Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder present a series of peculiarities that make it necessary to apply specific teaching-learning techniques. Throughout this post, we are going to talk about study techniques for children with ADHD, what method can be followed at home so that the child learns to manage their academic tasks, perform adequately and thus achieve a daily study habit.
Study techniques for children with ADHD
In general, children with ADHD have difficulty organizing their study time and daily academic tasks. In addition, they are children who find it very difficult to stay seated for a long time and spend too much time doing the same activity. For this reason, it is important that when working on school tasks at home, these aspects are taken into account and the way of working is adapted to the needs of the child.
Study techniques for children with ADHD
Place of study
The place that the child uses for his daily tasks must be a place prepared for it. We mainly recommend that the place of study be a quiet place, with elements that stimulate learning and the development of daily tasks. A comfortable place, free of distractions unrelated to the work to be done, and that has the necessary learning materials.
Sufficient time for the development of the tasks.
Any child must have enough time to complete their homework. Having time for it will make it easier for them to develop at their learning pace. It is not advisable to overwhelm the child with too many activities if he usually brings homework home. This does not exclude participation in extracurricular activities (sports, music, languages, etc.), on the contrary, it is good for the child to participate and attend them, but always bearing in mind that the child should not feel overwhelmed and must have with the time necessary for the development of their school tasks, either for homework or for the study of an exam.
Organize study time and daily tasks
To achieve a daily study habit, it is necessary to follow a series of guidelines :
● Find a daily time interval for the study Preferably always at the same time. Example: Every day from 17:00 to 18:00.
● Prepare a study schedule in which to specify by color all the activities to be carried out during the afternoon, including extracurricular activities, sports, homework, or other activities.
● Short periods of study time: It will be much more positive to shorten the work time and take frequent breaks so that the child can perform better. To do this, teach him to break down tasks into exercises and set work goals for periods of no more than 30 minutes. Depending on the child's endurance time, this may vary.
● Use of the agenda: Try to promote the use of the agenda so that all homework is noted in class. It is quite common for children with ADHD to be absent-minded or not pay attention when the teacher gives homework. For this reason, the same teacher must be aware of whether the child has written down her homework in the agenda or not.
● Prepare task lists: Once at home, you can create a color-coded task list, compiling everything that the child has to do during the afternoon. For this, we can also create files by subjects or activity panels.
● Prioritize tasks: Teach him to prioritize tasks, marking with different colors those activities that are more urgent or important to do and leaving for later those other activities that are not in such a hurry.
Fragment complex tasks
When the child finds it difficult to perform certain tasks, teach him to fragment them and see the possibility of interspersing them with other simpler tasks that can help him focus his attention.
● Attention activities: It can be very helpful to start your study sessions by doing some mindfulness activities that help you focus your attention on a particular task. They can also be interspersed with homework as part of short breaks when the child is seen to be distracted.
● Active and dynamic study method: Promotes an active study method that includes enjoyable activities. To do this, we recommend the use of teaching materials with which to work more actively: abacuses, letters, wooden letters, board games, moving games, manipulative material, making crafts and home games, attention cards, representations plays, songs, interactive computer activities, etc. It is very interesting to promote play in learning by creating and using materials with which to work on different topics.
● Active and visual study method: Children with ADHD have a good photographic memory. This is why it is recommended to use a visual study method: using different colors to underline, circling important words, highlighting important parts, creating conceptual maps of colors and drawings that highlight the most relevant information in the texts, using the imagination for text compression and memorizing data, use of mnemonic rules to memorize, etc.
Let the child move around the space in which he studies. You can test your knowledge of it by pretending to be a teacher explaining the lesson to your students, using a blackboard to take notes or write data.
Help and motivation
Motivation is an essential requirement for any child in the development of any task they carry out, whether academic or not, but even more so for a child with ADHD.
There is a commitment on the part of the parents to value and encourage the child in his learning process. The parents must accompany him in the development of the tasks and guide him in the acquisition of a study habit.
It is very helpful to reinforce positive behaviors and reward progress and effort made every day. For this, it will also be necessary to teach them to understand the difficulties and accompany them on the path to overcoming obstacles.
To get a good daily study habit, it is also necessary to set clear rules and guidelines. As we have said before, children with ADHD have an easy time working through images, therefore we encourage parents to work on norms through images, photographs, etc.
We hope you have enjoyed the study techniques for children with ADHD that we have just taught you.
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