4 Teaching Tricks to Consider When Instructing ADD/ADHD Online Students
Sitting in a traditional classroom setting can be a very difficult task to do for a student with ADD/ADHD—they are easily distracted by lights and noises and can become disruptive in the classroom, resulting in punishment; they can experience bullying and ridicule because their peers are just too young and uneducated about the disorder to be understanding; and because they have a harder time grasping concepts, they can be held back-grade levels.
Maybe that’s why so many parents are now considering enrolling their students in online classes to better suit their child’s needs. It makes sense too—ADD/ADHD students can rewind pre-recorded lectures if they can’t grasp a concept the first time around; they can get up and move around if they can no longer sit still; and they can escape teasing from children. But there are still some additional things that online teachers can do to ensure that their ADD/ADHD is better accommodated and is given the same fair chance as non-ADD/ADHD online students. To learn how, continue reading below.
1. Simplify Instructions as Much as Possible—ADD/ADHD students typically do not receive “complicated” lectures or lesson plans very well. So do your absolute best to omit jargon and give instructions to assignments in the simplest form you can think of. Get straight to the point. Make sure you talk at an ideal pace too—not too fast or slow, both extremes can lose your student’s attention.
2. Use as Many Visual Aids as You Can—ADD/ADHD students have short attention spans and thus need a lot of variety to keep interested. Simply posting lecture notes can get really boring for any student, more so one that suffers with ADD/ADHD. So try to make slides interesting: incorporate illustrations and maybe even short YouTube videos that can explain the lesson plan more effectively when creating lecture slides. You may even consider highlighting or bolding important words or phrases to give the student visual cues that this information is exceptionally important and will most likely be on the exam. It may also be a good idea to use examples of things your student fancies to peek his or her interest—such as using a sports team or a musical group as a real-life example.
3. Present Assignments in “Parts”— ADD/ADHD students may feel overwhelmed if they are handed an extensive project/assignment which in-turn may prevent them from producing the material that is needed/expected of them. Instead, it may be best to offer the project/assignment in “segments” as opposed to just one “collective” project. This way, your student can avoid getting that overwhelmed-feeling and can still manage to turn-in the same quality material as the rest of your other students.
4. Give “Extended Deadlines.” Like mentioned before ADD/ADHD students have a difficult time getting into the swing of things, thus it might take him or her a little longer to complete assignments than other students. So consider giving the student an extended time to finish an assignment or give the assignment earlier than the rest to give him or her a head start.
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This guest post is contributed by Lauren Bailey, who regularly writes for best online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: blauren99 @gmail.com.

