ADHD Tips

What teacher an ADHD child has is critical to their success in school. As a parent, you want to research what teacher your child will have to see what their background is. You want a teacher who understands the disorder or who is willing to learn about ADD. You want a teacher who will keep in regular contact with you, the parent. You will want a teacher who is encouraging, motivating and has clear and consistent rules and goals. You want a teacher who is dynamic and switches their teaching up quite a bit (ADHD children are much more prone to boredom). You want a teacher who will teach slowly and clearly, and who will repeat things if necessary. ADHD children often need to have things repeated because their minds wander. And you definitely need to have a teacher who will not undermine treatment your child is getting outside of the classroom.

Keep in mind that under federal law, a handicapped child must have whatever modifications that are needed. With ADHD, a child is often handicapped in many ways in the school environment. But often, the disorder is overlooked and children with ADHD suffer from this oversight in education. Because there is not enough funding and people to help, ADD is ignored unless parents step up and advocate for their children.

Parents need to be the main ones advocated for their child. They should not rely on teachers, social workers, psychologist and other personnel at the school. Because of this, parents need to be educated as to what they can do for their children. If the school does not listen to your demands or talks down to you, do not give in. This is your child’s education, and you have a right to speak up.

If it is difficult for you to speak for your child, it is possible to get a school advocate. This is a person who knows how to deal with schools and can help your child out. To find out more about this, contact CHADD (a national support group for people with ADD) or the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.

Specifically, for the teacher, there are a few tips that will help in teaching a child with ADHD. The main thing is you want to minimize any distractions that will catch the child’s attention. Do not use bright, shiny colors on the walls; this will distract the child. Put the child up front to decrease their straying attention. Write the rules of classroom and display it clearly. Help the ADD child know that it is ok to ask for additional help. Positive encouragement works wonders, especially with children with ADD. In regards to projects, allow more time for ADD children. Let the ADD children have frequent breaks to give their attention span a break.

Technorati Tags: ADHD, child, School

Many stay-home Moms devote so much time and energy to their children in the formative years that it can be hard to let go when it’s time for them to start school.  After all, virtually losing the person that defined your life for the last five years can leave you feeling like you’ve lost your purpose, as well.  It is for this reason that some parents opt to take an active role at their child’s school (or specifically, in their child’s class) as a room mom, a chaperone, or simply by helping out occasionally.  However, this can be an embarrassment to a child who is just starting to learn the fine art of socializing with a large group of peers.  And while young children may exhibit only small signs of disapproval, the sentiment is especially prevalent in middle-school age kids who are just hitting puberty.  However, there are still ways that you can take part in school activities and monitor your child’s educational and social progress from afar, even as they begin to grow older.

1. Monitor, chaperone, plan.  The easiest way to get involved in your child’s school is to volunteer on a part-time basis.  With many schools losing funding during the recession, parent aides are more important than ever.  So offer to monitor the playground during lunchtime or recess, chaperone on field trips or other class activities, and help to plan various events like dances, meetings, etc.
2. Gauge your strengths. Everyone is good at something.  Maybe you enjoy baking or food preparation and you are willing to cater snack times.  Or perhaps you are a fair hand at sewing and you can help to create costumes for school plays.  You might even have had a creative job that deals with art, film, or computer graphics and you can help the class to do fun projects or create an awesome class blog.  Whatever your talents, seek ways to use them to the advantage of your child and the class (or the school at large).
3. Host fundraisers. If your kid is starting to get a bit peeved that you’re always around, take a step back and try to find ways to stay involved without being ubiquitous.  Fundraisers (bake sales, car washes, etc.) are a great way to ensure that the school has the money it needs to provide the best education for your child (including books, supplies, and most importantly, teachers).
4. Offer tutoring.  Most children could use a little help when it comes to one subject or another, so offer to help out in the classroom or after school for free (as there are plenty of kids who can’t afford expensive tutors).  You will get to know some of the kids your child associates with, be present if your child needs you, and provide a valuable service for students who might otherwise get lost in the shuffle.
5. Be a mentor. There are plenty of kids out there who could use a little extra love.  Your child is lucky enough to have at least one parent who is engaged in their life, but many others have two working parents who are struggling to make ends meet (and unfortunately that leaves little time for the family).  You can help these children in a number of ways, but mainly by giving them the love and attention they need to live healthy, happy lives.

[Sheila Simpson writes for Online University where you can browse find the school that is right for you.]

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Sorenson’s Ranch School started as a summer youth program. In the summer of 1959. The original people involved were Burnell and Carrol Sorenson, Ell Sorenson, Wayne Brindley and Milton Brindley. At the time of its inception Burnell worked as a teacher in the Whittier Unified School District in Southern California, and used his spare time recruiting for youth locally for the summer juvenile boot camp program. Some of the original facilities also served as a deer camp through the early 1960’s. During the 1970’s Burnell was the principal owner with Carrol and had several years representing the Youth Conservation Corps, which was a newly formed organization to provide youth from various backgrounds teambuilding, educational, and outdoor experiences while doing projects with the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service. Many of those projects still exist to this day in the surrounding outdoors of Grass Valley. It was in 1984 that Burnell and Carrol retired from their teaching careers in Southern California to live full time in Koosharem. That same year Sorenson’s Ranch School started to give year-round adolescent treatment to troubled teens needing help. Sorenson’s quickly formed the basics to become an accredited boarding school and a licensed residential treatment facility. Because Sorenson’s Ranch School was a pioneering venture, the State of Utah initially were unclear how to oversee and inspect our facilities to care for troubled youth, so the license was first granted through Youth Corrections to provide reactive attachment disorder treatment. Later this was done directly with the Department of Licensing. Wayne Holland, who is the current Chairman for the Utah Democratic Party, was the original licensor. Now Sorenson’s Ranch School is a family-owned and operated residential treatment centre accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS). It is licensed as a mental health and substance-abuse treatment centre with the Utah State Human Services Department and is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Because of the declining health of Burnell, Shane and Jill Sorenson took over the helm of the school around 1998. Layne Bagley took over as the primary admissions person. Today the Clinical Director is Dave Nelsen, who has specialist training in Reactive Attachment Disorder, ADD, ADHD, Asperger’s Syndrome, and extensive experience with adolescents suffering from behaviour modification needs. Dave coordinates his efforts with our other primary therapists who bring considerable expertise to today’s Sorenson’s Ranch School. Nowadays Sorenson’s is also a licensed residential treatment facility that includes treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, serves students with histories of different kinds of behaviour modification such as problems with parents, substance abuse, low or non-existent self-esteem, learning difficulties, dropping out of or being expelled from school, extreme mental stress, and Reactive Attachment Disorder. Many new buildings have added to the facilities. Among them are: school building, gymnasium, library/administration building, lodge, industrial arts building, and the largest wood barn built in Utah in the last 50 years. Troubled teens seem to respond well to the animal therapy offered at Sorenson’s. With the consolidation of the farms, Shane Sorenson also assists in the sowing and harvesting of the crops, which are needed for the many animals on the youth ranch. Currently, we have horses, cattle, bison, sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, peacocks, rabbits, and goats. The Sorenson’s ranch’s wilderness program instills in its students the values of loyalty, respect, self-worth, personal management, and respect for property, cleanliness, and trustworthiness. The improvement in the dormitories has been dramatic during the 50 years youth have been in Sorenson’s therapeutic boarding school in Koosharem. In the early 1960’s the cabins all had no bathrooms or running water, only one common bathroom on each side of the cabins for each specific gender. Indoor heating was installed in individual cabins in the 1970’s, and consisted of small wood burning stoves. The 1980’s brought the advent of indoor plumbing into each cabin along with central heating. In the last two years the dormitories have been completely renovated. Overall there has been, a total transformation in the comfort and coziness of student dormitory living. Moreover Sorenson’s Ranch School has the goal of continuing to improve its services for its clients. We teach a new way of life with emphasis on ranching, farming, camping, and country living. Many students go on to college or trade programs. All students have life-enhancing experiences. We look to the future with excitement and hope for our staff and the clientele we serve. For more information visit Sorensons Ranch School or call the admissions office at 1-888-830-4802

Technorati Tags: Adolescent, Attachment, disorder, Experience, Ranch, Reactive, School, Sorensons, Successful, Teens, treatment, Troubled, Years

Private School Expo for Montreal Families

Families in the Montreal area: don’t miss the Montreal Private School expo this September. Register for free admission and to meet with French and English schools.

At the Montreal Private School Expo you will find:

• French and English schools
• institutions that offer day and boarding programs
• schools from Quebec and other provinces
• representatives from the schools to answer your questions
• students who can talk to your children about their experiences
• Explore different types of schools, educational philosophies and special programs
• Find out about the admissions process, when to apply and what schools look for
• Determine what budget you should be looking at and receive information about scholarships, bursaries and tax credits

If your family is not in the Montreal area we invite you to join us at our Private School Expos in Vancouver, Halton and Toronto. Click the link for more information.

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The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is partnering with Loblaw’s Canada to reduce schools’ impact on the environment and teach students more about taking care of the earth.

The awards are focussed on making changes within the school that will also have a positive affect on the local community.

Your school could win a $5000 grant in the Green CommUnity School Grants Program.

The fall application period will open in September and October.  Stay tuned to this space for more announcements.

[If you are looking for an education program that teaches children how to be great stewards of the environment you should take a close look at the Waldorf schools listed at OurKids.net/school.   Natural materials and toys can help a child develop an earth-focussed mindset from a very early age.]

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Some kids are go-getters.  They seem to have no inhibitions whatsoever.  They go right up to other children on the playground and interact without any prompting as though they were born to socialize.  Then there are shy kids. They hang back while others play, uncertain of how to join in.

At home they are little chatterboxes, spewing a steady stream of questions, but as soon as they are in proximity to other tykes, they clam up.  You’ve tried foisting neighborhood kids upon them, but they simply hide behind your skirt and refuse to socialize.  You figured they’d grow out of it eventually, but with school fast approaching, you need a strategy to ensure that they don’t get left out of fundamental social activities and lose the chance to connect with their peers early on.  After all, you want them to have every opportunity to succeed in life and the ability to communicate is pretty high on the agenda.  Luckily, there is a certain amount of psychology involved in why some kids are outgoing while others are shy, and if you understand the root of the problem, you can more readily work to correct it.

Timidity in young children is not uncommon and it can be overcome.  Most kids who exhibit symptoms of shyness do so because they are afraid, uncomfortable, or they feel self-conscious or embarrassed in new situations.  And while it may have something to do with personality, you could also be the root of the problem.  Most parents take the attitude that they must protect their children from anything and everything that happens along their path.  Unfortunately, you may be blocking their natural tendencies to explore and learn.  Because you are not allowing them the range of expression that their curiosity would normally engender, you may be causing them undue uncertainty (even if you started out with the best of intentions).  However, there is a solution.  You simply have to begin by directing their social interactions and then encouraging them to continue on their own.

This can be a nerve-wracking experience for many parents.  But your baby bird has to leave the nest and learn to fly.  So start by guiding them.  And don’t just throw them into the park and tell them to play with the other kids.  This is about as useful as giving them a saw and telling them to make a table.  They need to know how to approach other kids and interact, so work out a few scenarios to try.  For example, you may tell them to approach another child and ask if they would like to play, then suggest a game (which you can teach them).  You might want to go with them the first time for support, then back off and let them take over.  You can also urge them to order their own food at restaurants, pay cashiers, and ask authority figures for help (directions, etc.).  If you give them the tools they need to succeed and then encourage them to operate on their own, they will soon begin to exhibit the self-confident and independent behaviors that will allow them to thrive when they head off to school.

{Shirley Simpson is a writer for Medical Coding where you can browse medical coding schools and industry jobs.]

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Technorati Tags: child, Prepping, School

There are three main justifications for school choice. The first and second have received quite a bit of attention in [Society for Quality Education's] School for Thought blog – namely, the social justice angle (how it isn’t fair that only savvy, affluent parents are able to choose better schools for their kids) and the competition angle (the fact that monopolies are inefficient and unresponsive – but improve their service when competition is introduced). The third justification is often ignored – but it is the most compelling as far as I am concerned. It concerns the rights of parents - indeed their responsibility – to determine their children’s education.

Canada is a signatory to the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 26 (c) of which states: “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children”. When I visited the UN in New York a few years back, I read these words in big letters on the lobby wall, and it sent a chill up my spine. It’s serious!

Parents are responsible for all aspects of their children’s upbringing – and of course education is one of the most important elements of this responsibility. When parents are prevented from determining their children’s education – by being forced to send their children to the school assigned by the school board, even when the school is harmful to their children – in effect, these parents are being prevented from carrying out one of their most important duties.

Parents know and love their children and are thus far more likely to make good decisions about their children’s education than school board bureaucrats who have never laid eyes on them. Most children will be better off if their parents can choose their schools.

[Malkin Dare is the President of the Society for Quality Education. The SQE is a group of parents and educators focussing on children's success in school]

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