The most common time for ADD Diagnosis

ADHD is most often recognized and referred for treatment
in third grade. This is when elementary school kids most often
hit the "academic wall."

In third grade they are expected to do more and more
work on their own, and they are given more homework to do as
well. There are also many referrals in seventh grade, or when
the child leaves Elementary School for Junior High School, with
several classes and several teachers.

There are times when elementary students find ways to
compensate in their younger years. However, once they move
to the higher grades – junior high – they find that these same
coping strategies just don’t work anymore.

Tips For Teacher's - Teaching the ADD/ADHD Child

So, as an educator, what can you do to help your ADHD
child in the classroom? Well, the first step is to recommend an
IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meeting. This may scare
many parents because IEPs are often used for special
education students.

Calm the parent’s fears by pointing out to them that an
IEP is simply a “game plan” to address problematic issues and
figure out ways that all teachers and school personnel can help
their child succeed academically.

Proper Seating for better teaching

Aside from an IEP, what else can you do in the classroom?
These children are very easily distracted, and the classroom is
the worst place for them since there can be so much going on
all at the same time. Consider your seating plan.

1 Move your ADD ADHD student's desk to where there are
fewer distractions, close to the teacher to monitor and
encourage, or near a well-focused child.

2 It is usually better to use rows for seating arrangement
and to try to avoid tables with groups of students. Often
the groups are too distracting for the ADHD child.

3 In the ideal setting, provide tables for specific group
projects, and traditional rows for independent work. Of
course, we are rarely in an ideal setting.

4 Every once in a while, try arranging desks in a horseshoe
shape to allow for appropriate discussion while permitting
independent work.

5 Your ADD ADHD student's desk should be near the teacher
(for prompting and redirection), away from other
challenging students, and not touching others' desks.
However, if you notice that your attention deficit student
looks around a lot to see where noises are coming from,
because he is very auditorily distractible, he may benefit
from being seated near the rear of the classroom.

6 Experiment with seat location in the front of the
classroom (near the board) and instructional area if your
student is more visually distracted.

7 It is important for the teacher to be able to move about
the entire room and to have access to all students.

Practice "Management by Walking Around" in the
classroom. The more personal interaction, the better.

8 Have all of the distractible ADD ADHD students seated
nearest to place in the class where you will give directions
or lectures. At least as close as possible without being
punitive.

Tips For Teacher's Tips

Right from day one, make the classroom rules clear and
post them where they are visible every moment of every day.
Be sure all students know the consequences for violating the
rules and be consistent.

Teaching Strategies for success

When you give assignments to the ADHD child, break
them up into small, manageable pieces. By doing this, you are
acknowledging that their attention span is a hindrance to them
and they can complete the smaller parts of an assignment
without losing their train of thought.

It might also help to provide these kids with step-by-step
instructions on how to complete an assignment. Give them a
checklist that allows them to cross off a step once they
complete it. This will give them a sense of success also which
is good for all students!

Getting the support you need in your community

 ADHD can be a difficult problem to understand
and cope with. When you are faced with this disorder in any
way, it can be extremely beneficial to surround yourself with
people who know how you feel.

You can pool your resources to find help and get support
that will help you cope with the daily frustrations of ADHD. So
where do you find that support?

Start by looking around your community. Talk to a
doctor, contact the local hospital, or even at the local
community center. Scan the newspapers for daily club
meetings and support groups.

Finding the support you need with online support groups.

You can also look on the Internet for a message board
that addresses ADHD. I’ve found some great boards just by
doing a Google search.

 Among other, they include:
www.adders.org
www.adhdnews.com
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/ivpsaddchild?ice=ivl,searchmb 

(for parents of ADHD children)
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/ivbhgenadd?ice=ivl,searchmb (for adults with ADHD)

Help is out there whether you have to make it yourself or
simply join in. Don’t discount support groups. They can be a
lifesaver for people who are confused and need a little extra
help in dealing with ADHD

Why It's So Important for you and your partner to mantain a united fron even when you disagree about how to handle your ADD Child.

Do not in any way contradict another parent or authority
figure in the presence of your child. Cohesiveness
is important. If the child knows that they have one person who
they can go to who will let the rules slide, they win.

ADHD kids need consistency. If you undermine each other’s behavior, you
are taking steps back and not helping your child at all.

You must be equipped to handle problem situations.

ADHD children can be difficult and disruptive in the most public
of places and parents tend to get caught on the wrong foot
every time.

Most parents can anticipate a problem situation.
What they have to do is devise a strategy to deal with it in
advance so that they are prepared when it happens. They will
need to make all the rules clear to their children in advance
too.

Thus, when the problem occurs, both parent and child
know the routine.

For more tips and strategies on how to deal effectively with the ADD & ADHD Child, please go to http://www.maximindpower.com/add/calmkids.html

What Is Short Term Memory & Why Is It So Important To Your ADD / ADHD Child.

I would often get annoyed and frustrated with my ADHD son because I would tell him to finish his snack and get started on his homework only to find him playing outside or watching TV.
When I asked him why, his usual response was that he forgot. He was also very forgetful in general, as most children with ADD are.

ADD kids have trouble with both long-term and short-term memory. The problem these children experience with Short-term memory is that they cannot keep something in the forefront of their memory to use immediately. This leads to all sorts of problems both in the home and at school.

This short-term memory loss makes him forget simple instructions that either you or his teacher have given him, making it very difficult for your child to follow simple instructions, simply because he cannot remember what those instructions were, or he may have forgotten that you gave them in the first place.

Short term memory loss also leads to other school problems for children with Attention Deficit Disorder. Short term memory is also called working memory and your child needs it in order to remember the question that the teacher has asked, as well as to remember new information learned in class and apply it to her work.

Whilst reading, short-term memory helps us to understand what we are reading. When writing, short-term memory helps us to get our thoughts down on paper and keeping the main idea in mind simultaneously.

In math, short-term memory helps us to keep track of the numbers and calculations throughout the steps of a more complex problem, such as long-division.

A strong short –term memory is the first step to a strong long-term memory.
Your ADD child may be having trouble with his long-term memory if he forgets information that he once knew well. He may have trouble retrieving the information that is filed away in his long-term memory.

In order to understand and remember something, we need to be able to build on previous material learned. Good examples of this type of material include vocabulary words, math facts, history facts and so on.

Without this ability to build on previous facts, learning can be painful and slow, simply because we have to start from scratch and re-learn all that has been forgotten over and over again.

Attention Deficit Disorder (with or without hyperactivity) and other Learning Disabilities affect both the short-term and long-term memory causing your child to have endless problems at home, school and in other social settings.

For tips on how to help your ADD child boost his memoryand succeed at school ,click the link below.

Memory Boosting Tips For The ADD Child

http://www.maximindpower.com/add/succeed-at-school.html