How to Reach and Teach ADD/ADHD Children: Practical Techniques, Strategies, and Interventions for Helping Children with Attention Problems and Hyperactivity (J-B Ed: Reach and Teach) - Softcover

Rief, Sandra F.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0876284136 ISBN 13: 9780876284131

Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 1993

Synopsis

A comprehensive resource that addresses the "whole child, " as well as the team approach to meeting the needs of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Includes management techniques that promote on-task behavior and language arts, whole language, and multi-sensory instruction strategies that maintain student attention and keep students involved.

About this title

About the Author

Sandra F. Rief received her B.A. and M.A. in elementary and special education from the University of Illinois. She has taught children with learning disabilities as well as attentional and behavioral problems for the last 19 years. For the past 12 years, she has been working as a Resource Specialist in the San Diego City Schools. As a mentor teacher, Sandy became actively involved in the Project for Attention Related Disorders (PARD) and wrote a manual for her school district on effective strategies for teaching children with attention and learning disabilities. She presents numerous workshops and inservices, and is a featured speaker at conferences addressing this topic. She is also the author of How to Reach & Teach All Students in the Inclusive Classroom (1996) and The ADD/ADHD Checklist (1997), published by The Center for Applied Research in Education.

From the Back Cover

For educators, specialists, and parents, here is a remarkable new resource packed with classroom-tested techniques and practical know-how for helping children with attention deficit disorders--with or without hyperactivity.

Focusing on the "whole child" and a team approach that lets you guide these children toward academic as well as personal success, the book shows you...

• What is ADD/ADHD and how to identify it
• Successful home-school itnervention plans based on actual case studies
• How to get and keep student attention & increase on-task behavior
• Specific management techniques that prevent behavioral problems
• What works best to improve students' organization and study skills
• Proven multi-sensory activities and methods for language arts, math, and writing instruction
• How to reach students through learning styles awareness, environmental modifications, and cooperative learning situations
• Various medications, their effects, and school management of them
• How to modify assignments and tests, and accommodate the child with writing difficulties
• Numerous strategies on how to manage kindergarten children
• How to use relaxation, guided imagery, visualization techniques, and music to get the most from your students
• How to avoid problems during transitional and noninstructional times
• A Parent's Story that deals with the many issues, feelings, and struggles that families face when a child has this disorder
• Interviews with teens and adults who share what made a significant difference in their lives

Plus you get sample contracts, charts, a student self-evaluation checklist, sample letters and documentation on communicating with physicians and agencies, a learning styles interview to use with children, obseration sheets, and an outline for a social skills planning unit to help you successfully manage the impulsive, overly stimulated, "quick-to-anger" child as well as the child who just can't focus.

In short, this complete resource is like having an expert at your side to answer virtually any question on how to reach and teach children who need your help and understanding!

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

About This Book

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is not something that we can "cure." A child with ADD/ADHD, like one with learning disabilities, does not "outgrow" it, though their difficulties and behaviors are manifested differently as the child matures. We, the significant adults in their lives, play a major role in how well these children achieve, succeed, and feel about themselves. We are the ones who can help these children best manage their lives, cope with frustrations, and compensate for weaknesses. We are also the ones who can help them see their strengths often their giftedness-and value their uniqueness.

There are many children with ADD/ADHD who have grown up to be very successful adults. They have drawn upon their strengths, creativity, and "survival skills" to their advantage. On the other hand, there are many who have not fared well. There is a high correlation between ADHD and failure in society. A significant percentage of individuals who drop out of school, are unable to keep a job, fail in their interpersonal relationships, pack our prison system, and even commit suicide were children who had this disorder without the benefit of identification, intervention, and treatment. Many adolescents and adults with ADD/ADHD have painful memories of their childhood, particularly of their experiences and frustrations in school. Many experienced years of failure and serious depression.

The best help we can give our children is early identification and aggressive intervention at a young age to prevent the cycle of failure, frustration, and plummeting self-esteem. It is our responsibility in the schools to pull together as a team, doing everything we can to meet these children's needs effectively. This includes providing each child with the environment, skills, tools, and confidence to learn and feel good about himself/herself. We need to be patient, positive, and understanding-and try to see past the behaviors to the whole child-as we provide support and remove the obstacles in their paths.

This book is meant to serve as a comprehensive guide for school personnel trying to make a positive difference in the lives of these children. Regular and special education teachers, counselors, school nurses, administrators, psychologists, and parents will be provided with information, techniques, and strategies that will help students with ADD/ADHD succeed. Although the book is designed and written to address the specific needs of students with ADD/ADHD, the suggested strategies are appropriate and recommended for all students who appear to have attention problems, learning disabilities, or are underachieving for any number of reasons. Be aware that many gifted, intelligent children fall within this category.

For easy use, this resource is organized into thirty sections that provide you with comprehensive, practical guidance on such topics as:

* Preventing behavioral problems in the classroom through effective management techniques * How to focus and maintain students' attention * How to teach students organization and study skills * Detailed, multisensory strategies for teaching academic skills-reading, writing, and math * Learning styles: elements and interventions * Cooperative learning techniques Questions and answers regarding medication and its management with a school nurse * Techniques for relaxation and visualization, including the use of music for calming and facilitating smooth transitions * Challenges and specific interventions for kindergarten and middle school and junior high school students * How to help a student obtain a proper evaluation, assistance, and intervention through a team approach * Protocol and steps for referring students, and documenting and communicating effectively with parents, physicians, and agencies * How administrators can help teachers and students to succeed

I urge all readers to read Section 19, A Parent's Story, the poignant account by the mother of three children diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. One of the rewards I have gained in writing this book comes from the wonderful opportunity I had to interview teenagers and adults from across the country who have grown up with ADD/ADHD. Excerpts of these interviews are included throughout this book. By openly sharing their experiences and insights, the parent's story and the personal interviews reveal an important message about what makes a difference and the power we have as teachers. Sandra F. Rief

Edition details

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0876284136
• ISBN 13: 9780876284131
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256