"... He loves comic books but hates other kinds of reading materials, especially the text heavy ones. He has been diagnosed to have moderate AD/HD. What teaching techniques do you recommend that I employ at home for my son? My son goes to a Montessori school at present."

Teacher Tess says:

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) is a neurobiological disorder that interferes with an individual’s capacity to do age-appropriate tasks.

AD/HD disrupts many aspects of a child’s life; one of these is learning to read. When a child does not like to read, he/she becomes a source of worry and concern to her parents. What more if the child is diagnosed as having AD/HD. When the child is already going to school the cognitive and academic difficulties associated with AD/HD become apparent and parents get more anxious.

There are teaching strategies, which are employed successfully by the teachers in the classroom, and parents may adopt these techniques when they teach their children at home.

First is to identify the unique needs of the child, their strengths and weakness. Determine how, when, and why the child shows the behavior of inattentiveness, impulsiveness and hyperactivity. Find out why he does not like to read. Verify if the book(s) /materials for reading is appropriate for his age and fit his unique needs.

The second step is to select different educational practices associated with academic instruction, behavioral interventions, and classroom accommodations that are appropriate to meet the child’s needs. Many children with AD/HD will pay attention for long periods of time doing self-directed, fun, stimulating and entertaining activities. Acquaint yourself with the instructional system of the school. Montessori schools follow a unique philosophy of educating a child and Montessori materials are self-instructional materials that lead children to learn on their own and become self-directed learners.

The last step is to combine these practices into preparing an individualized educational program (IEP) and other instructional plan and integrate this program with educational activities that are provided with the other children in the classroom.

Work with your school. The school-home partnership can develop an intervention plan for the child. The following components of the planning process may be followed: focus on the curriculum, develop a student profile, set goals, develop an action plan, and monitor ongoing classroom-based assessment of action plan effectiveness.

Remember there is no such thing as one reading method that works for all children because of the different learning styles they have. Teacher-directed reading, big books, predictable books, language experience approach, whisper reading, teaching oral reading, buddy reading, rehearsal reading, choral reading, story and character maps, KWPL, story’s illustrations and creative dramatics are some of the effective strategies in teaching reading. Check in with your child’s teacher when these strategies are practiced in the classroom. At St. John, parents are our partners in teaching their children. We cannot educate our students without the support of parents. Our slogan is "Don’t Give Up!". When there is a problem, we solve it together. There is always a solution to every problem.

The success stories of students are due to parent’s active participation and unconditional support. Parents could go to the school and confer with their child’s teacher. Ask permission if you can observe your child’s behavior or participation in the classroom. Take note of this behavior. Observe how the teacher handles such behavior, what are her techniques, ask the teacher to help you learn this technique and apply it at home. Your child will observe that Mom and his teacher are consistent in handling his behavior. He would soon realize that you are working hand-in-hand in educating him. Be patient, loving but firm in disciplining your child.

Most effective

Behavior Modification Approach is one of the most effective techniques in modifying behavior of children. By examining a student’s specific problem behavior, understanding its antecedents and consequences, teachers can help students with AD/HD to develop behaviors that lead to academic and social successes.

Believe it or not, my students get bored with the basal textbooks prescribed by our school, they read during reading class but without enthusiasm, they are very obedient but seemingly they are not enjoying their reading classes. The teachers were getting worried, these children might be having severe mental retardation. What shall we do, they asked me.

One of our programs "A Time With the Principal" requires that the principal designates an hour with the children, to discuss issues or things they want her to know. At lunchtime, there were children with their books and chairs! I asked "What can I do for you?" "We will read to you a story," they replied.

One by one, the students read to me and they shared a one-fourth glass of soda. After a week, I announced, ‘Those who will read a book to me, will share my soda and you can get your favorite snacks from the canteen."

The next week and the following weeks, children were lining up to read. But of course, a portion of my salary was used to pay the amount overdue to the canteen.

After these joyful encounter with my students, an awarding ceremony was held. Children were awarded with certificates, "The Best Reader of the Week". The children were all motivated to read. An assignment was given, that every Monday, they would bring their favorite books, magazines and reading materials. To my amazement, one student brought a medical book, I asked, " Is that what your read at home"! "Yes, because I want to be a doctor someday like my mom." In this situation, her mom was a role model. She was able to show that a physician does a lot of reading.

Every Monday, I learned a lot from my students, they exchange reading materials and now, they’re reading books for leisure.

The strategy I used here is Behavior Modification Approach where positive reinforcements are given to students when they show appropriate behavior.

Be a "teacher-mom" to your child. Do not be afraid to put textbooks by the side. Try to prepare a hands-on curriculum with your child. He might want to learn about superheroes, computer aided activities, the newly opened ocean park, and so on.

Get a page of his favorite comics and utilize the suggested instructional practices. When you teach your child to read, make the reading period associated with a certain amount of praise, with some tender-loving care and eating out in his favorite bistro. An effective strategy on how you can practice behavior modification technique is through Positive Reinforcement, Rewards, Consequences. Here, you make a chart with child’s favorite object awarded for good behavior, so your child has a visual reminder of his successes. Reward your child with privileges or his favorite activities, rather than with food or toys. Change rewards frequently. Children with ADD/ADHD get bored if the reward is always the same. Immediate rewards work better than the promise of a reward in the future. Reward your child for small achievements Have plenty of hugs, smiles, and praises. Explain in simple terms rules and the consequences of inappropriate behavior in advance. Use time-outs and the removal of privileges as consequences for misbehavior. Take or keep your child away from situations and environments that trigger inappropriate behavior. Let your child know how you feel when he or she misbehaves. Have your child come up with alternatives to his or her disruptive behavior, then have your child demonstrate this appropriate behavior. Keep your word. Do what you say you’re going to do, whether in reward or punishment. When you are the "teacher-mom" at home, write a lesson plan and make the activities more interesting by introducing and giving the overview of the reading material, letting your child know what he will learn and explain why it is important in his life, preparing interesting activities, citing real life experiences that capitalize your child’s interest, showing your enthusiasm in teaching your child, using play/games as motivation, and using real objects to keep the child’s attention and integrate movements into the lessons.

More instructional practices

The following instructional practices can help poor readers improve their reading comprehension skills:

• Story boards. The child is asked to make storyboards that shows the sequence of the main events in a story (plot, main characters, setting, problem, and solution of the problem);

• Storytelling. Ask the child to retell the story that he has just read;

• Play acting. The child can role-play different characters in a favorite story;

• Work bank. Write the dictionary words that the child has learned from the story/reading materials and put them in a box. The child may read his word collection before a new lesson is started;

• Scrabble and other board games for sight vocabulary words; computer games to drill and practice with sight vocabulary words;

•Post office. The child has the opportunity to write, mail and receive letters to and from the family members.

Schedule a bonding moment with your child every day where you can observe and take note of the strengths and the weak points of your child, praise him for his positive abilities and help him improve his weaknesses.

So as a teacher-mom it will require a lot of patience, creativity, and consistency, firm discipline and unconditional love in teaching a child with ADHD. Take care of yourself and find ways to decrease stress, join a support-group, and be happy you’re a teacher-mom!