Marie Delaney

• Teaching students with attention, concentration and hyperactivity difficulties – how to stop those spinning tops

Attention

• What are you paying attention to right now?• How do you know?• What does it feel like?• How do you filter out distractions?• Where did you learn this?

What’s it like?

• Which room?

Behavioural characteristics

• Inattention • They are easily distracted• They cannot pay attention to detail• They do not seem to listen or follow instructions• They forget things all the time• Hyperactivity• They fidget and squirm• They constantly leave their seat • They seem constantly ‘on the go’ as if driven by a motor• Impulsivity• They shout out • They cannot wait their turn• They often express emotions inappropriately

Reasons for this behaviour

• They might be tired or hungry• They might be preoccupied about outside worries or feel

unsafe in class• They might lack confidence and be anxious about their ability

to do the work• They might not understand the classroom rules• They might have difficulties with executive functioning • They might have difficulties with working memory • .

Were you right?

4, 8, 9, 15,

4,8, 9, 15, 27, 32

25, 5, 87, 63, 13

What happens in the brain?

• Executive Functioning • – the part of the brain which we use to think and solve

problems. • - the internal voice, the voice we use to self-regulate.• - difficulty with motivation• Working memory – holding information in our minds long

enough to act on it. • Russell Barkley www.russellbarkley.org

What’s the problem?

• I hate English lessons, the teacher always gives us long things to read and I can’t understand it. I try to concentrate but just feel like giving up after the first few lines. I just put my head on the desk and sigh because I am fed up. The teacher just shouts at me and says I am lazy.

Problems in class

• Not following instructions – working memory• Reading comprehension – internal voice• Reading mazes - problem-solving difficulties• Cannot recall facts learned recently – working memory• Shouting out loudly that the lesson is boring – difficulty

regulating emotion

Memory games

• Pelmanism• What word have I rubbed out?• What did we change?• Running dictation• Spot the difference, odd one out• Kim’s game• Develop visualisation of words eg imagining in the air

The need to feel safe and secure

• Have a few clear classroom rules and remind learners of them • Have a clear reward system, involve the learners in the design • Set clear time limits for work, give warnings when time is nearly

over eg. 5,4,3,2,1 • Have a worry box for learners to post their concerns to the teacher• Sit the learner near the teacher, away from distractions such as

windows, heaters • Allow the learner to go to a designated quiet area if the classroom

gets too stressful • Use visual prompts, instruction posters and timetables

Strategies

• Catch me being good√

Traffic lights

Build confidence in learning

• Teach in multi-sensory way – see it, hear it, feel it• Break down tasks into manageable chunks• Encourage learners to help each other. Eg Study buddies• Give clear instructions, check and get examples• Notice what is working and do more of it• Encourage learners with positive marking and comments• Send home positive postcards

The need for self-regulation

• Use individual laminated whiteboards for learners to show their answers rather than shouting out

• Allow the learner to work with headphones on or to imagine wearing headphones to cut out distractions

• Help learners to create metaphors for focusing ‘That’s like what….?’• Create parallel experiences – think of a time when you do

focus• Think, pair, share • How well did I listen, wait, share ….mark myself

Mind your language

• Don’t think of a blue tree

• You’re not listening, listen.

• You did the first part well but you need to re-do the second part

• Before you open your books, look at the board

Help with the behaviour

• Tell students what you WANT them to do• Separate descriptions of behaviour from your

interpretation of behaviour• Acknowledge objections and feelings, it is not the

same as agreeing with them• Replace ‘but’ with ‘and’• Use open-ended questions to discuss a problem,

avoid ‘why’• Avoid sequencers in instructions, give action words

in the order you want them done

The Brain

The Triune Brain

• Reptilian – the oldest part of our brain, the fight/flight/freeze response

• Mammalian – the feeling part, we can have the feelings, we can’t necessarily name them

• Neo-cortex – the thinking part, the youngest part, we can give names to our thoughts and feelings

Hypervigilance

• A lack of ‘attuned, sensitive care’ can cause babies and young children to have abnormally high levels of stress hormones, including cortisol, in their bodies.

• High levels of cortisol are known to significantly impair the growth and development of the baby’s brain and body.

• High cortisol levels can affect a child’s ability to think, to retrieve information and to manage his or her own behaviour.

• Significant parts of their brains are not hooked up• The ‘flight-and-fight’ response triggered by the oldest part of the brain is

over-used. • In class this looks like a child how cannot focus and pay attention to their

work.

Activities to meet aneed

• Joining things up with a line e.g match the word and meaning• Putting in order/sequencing stories and tasks• Finding things e.g Find Wally• Stories which allow all feelings e.g Where the Wild Things Are• Films with good/bad in one character eg. Incredible Hulk• Activities with frames, enclosed eg. Word snake• Boxes – to contain work and feelings• Think pair share• Peer listening activities• Follow my leader• Jump the line• Name the emotion

Develop the skills

• How long is a minute?- measures time• Talking in ears – how to filter distractions• I’ll answer for you - empathy

Watch this!

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU6o2_UFSEY

• Stephen Tonti TEDTalk

Who or what has to change?

• What skills does this child need in order to access the curriculum?

• How can we adapt the curriculum to meet this child’s needs?• How can we help this child integrate into the mainstream

school?• How can we help the mainstream school meet the needs of

this child?• What kind of behavioural programme does this child need to

help them become more socially integrated?• What support and training can we provide for parents and

professionals to work with the child on their behaviour?

Want to learn more?

• Marie Delaney • The Learning Harbour, Crosshaven, Co Cork, Ireland• Email : the learningharbour@gmail.com• www.thelearningharbour.ie• Teaching the Unteachable, October 2008, Worth Publishing,UK• What can I do with the kid who….2010. Worth publishing,UK• www.worthpublishing.com• www.caspari.org.uk• British Council online SEN course• www.teachingenglish.org.uk/webinars• www.pilgrims.co.uk ‘Dealing with Difficult Learners’

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Professional Development