Helping ADHD Kids Handle Big Occasions

Integrated Learning Strategies is excited to feature how to help ADHD kids in this guest post. While many of the recommendations below are great for select children and parents, some accommodations or exceptions may be made for children with learning challenges and learning disabilities. Integrated Learning Strategies (ILS) is a learning and academic center. As a reminder, ILS is not a health care provider and none of our materials or services provide a diagnosis or treatment of a specific condition or learning challenge you may see in your child or student. If you seek a diagnosis or treatment for your child or student, please contact a trained professional who can provide an evaluation of the child.

As an adult, you realize and are relatively relaxed about how little you know. Even if you’re a Rhodes Scholar there are still gaps in your knowledge. You’re more comfortable to admit to them, because you understand that everyone has those gaps. As a child, you don’t have that luxury. You live in constant fear of being asked something you can’t answer.

Now imagine you have ADHD as, statistics suggest, nearly one in nine American children do. You sit in class, trying to absorb the information being passed on, and it just won’t go into your mind. You may well find one or more subjects easy – or easier, at least. A passion for language or music or even math can carry you a long way.

It’s not that you lack brain power – the problem is one of focus. Despite this, people call you stupid or lazy because some subjects aren’t as good as those you prefer. Why can you not focus on everything?

The damage that can do the confidence of a child cannot be overstated. This is why it’s vitally important to boost that same confidence when you have the chance. It’s particularly the case when it comes to big communal projects they will need to focus on, like school fundraisers or Christmas plays. The right steps can really help a child, while the wrong ones can do real harm.

1. Appreciate An ADHD Child May Be Nervous

Children with ADHD will often struggle socially. They are not without emotion or a desire to be part of things, but a fear of looking foolish can be socially anxious. It’s imperative you don’t try to force them to come out of their shell; that’s where they feel safe.

Instead, involve them in a way that boosts confidence. When supervising group activity, take the chance to ask them about something they are enthusiastic about. This chance to show knowledge will give them reassurance.

2. Apply What They Are Doing To Their Interests

One advantage of fundraisers is that they require a lot of different strands of work. An event can include several stalls, endless activities, and the chance to shine in a number of ways. For some kids, this is easy. For a child with attention problems, it may not be so.

The key is to work on some easy fundraising ideas that let them include aspects that they love. It could be making posters to advertise the event, or maybe they’d feel more comfortable writing a little to a celebrity they admire, asking if they can help out. Individual (but still related to the group project) will work best with an ADHD mind.

3. Develop A Buddy System

The blessing and the curse of a big event is that it involves everyone. It’s good, because it means that there are more hands to help out. On the less great side, it means that more timid and attentional-deficient kids get lost in the mix. Elder children, on the other hand, will have been through this before and know coping strategies. They can share these with younger ones, who will also get to see that ADHD doesn’t need to be as bad as it can seem.

Integrated Learning Strategies is a Utah-based center dedicated to helping mainstream children and children with learning challenges achieve academic success. Our services provide kids with non-traditional tutoring programs within the Davis County, Kaysville, Layton, Syracuse, Farmington, and Centerville areas. Areas to find Integrated Learning Strategies include: Reading tutors in Kaysville, Math tutors in Kaysville, Common Core Tutors in Kaysville, Tutors in Utah, Utah Tutoring Programs