By: Aulbrey Clark

ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVE DISORDER (ADHD) IN THE CLASSROOM

What teaching strategies can teachers use with ADHD

diagnosed students to help them read and comprehend?

QUESTION:

Elementary Public Schools in the United States should consider having

most of their teachers utilize the following techniques for ADHD students: use of an iPad, small

groups, and Think Before Reading, Think While Reading, Think After

Reading (TWA) strategy.

THESIS:

As part of a project a pre-service teacher was encouraged to use an iPad on a child

named Josh who was struggling with reading.

Barbara McClanahan says, “The device not only helped the student focus

attention, it facilitated his becoming much more metacognitive in his reading.

Comparisons of pre- and post-assessments showed that the student had

gained one year’s growth in reading within a six- weeks’ time period”

SUPPORTING EVIDENCE: “A BREAKTHROUGH FOR JOSH: HOW

USE OF AN IPAD FACILITATED READING IMPROVEMENT” BY

BARBARA MCCLANAHAN

A study was done in a classroom with three ADHD diagnosed students, they had

activities in small groups, whole groups and individual seat work.

Katie Hart said, “Our findings suggest that group size is an important factor for ADHD

children’s on-task behavior during instructional periods.”

Smaller groups ended up working for the three ADHD students.

SUPPORTING EVIDENCE: “IMPACT OF GROUP SIZE ON CLASSROOM ON-TASK BEHAVIOR AND WORK

PRODUCTIVITY IN CHILDREN WITH ADHD” BY KATIE HART

TWA is a strategy in which the students think before reading, think during reading, and think after reading.

TWA gets the students thinking about what they know, what they want to learn, check their speed, the authors purpose,

what they learned and to link knowledge.A study was done on two students and

one of the participants named Marshall stated, “Now I remember to reread and

watch my speed. I talk about the author’s purpose.” Proving that the strategy

works.

SUPPORTING EVIDENCE: “COMPREHENSION STRATEGY

INSTRUCTION FOR TWO STUDENTS WITH ATTENTION-RELATED

DISABILITIES” BY LAURA HEDIN

Jean Segal talks about this issue is important because not only does the teacher end up

suffering but the student does also. Their grades are low, they get punished, have

low self esteem, and are teased by their peers. Segal says, “Meanwhile, you, the teacher, wind

up taking complaints from parents who feel their kids are being cheated of your instruction and feeling guilty because you can’t reach the

child with ADD/ADHD.” If teachers would take the time and come up

with strategies that worked for the ADHD students in their classrooms, it would make

things a lot easier and ADHD students wouldn’t get left behind.

WHY IS THIS ISSUE IMPORTANT?