7 Strategies ADHD

8/8/2019 7 Strategies ADHD

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© Copyright 2008 The Truth Behind ADHD All Rights Reserved

“7 Strategies To Help Your Child With ADHD Succeed In School.”

Brought To You By:

Rory Stern, PsyD & The Truth Behind ADHD



7 Strategies To Help Your Child With ADHD Succeed In School


Notes: This report was prepared specifically for viewers of The ADHD Parents Movie.

If you have received this report from a friend, and would like to sign up yourself toensure that you receive the latest information, or to refer other people – you may do so by

visiting: http://www.theadhdparentsmovie.com .

Look for the following –





Disclaimers:

1. The information contained herein and in any and all future correspondences are

for educational & informational purposes only. This information is the specific

opinion of Rory Stern, PsyD, and should only be considered as additional

information when thinking about how you want to approach your child’s struggleswith ADHD.

2. Any and all medical decisions must continue to be made with your own or your

child’s treating physician, psychiatrist, therapist, or other licensed medical

professional.

3. In this capacity, Rory Stern, PsyD is not able to, nor does he suggest or make

specific, individual recommendations. As a reader and subscriber, you must make

your decisions your own and be as informed as possible.





Dear ADHD Info Seeker:

This report really could have been titled: 7 Success Strategies That “Straight A” Students

Are Taught And Keep Hidden To Themselves.

I want you to know up front, that some of these tips might have you wondering if theywill really work for a child who has a difficult time staying focused, keeping organized,

or just plain old distracted.

And while your concerns are completely understood, I want you to know that if you

follow these steps, you will be giving your child the very same advantage (in schoolanyway) that many straight A student’s rely on.

One HUGE myth is that “Straight A” students are naturally smart or that things come

easily to them. I am here to tell you that this is simply NOT true. What comes natural tothem is the ability to implement these strategies that teachers, mentors, or tutors have

taken the time to teach them and share with them.

If you follow this process, I am confident you will slowly begin to see a change in how

your child behaves and responds to his or her academic ability and potential.

Oh yea – I almost forgot. These steps and strategies build off of one another! Start with

Strategy #1 and work towards Strategy #7.





Strategy #1 – Help Your Child Get Clear About Who They Are

This tip will be helpful for both you and your child. Many parents I see in my office are

frustrated because their child is NOT a straight “A” student, or is not able to keep up with

his or her peers. In addition, many parents feel that their children are lacking in certain

areas because they are not a high achiever in everything they do in life.

Let me first say that very few people are incredibly successful at everything. I believethat every single individual has the ability to excel and outperform his or her peers, in one

particular area. If you focus on that one area, and teach your child to leverage that

strength – you have just made your son or daughter a huge success in life.

That said – here is the key to “unlocking” the secrets

of who your child is:

1. Help them identify their strengths.

a. What are they really good at?b. What are his or her natural abilitiesor talents?

2. Be real with expectations…a. What is possible for them to do or achieve?

b. What is not possible or will be more difficult?

I understand that a child with ADHD has more trouble doing the same things thatsomeone without ADHD has. And that’s okay. I am not asking, or suggesting, that your

child should move mountains. I am however, suggesting that your child will have more

success if you help him or her focus on what they can do.

Success students know what they are good at, and they know where they struggle. Help

your child do a lot more of what he or she is good at, and help them understand what theycan do to get a little bit of extra help or support to “improve upon” the areas where they

struggle.

A successful student will get creative about accomplishing tasks and finding new ways tolearn or finish their work. And if you are looking for an advantage, then keep in mind

that many children with ADHD tend to be creative.

Leverage that creativity. Encourage it, develop it, and help your child realize what is

possible with a little creative energy.

I can’t help but bring up the “status quo.” Your child does not need to conform what we

all think they should be doing to succeed in school. Instead, help them find success by

doing more of what works, and less of what doesn’t work.





Strategy #2 – Help Your Child Identify His Or Her Unique Learning Style

Did you know that there are several distinct learning styles in children?

Depending upon who you ask, and what sources you believe, experts say there are

anywhere from 3 – 7 distinct learning styles in children. For our purposes, we’ll focus inon the three main types.

1. Visual (seeing)

2. Auditory (hearing)

3. Kinesthetic (doing)

A simple way to understand these different learning styles is to

consider what senses your child relies on the most when learning.

Taking a closer look:

1. Visual Learners – These children do best in situations when they see thingshappening. In school, your child will do best from seeing examples and having an

opportunity to watch. According to one source, visual learners are also very sensitive

to non-verbal cues – in addition to displaying non-verbal cues in their communicationand interaction patterns.

2. Auditory Learners – These children learn and retain information when they have an

opportunity to hear it. This child will be sensitive to tone and voice pattern, as wellas not necessarily needing to make eye contact all the time. In class, your child will

learn the most (and best) when a teacher is lecturing or merely talking out loud.

3. Kinesthetic Learners – These children are often the ones labeled as having ADHD.

Why? A kinesthetic learner is very active and will appear to be fidgety and

sometimes highly active. In this case, your child learns the most from doing activitiesand integrating information with different kinds of tasks. A hands on learner, your

child likes to involve his or her whole body in the learning process.

Now that you know the three main different learning styles, try to identify your child’spreferred method of learning. This will be key in finding success from strategy #3.

And if that isn’t enough, now I want you to consider for a moment how you prefer tolearn. This is important because of the differences in how you will interact with your

child while focusing on strategies that work for them. Imagine what would happen – or how frustrating it might be when two learning styles

come together. Can you see the potential overlap and conflict if a parent or teacher

expects eye contact (as a visual learner), and yet the child or student is an auditory learnerand does not necessarily need to make eye contact in order to take in information?





Strategy #3 – Develop A Plan That Works For Them

Now it’s time to find the perfect strategies and tools that will help your child be more

successful in both the classroom and at home. And to do this, we are going to really take

a good look at your child’s preferred learning style. We are going to implement

strategies that specifically consider and “leverage” your son or daughter’s strengths.

1. Visual Learners: For the student who learns the best through “seeing” material, wewant to make sure that this student is taking good notes, and reviewing good notes.

If your son or daughter does not take good notes, then we need to make sure that heor she has a study buddy or partner who is willing to share their notes. Despite any

objections, this is a tactic that many good students use.

And if that’s not enough, then we need to create other visuals to help your child learn.Perhaps they would benefit from seeing historical memorabilia or even maps.

2. Auditory Learners: One of the best strategies for these students is to allow them to“record” classroom lectures. By recording a lecture or classroom instruction

(depending upon the child’s age), this takes the pressure off of your child scrambling

to take notes and keep up. Because we know anyone who tries to keep up at a pacethat doesn’t match his or her own, sacrifices really understanding the material.

Another benefit of recording classroom instruction is that your child now has the

opportunity to playback and listen to the material at his or her own pace. And sure,for younger kids, you might need to help out and really hold their hand (which just

might be yet another benefit).

3. Kinesthetic Learners: For a student who is more hands on, learning can become

tricky. First and foremost, these are the kids who no matter what, are often labeled or

thought to have ADHD. Think about it – these kids are constantly in motion andappear easily distracted.

If you have a child who is a kinesthetic learner, you are going to need to plan ahead

and most likely strategize with your son or daughter’s teachers. It’s just that simple.They need to know that your child learns best by “doing,” and by getting their hands

on stuff.

At home, maybe your child needs some silly putty or something else in his or her

hands to fidget with while doing work or “studying.” Maybe your child needs to

actively engage in learning. For instance, you might have a child who will learn bestfrom interacting with real objects.

The strategies discussed here are just the beginning of what ispossible, and what tactics you must try. Never forget that you

know your child better than anyone else.





Strategy #4 – Help Your Son Or Daughter Develop Good Habits

Habits are important, and they take time to develop. You might want them to happen

overnight, but don’t expect it. Developing and relying on good habits takes time. The

sooner you introduce them, and the more you stick with it, the more likely you are at

seeing them stay for good.

So just what are good habits?

1. Set a schedule

2. Find times that work for your child.a. Does he study better before dinner?

b. Maybe he needs to play first and then

do work?

3. Use specific strategies (like those we discussedabove.)

4. Find an organization system that makes sense(to your child).5. Remind him (or her) about what time it is. Children with ADHD often find it

difficult to plan ahead or develop an internal sense of time.

6. Model good habits.7. Study or do work in the same place.

8. Minimize distractions.

9. Help your son or daughter plan ahead.

10. Do more of what works, and less of what absolutely does not! 11. Develop a routine where you are in constant contact with your child’s teachers or

counselors to continually monitor and assess progress.

These are just a few of the many different habits or study habits that you can help your

child develop. Not all of them will work for your son or daughter, and that’s why it will

be so important to slowly try and introduce new strategies.

Be sure that you do not force anything upon them. The result will likely lead to increased

frustration and more distaste for school and related projects.

Most of what I have suggested will require your guidance and support. Consider that

when you plan on working with your son or daughter. And if you were not the best at

developing your own study habits, work alongside your child to develop them together.

Show them your “human” side, and be honest with them. And another thing, it is

important to keep in mind that not everyone will do well in school. Not everyone ismeant to be a “straight A” student at public school. Why do I say this? Maybe the best

strategy would be to consider a vocational school for your child. Think of the kinesthetic

learner who now has the opportunity to learn a trade.

Success is more about finding the right fit, than it is about job or career prestige.





Strategy #5 – Leverage Other People’s Strengths (The Best Strategy Yet)

Earlier I mentioned that we should not expect our children to be successful at everything

they do. In fact, if your child has a natural talent or specific skill in one area, consider

yourself lucky. Too many people focus on trying to be good at everything, rather than

excelling at one particular topic, subject, or skill.

For this reason alone, leveraging another person’s strengths just might be the mostpowerful strategy or habit you can help your child develop.

To be clear, I am not advocating that your son or daughter learn how to cheat or takeadvantage of people. But instead, I am recommending that your child partner up with a

friend, tutor, or even another teacher who has a different way or style of learning.

Teach your child to share responsibilities and to be a team player. These are skills thatwill come in handy and benefit your child as he or she goes further in school or even on

the job.

We have already discussed one method of leveraging another student’s strengths, and that

was borrowing a fellow student’s notes. This is NOT cheating… Instead, it is shared

learning. It facilitates much greater skills than I want to get into, but at the very least itteaches your child that he or she does not need to take on the world alone.

Another example of this strategy would be asking your child to rely on a peer or fellow

student to edit his or her papers. It takes a special type of person to truly understand theEnglish language and how grammar functions. I don’t know about you, but I still have

people read all of my papers.

Like every other strategy we have discussed, these are tools and techniques manystudents rely on to do well in school. The key to success in school does not necessarily

come from being the smartest or most intelligent student. Instead, being successful is

more about being resourceful than it is anything else. And sure, I can appreciate that thatsome students have it easier than others…

But that’s just life, isn’t it? Some things come easy for one person, while another mightfind it to be more difficult. I urge you and encourage you to support your child, and

remind that the goal here is to try their best. We cannot expect more than that.

Leveraging another person’s strengths

doesn’t necessarily need to be about

sharing responsibility. Perhaps yourchild would benefit from having a friend

who he or she could call to double check

assignments or to be reminded about due

dates and upcoming tests.





Strategy #6 – Get Plenty Of Rest & Let Your Child Recharge

Every single one of us needs a good nights sleep, and time to rest, recharge, and replenish

our energy. And this is incredibly important for a child with ADHD. Not only will your

child be tired from a long day, but he or she can also be tired from emotional overload.

It was once described to me that a child with ADHD can often exert a great amount of

energy just to manage the emotional reactions to common daily occurrences. Think about how exhausting your day at work is, and then consider what it must be like to

balance an equally exhausting day with ADHD.

Maybe you know from experience. Perhaps you get this aspect more than anything else.

But some of us tend to overlook and believe that children have more energy, and can

“bounce back” quicker than adults. How many times have you heard, “Oh, what I

wouldn’t do to have your energy?”

What am I suggesting?

Help your child get the rest he or she needs so badly to

function. Mornings can be difficult enough, and we

don’t need to make things harder on our children.

Instead of allowing your son or daughter to hit the snooze

button, help them get up. While it might feel good to stay

in bed, it actually causes more harm than it does good. Idon’t remember the exact science behind it all, but it’s the

snooze-button phenomenon. We think the extra few minutes

of sleep will help, but it actually makes things even harder.

What else can you do?

Remember that your child is not a machine… He or she is only capable of doing so

much. Our children today are pulled in so many different directions, and the expectations

we set for them are incredibly high as well. This all takes a toll and has an impact.

Setting your child up for success also requires that you teach them, show them, and allow

them to take time off. Help them recognize when they need to walk away from their

work in order to “calm down” or refresh their state of mind.

Resting, recharging, and taking a break is notust about getting enough sleep. Make sure

your child balances his work with time off.

Do work for 50 minutes, and take a 10-

minute break. Or maybe break work into

even smaller chunks.





Strategy #7 – Above All Else, A Child Deserves To Be A Child

Helping your child find success is as much about having the right strategies and tools as

much as it is about remembering that above else, they are children.

Children are:

• Constantly in motion & development.

• Young & impressionable.

• Rebellious, yet dependent.

• Strong, confident, and yet fragile.

• Immature developmentally.

• Still figuring out the world.

Children have the right to:

• Make mistakes, and still be loved. • Have fun, and play carelessly.

• Not be burdened with real world issues.

• Experimenting with new things.

• Occasionally goof off.

• Laugh uncontrollably

What does this have to do with success in school?

To be quite honest, it has everything to do with success in life. We need to allow our

children to be children. We need to let them explore, have fun, laugh, and to be creative.

We need to remember that childhood is about innocence and learning about tools that willhelp us throughout the course of our lives.

If we cannot have fun, I want to know what the point is? If a child is all work, and noplay – what are we teaching them?

There are enough pressures in the world,

and enough people who will expect toomuch from our children… Let them

laugh – let them play – let them know

that life is about more than just work and

doing things right.

Life is about having fun and takingadvantage of every moment.

Never let them lose sight of that one fact!



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7 Strategies ADHD