Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has several impacts on children and their families. One common challenge includes eliciting classroom engagement. Teachers often express difficulties with students with ADHD, noting that they typically stare out of the window or engage in their own activities during instruction. Often, children with ADHD will provide unrelated answers to questions posed in the educational environment. This includes within the classroom and while attempting to complete homework after school hours. Children with ADHD demonstrate deficits during educational processes due to the primary symptoms, that include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. These symptoms can also manifest in oppositional behavior, resulting in a refusal to even attempt to engage in learning processes.
To encourage participation and engagement, parents must become proficient in providing reinforcement of good or adaptive behaviors while establishing a process for non-adaptive behaviors. The latter includes creating clear punishments or ignoring the behaviors, depriving them of attention and future encouragement to engage in them. Balancing this, however, can be a challenge. It is often recommended that the adult immediately reprimand behaviors that are destructive or interruptive towards others and redirecting behaviors that are less detrimental to the learning process. Additionally, reinforcement and punishment must also be accompanied with stimulus control techniques, which allow the student to satisfy their impulsive desires while also increasing their engagement in the learning process. This may include selecting a learning environment that is quiet, free of distractions, and not near a window or a door.
Often, children with ADHD benefit from visual representations of information, making color coding, charts, and pictures beneficial tools to increase learning engagement. They may also require that the instructions be provided multiple times or that directions only be provided one at a time. Children with ADHD also often benefit when their tasks are divided into smaller tasks or goals. Parents can further assist their child in educational engagement by assisting them in developing an effective organizational system and a schedule that allows for frequent breaks to occur. Finally, establishing eye contact, providing a list of tasks, and a summary of what was completed can assist children with ADHD to engage in the learning process. While it is more challenging to motivate children with ADHD to be active participants in the educational process, with effective interventions, organization, and stimulation management, the parent can find success and effectively support their child.
