My daughter. She’s sweet, beautiful, caring, and what’s the word….energetic? I love her, of course, but oh my goodness…her ADHD! I know she can’t help it, but some days getting her to focus on her homeschool is a full-blown battle! If you’ve stumbled upon this blog, I think we can all agree that homeschooling a child with ADD/ADHD is a challenge.
Let me preface this by saying my daughter doesn’t have a formal diagnosis of ADHD, per se….only a veteran special education teacher’s and Ph.D. mom’s opinion (and my husband’s agreement). To be completely honest, we didn’t see a need to get her a diagnosis and label. But she has all the signs!
If I ever thought teaching students with ADD/ADHD was difficult, it was a walk in the park compared to homeschooling my own ADD/ADHD daughter! I don’t know what it is about homeschooling, but something about it seems to trigger her sensitivities every time we begin a learning activity.
So if you are like me, and share the same frustrations, know that you are not alone! From experience, let me share with you my A-Z list of (26) tips and techniques for homeschooling my child with ADD/ADHD. These strategies help my child stay focused, calm(er), manageable, and overall more pleasant during the homeschool day:
Homeschooling Children with Attention Deficit Disorders
A: Active learning works well for children with pent up energy. Find ways to involve whole-body movement into learning activities.
B: Break up larger tasks into smaller ones. If your math lesson that day involves 20 practice problems, break it up into 2 groups of 10 with a small break (or reward) between.
C: Classical music is a natural calming agent. Think Baroque.
D: Drink plenty of water throughout the day (you and your child)! Drinking water helps reduce anxiety in stressed out kids and adults, so drink up!
E: Eat well-balanced meals and snacks. Try to avoid sugary snacks and the ensuing crash afterwards.
F: Friends help burn energy and develop important social skills. Don’t forget to allow time for socialization!
G: Gardening provides so many learning opportunities and the ability to exert extra energy while promoting calmness. If you have a garden, incorporate it into your homeschooling. If you don’t, maybe you can get involved in a community one.
H: High-five (or give praise of other sorts) to your child frequently for a job well done, even for small steps and tasks. I’ve found verbal praise to be the most effective motivator for my child!
I: Incorporate your child’s strengths into learning activities. If you homeschool a child with ADD/ADHD, you are likely aware of his or her interests and can build lessons using those. You have the edge!
J: Joke around! Humor is one of the best mechanisms for teaching content.
K: Know when to take a break, i.e., when your child shows signs of over-stimulation, frustration, information overload, or mental exhaustion.
L: Learning goes beyond the classroom! Look for opportunities elsewhere to keep it fresh and interesting.
M: More time outdoors may alleviate ADHD symptoms, so consider heading outside more frequently (maybe even before learning begins).
N: Neatness is key to working efficiently. Keep a clutter-free, clean, and organized house and learning environment so that your child can focus on learning with fewer distractions.
O: Outside, outside, outside! This one is so important.
P: Playtime (or physical activity of some sort for older children) is crucial for children with ADD/ADHD!
Q: Quiet time. If your child won’t nap, give him or her a distraction-free, quiet place to wind down for a bit each day.
R: Remove common distractions, like TVs, toys, video games, tablets, cell phones, etc. during learning time.
S: Schedule your child’s most difficult subjects in the morning, when he or she is most energized, focused, and ready to learn.
T: Technology may worsen ADD/ADHD symptoms. Set and enforce limitations.
U: Understand your child’s learning needs and capabilities. When homeschooling a child with ADD/ADHD, remember to be flexible, patient, and adaptive.
V: Vary your lessons, materials, environment, delivery, etc. to keep your child interested and engaged!
W: Weather! Prepare for it as you plan activities, especially outdoor ones. Remember that long periods of inclement weather may affect your child’s ability to play outside and thus focus. Plan accordingly!
X: eXpectations (it’s hard to find a word that starts with x, you know?) should be set. Students with ADD/ADHD work so much better when they have a roadmap, or a set of expectations, for the day’s activities.
Y: Yelling will negatively impact your child’s attitude toward learning. Stay positive, patient, and encouraging. Take a break if you or your child get too frustrated.
Z: Zzzzz’s are important rebooting an ADD/ADHD child’s brain. Allow time for a nap, especially for younger and teenage children.
I hope these tips and techniques provide you with some encouragement as you continue homeschooling your child with ADD/ADHD! I know first-hand how difficult it can be. When I get frustrated, I remember that we are doing what is best for her because her education would be quite compromised (in my opinion) as a student with a disability in a public school these days.
What do you do that seems to work? Please share in the comments below! I’d love to add to my arsenal of strategies!