Customization
I love it when teachers work with students to teach them how to organize. I encourage you to recognize that some students with ADHD might benefit greatly from specific organization strategies, but they also might need some flexibility. Keep an open mind and help students develop the the right organization strategy for them. Parents can also give you some great ideas here.
Planning
To help your students learn how to plan effectively, step one is making sure that the students have a planner. I know many schools give students a planner by third grade. The next step is to teach them how to use the planner. Teachers can support the learning by signing the planner everyday and requiring parent signatures as well. In addition, teachers can assist their students with ADHD by telling them what they should write down. By sharing the key points that need to be included in the planner and giving students enough time to write. It may take a student with ADHD a little bit longer to write down the assignment. I talk to many students with ADHD that just do not have enough time to write down their assignment. They mean to and probably need reminders, but they often need the time to do it.
The next strategy is something called a “tickler file” and I would love to get more feedback on this one. “Tickler files” are something that adults use to help us remember to pay the bills as an example, and I think there is a way that students can use “tickler files” to help them remember when they need to finish given assignments. If a high school student has a term paper to finish, he or she could set up a “tickler file” to remember when notecards, outlines, drafts and the final product are due.
What do you think? Is there a way this can work for your student with ADHD?
Laura Rolands is an ADHD Coach, the founder of My Attention Coach, and host of Practical ADHD Strategies. She works with students, adults and families to find effective solutions to their ADHD challenges.