Today at the tutoring center I work at I had a new member in my zone, a five-year-old who happened to have ADHD. As you can imagine, the kid was pretty hyper and scatterbrained. Now, I generally will cut some slack for any child that young, just because I know that it is hard to get them to always sit still for an hour, particularly after they’ve been through school/other activities before they even got to me (increasing the likelihood of them being run down/cranky/inconsolable… ). But usually I can make some connection to even the youngest member by showing them how fun it is to work on the computer, and how they can win prizes if they pay attention and do well in their lessons. However this particular child was very difficult to work with because he was rather dismissive around me and was more interested in mashing the keyboard than matching shapes/listening to instructions on headphones/etc.
I am curious if there is anything info-wise I can use to help me get through to kids like this. While I’m not dealing with a roomful of kids like this every day, they do come into the tutoring center to get extra help in school, and it would help me job-wise if I was able to make a difference for them enough to stick around and continue to use our service.
Well, one of the things we do at the center when a child does very well (90% or better on a lesson) is to make 2 basketball shots. If they make at least one shot, they get a magnet (the magnets are redeemed for prizes). This is nice since the child can get up and move around a bit. The particular ADHD kid was thrilled by this, BTW.
Unfortunately, that’s all we really can do. Typically the children are doing five 10-minute lessons. Factoring in a bathroom break and a water break, along with any other distractions/questions between lessons, it takes them about an hour to complete a day’s worth of lessons. However, it is hard getting these types of kids to sit down for a mere ten minutes. It is also difficult getting them to understand they have to try to stay calm now, and if they do, then they can cut loose when they are done. They are typically driven 100% on impulse, they can’t wait for anything, and at times its as if I’m invisible to them and they shut me out completely. If it gets to the point where I have to turn things over to a director (manager) its kind of looked on me poorly since I couldn’t find a way to handle it on my own; also directors are constantly busy and there are many situations where I wouldn’t be able to get a more experienced person to help me out with the child
Who diagnosed the child? Is the child in fact diagnosed? Are they medicated and the meds have worn off by this stage of the day (and if you’re really blessed, you’ll be dealing with rebound). What does the parent say? Do you have any contact with the school? Is the behaviour the same in the classroom as in your tutoring centre?
What protocols are in place in your centre to help you deal with this situation? I’m presuming that the parents are paying for the child to be there? Is it feasible that this is not a situation that this child can learn in? How do the other tutors cope?
I’d recommend Russell Barkley’s book on ADHD. For some kids with ADHD after a long school day, they’re beyond making good choices. It’s not that you don’t get through to them that if they do Good Thing A, then Good Thing B can occur – it’s that their attentional issues mean they can’t hold it together and make a good choice.
Actually the more I think about it, the more I’m wondering why these kids are doing this at the end of the school day and who thinks it’s a Good Thing… betcha most of them are learning exactly squat and it’s not their fault and it’s not your fault. It’s hard to learn after a day of struggle when your meds have worn off and you’re tired anyway.
Sometimes ADHD kids do well with continuing to work after school because they don’t have to “change gears” and are still in school mode. Others may do better with taking a break and then going back to work. The point is, it’s different for each child. I’m am not an expert (and my child’s dx is not ADHD, but autism), but I’m finding it takes some tinkering to find out what works best for each child. I’m getting the best suggestions from the various school counselors as I haven’t found any one book or on-line source that has all the answers or suggestions I need.
My son has been taking himself to his room after school and closing the door (he’s 6) which shows me he needs some quiet time. Another child that I watch (8 y.o.-he has not been diagnosed- in fact, his mother was offended when a pediatrician suggested the idea of ADHD), but he zooms around and yells and bounces so much after school that I’m having to make him go outside to the playground for a while to cool him off. These two kids are not mixing well and I’m thinking of not watching the “busy” one as he’s actually starting to drive me nuts, too.
Do you have a counselor, therapist, etc. or other resource person you can ask for suggestions?
My son’s ADHD/Asperger’s and I did some volunteer tutoring for a few years with my local Salvation Army center, nothing professional but I’ve picked up a few things.
When they’re that young, constant reinforcement helps. Completing each step of the lesson get’s an ‘attaboy,good job’ because they’re usually not motivated by getting them right for far-off potential rewards as much as they’re motivated by hearing the next positive comment. Once they get accustomed to the pattern, you can back off a little, but it’s more like cheerleader mode to get them started.
Sounds like you’ve already got an organized routine in place, keep to it and keep repeating it every session, that helps as well. But, if he’s just not capable of five 10-minute lessons yet, break it down into more manageable chunks for him while keeping to the routine as much as possible. Work on getting thru two per session at the beginning, with maybe a scheduled silly stretch or jumping jack break after he completes X number of questions.
Of course, this all depends on how much latitude you have, are the lesson segments timed, are you able to devote that much 1on1 time to a single student, etc. Seeing the other kids doing the same thing might help things a bit, just getting them to accept the idea of ‘this is what we do here at this time’ is a big hurdle. It can be incredibly frustrating, but utterly worthwhile, best of luck!
If the child is medicated, there is a very good chance the meds have worn off. I know after school as a child, I was a hellion because my lunch dose of Ritalin wore off about dismissal time.
What are you trying to teach the child? A lot of my suggestions are for older children, as I was diagnosed at 6 and got meds stabilized around 8, but they might be adaptable.
I second Primaflora’s suggestion that he may not be able to pay enough attention to make the connection between work and reward at the current mental state. He wants to do the more fun thing (well, multiple things at once, most likely) and cannot grasp that if he learns, he will get a reward. It’s nothing you’re doing wrong, most likely.
Good luck to you. Impulsiveness is tough to work with.
Are the lessons at your center strictly codified? If not, could you experiment with rewards and lessons? Maybe more frequent rewards? Maybe verbal interactions–chanting the spelling of words or adding?
If you must follow the same routine with each child, you may be out of luck.
What the heck do you tutor a 5-year-old in anyway?
). But usually I can make some connection to even the youngest member by showing them how fun it is to work on the computer, and how they can win prizes if they pay attention and do well in their lessons. However this particular child was very difficult to work with because he was rather dismissive around me and was more interested in mashing the keyboard than matching shapes/listening to instructions on headphones/etc.