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ADHD Tutoring

People with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsivity, taking turns, setting priorities, following instructions and/or sitting still. If coping strategies are not learned, ADHD will likely affect social, academic and professional development. Individual tutoring sessions, away from the distractions of group lessons, are one way to help a student with ADHD achieve success.

  1. Benefits

    • For the child with ADHD, the classroom is often a dizzyingly busy, chaotic and noisy place. Outside of that environment, students with an average to high IQ may become quite focused and absorbed in their subject matter. For an ADHD student with a lower IQ, one-on-one tutoring will enable the instructor to slow instruction down and break tasks into small, more manageable chunks.

    Challenges

    • People with ADHD often struggle with prioritizing, sequencing and time management. It may therefore be helpful to dedicate a set amount of time to these skills at each tutoring session. The tutor can help the student plan his time and tasks for the next few days and also help him develop his own system for prioritizing and planning ahead.

    Misconceptions

    • People with ADHD often appear to have a short attention span. It would be equally accurate, however, to describe the ADHD attention span as broad rather than short. In other words, people with ADHD often focus on the many things going on around them rather than on the one thing they are told to focus on. In a classroom packed with chattering students, buzzing lights and teacher commands, this type of attention span may become a detriment. In other situations, such as driving a car or trekking in the woods, the ability to remain aware of the many things occurring at once may actually be an asset. If tutoring a student with ADHD, it is important to minimize nonessential stimuli that may attract the student's attention.

    Tips

    • Minimize distractions when tutoring a child with ADHD. Find a quiet place with lights that don't flicker, and clear the desk of all nonessential items. This is especially important if you are helping the student prepare for a test where much information has to be organized and memorized.

    Creative Tutoring

    • If at all possible, bring your lesson outdoors. In a classroom, the student with ADHD appears inattentive and easily distracted. Outside, however, a person with ADHD will often notice all kinds of interesting things others fail to observe. Try to make use of this positive ADHD trait by figuring out creative ways to bring your tutoring lesson outdoors. Basic primary grade skills such as vocabulary building, story telling, critical thinking, and elementary math and sequencing skills can all be taught outside. Outdoor education is also a great way to teach any student, especially an ADHD student, natural science.

      If going outside is not an option, incorporate hands-on activities. Students with ADHD are often kinesthetic learners, and they will likely benefit from a lesson that allows them to use their bodies as well as their minds.

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