Occupational Therapy services, tools, and tips for children
Children with ADHD may have a hard time paying attention, sitting still, organizing their tasks and materials, managing time and prioritizing work, and managing their emotions. Distance learning may be exacerbating these difficulties. Here are 5 tips for helping your child with ADHD participate in distance learning.
Allow flexibility in their learning environment at home. Provide different seating options such as a move ‘n’ sit cushion, standing desk, t-stool/wobble chair, theraband on chair legs, or let your child lay prone on elbows (on their tummy) to improve attention. Allow them to chew gum or use fidget tools.
Get Ready, Do, Done (from Sarah Ward) is a wonderful tools to support executive functioning including planning, task initiation, and task completion. Plan backwards to move forward. Start with DONE-what will it look like when the task is complete? Then, move to DO-list the steps in a task in order and finally move to GET READY– what materials do I need? Once a child plans out the task, THEN they can move forward-gathering items, completing the steps, and turning their “Done” work in.
Use positive reinforcement such as a token economy or star chart to reward expected behaviors. Find motivating reinforcers (e.g. outside play, 10 minutes screen time, board game, favorite snack, favorite toy, etc.) that your child will work for.
Repeat verbal directions, keep instructions clear and simple, break down multi-step tasks into smaller parts, and provide visual checklists.
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