question and I want them to write the answer.  I tell them that I will only say the question one time, so they really need to listen carefully.  In the beginning, they have a lot of trouble doing this.  But, they get better and better the more I do it with them.  I do not have formal research that supports my hypothesis about this, but my experience with it lends me to believe it can help.

Every child is different.  In twenty-five years teaching I have never had two that were exactly alike.  I would challenge you to do a paradigm shift when you see your wiggly, impulsive students.  Discuss how you can partner with them to help them succeed.  Select one area where you can work together for improvement.  When that is mastered, work on another area where they need your help.  Chances are great that they don’t mean to disrupt your classroom; they really do need your help.  Provide routines, encourage appropriate wiggling, give visual cues, and help them learn to listen.  Let them know that you care about them and are happy they are a part of your class.  

Livia McCoy

Teaching/Learning Specialist

Struggling2Learn, LLC

www.struggling2learn.com

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As a follow up to my recent teleseminar with Cheryl Heparin of Michigan Health Coach, I am happy to share a recording of the call and a study guide to help you apply what you are learning.  You can listen to a recording of the call at http://www.attendthisevent.com/Classic/?eventid=10244838.

You owe it to yourself to take an hour and listen to the call tonight.  Still feel like you don’t have time to listen to the call?  Take a few minutes to review the information below, print the article and use the space available to identify how you can apply these ideas to your own challenges.  

Why is time management so important to reducing stress, especially during the holidays?  

Whether you have ADHD or not, it is easy to become overwhelmed with the number of activities you need to complete in a typical day.  When my clients can ease that sense of overwhelm, their stress decreases and they get more done.  Of course, the holidays can create extra stress simply because there are more activities that need to be completed so time management becomes even more important.

Consider your own time management challenges here. 

How can I create more productive hours in my day?

While I cannot add more hours to your day, you can make the hours you have more productive.  Select one of the ideas below and give it a try for the next few weeks.  

Planning

Start by planning your week and your day.  If you know what you need to accomplish and identify when you can accomplish it, you have just increased your odds of getting it done.  If you don’t feel like you have time to plan, start with 15 minutes for your weekly planning and 5 minutes for your daily planning.  Even just a small amount of planning can really help.  

Tracking Your Work Time

After you have planned your day, try to estimate how much time each task will take.  First, this is a great double-check on your planning.  If you have planned 16 hours worth of activities into your workday, it is a sign that you need to prioritize what gets done and take a few things off the list.  Second, the most powerful part can be when you go back at the end of each task and note how much time each one actually took you to complete.  By developing more accuracy in your planning, you can be more realistic in the future. 

Prioritized “To Do” List

Use a prioritized “to do” list instead of giving every activity equal weight.  During your weekly planning time, take a minute to assign a priority to each task.  This will help to ensure you don’t waste time on low priority tasks

Limit the Amount of Time Spent Checking Email

Email tends to use a lot of time for people these days.  To control the amount of time you spend, consider checking your email only a few times each day.  If you check your mail each time you get a new message, you lose a lot of time transitioning between your current task and checking that email.  You’ll spend less time on email if you check it in chunks.

Use the Right Planner or Calendar for YOU

For more effective time management, you need to use the calendar or planner that is right for you.  If you don’t feel like yours it working, check out my recent article on Choosing the Right Planner.  It includes a useful checklist that will make you a more informed shopper!  Choosing the Right Planner Article

Manage your Social Media Time

While social media is very important and useful in today’s electronic world, decide how much time you can afford to spend on it and set a timer to stay on track.  Otherwise you just might spend a whole day before you know it!

What idea will you implement?   When will you implement it?

How can eliminating disorganization help people meet deadlines?

Disorganization causes us more transition time when completing our tasks because we spend time looking for something that we need to accomplish.  Worse, we might lose something that needs to be completed.  

I recommend starting small when trying to get more organized.  Pick one room, one stack of papers, one drawer to start.  There is temptation to tackle the whole office or house at once, but this typically adds to our stress level.  If you focus on one small step, maintaining it and moving on to the next small step, we are more likely to be successful in staying organized.

How can you improve your organization?

How does a coach help with time management challenges?

As an Attention and ADHD coach I help my clients identify their attention challenges which often include time management challenges.  First I help my client identify the challenges – it is important to ensure all of  the challenges are identified.  Next I will typically help my client set their short and long term goals for time management.  It is important that they are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely) goals.  The next step is to develop an action plan that will enable the client to reach their goals.  One of the most important part of coaching is when the coach works with the client to develop an accountability plan.  The coach helps the client to be more accountable to themselves and their goals.  This process continues as new goals are developed.

If you are unable to hire a professional coach, ask a friend to work with you as a buddy coach or you can take yourself through the steps of 

•  Identify Challenges
• Set Goals
• Develop an action plan
• Track my success – hold myself accountable
• Develop long term goals

The most challenging thing to do on your own, will be to hold yourself accountable.  This may be where you want to partner with someone else and you can hold each other accountable.  Who can be your partner?

What will you do today to overcome your time management challenges?

Decide what you will start doing today to gain control of your time management challenges.  Remember to pick just one item to start!

•  Plan daily

• Estimate and track work time

• Keep a prioritized “to do” list

• Check email only a few times each day

• Use a calendar or planner that is right for me. Choosing the Right Planner Article.

• Pick one area to organize

• Contact Laura Rolands to schedule a coaching consultation

• Apply coaching strategies to my coaching challenges

Good luck with your time management challenges now and into 2010.  Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can be of assistance to you!

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