The ADHD Solution Workbook

By Tom Daly

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

Knowing the Hierarchy of Student Behavior………………………….3

“Right Words” ………………………………………………………….5

Walk and Talk……………………………………………………………7

Using The Stoplight………………………………………………………8

Recording Student Misbehavior………………………………..……….9

Nonverbal cues to keep class rolling…………………………………….12

Replacing Tattling with Student-to-Student Compliments……………13

12 Ways To Reach An ADHD Child Each and Every Day…………….15

Five Class Rules That Create Responsibility……………………………16

Creating Community in the Classroom…………………………………17

Conflict Avoidance Techniques…………………………………………20

Interest Inventories………………………………………………………21

Using Movies In Your Classroom………………………………………26

Using Journals……………………………………………………………32

The Gap Theory of Compliance…………………………………………36

‘I’m Done — What Can I Do Now?’……………………………………39

How To Ask Great Questions In Class…………………………………41

Teacher Binder……………………………………………………………42

Helpful Translations for Teachers………………………………………44

Knowing The Hierarchy of Student Behavior

(From Chapter 5 of my book, “The ADHD Solution for Teachers: How To Turn Any Disruptive Child Into Your Best Student)

When discussing student behaviors with colleagues, the first task is to accurately identify and label the behavior.

Listen to each other and ask questions regarding the facts:
What did he do?
When did he do it?
Who was there?
What happened directly before the behavior was exhibited?
What other circumstances contributed to the situation?

Label the behavior based on the hierarchy.

For example, you might conclude: It sounds like Joey is being disruptive every day when I start explaining math concepts.

Look for a strategy that makes sense for the type of behavior the student exhibits.

For example, you could say, What might cause a student to be disruptive in a math lecture? Maybe we could try______.”

Learn to be a “smart’’ staff.

Everyone needs to agree to a specific intervention and appropriate backup plans if the intervention fails.

Leave the final decision up to the student.

Bring the student into the meeting and ask him, “What do we need to do so that you are not disruptive in math class?” Show the student the two or three least intrusive interventions that the staff has agreed upon. Let him select one.

Daly’s Hierarchy of Student Behavior

ON-TASK

OFF-TASK

DISRUPTIVE

AGGRESSIVE

ON-TASK. A student who is “on-task” is doing what you’re asking him to do. When you give him directions, he’s following them quickly and quietly, stays on-task and is not bothering others.

OFF-TASK. While the rest of your class might be on-task doing an assignment, the student who is off-task is mostly not engaged in the task — he is off-task.

DISRUPTIVE. The disruptive student is both off-task and is successfully pulling other students off-task. Sometimes the student is being disruptive because the work is over his head, or because the work is too easy.

AGGRESSIVE. An aggressive student is one who is volatile and agitated, one who may get violent. Aggression can be foreseen in clenched fists, tightened jaw, and a focused expression upon a target. Or, the student may already be acting out physically by pushing or hitting others, or by throwing objects.

‘Right Words’

(From Chapter 6 of my book, “The ADHD Solution for Teachers: How To Turn Any Disruptive Child Into Your Best Student)

OVERVIEW: Gaining control of confrontational situations with your students can be achieved through the proven technique of “Right Words.” As in many of the martial arts, the goal in using these strategies is to deflect and use the opponents' energy.

On the following page is a list of “Right Words” phrases. An explanation of these phrases can be found in Chapter 6:

SUGGESTED USE:

1. Copy the “Right Words” list, which is found on the next page.

2. Tape the list somewhere in your day planner, on your desk, on a mirror, or somewhere you will see it every day.

3. Select one strategy each week that you would like to practice.

4. At the end of the week, put a check mark on the line in front of the strategy you selected and jot down any insights or comments you gained during the week.

5. Select another strategy for the following week and keep repeating the process.

“Right Words” Phrases

_____1. Replace the word "frustrating" with "fascinating" or "interesting."

_____2. Use, "Perhaps we should consider . . ." when introducing a suggestion to a skeptical person or group.

_____3. Sit next to oppositional parents and students.

_____4. Use empathy linked to an action: "I know how you feel. I've felt that way before, and what I've found by trying ______it helped things by ______.

_____5. Say nothing, (drop the rope).

_____6. Say the unexpected.

_____7. Adjust to your audience. Become a verbal chameleon.

_____8. Never make threats or promises.

_____9. As a last resort, end the meeting or walk away.

9a) Say, "It doesn't seem like we’re going to solve this here, let's set an appointment with ______. That's where these things get resolved."

_____10. "You know, I'd be happy to do ______. I'm only hesitant because (try to give positive reason here). Why don't we do (your suggestion) instead?"

_____11. Four possible responses to an inappropriate comment are:

_____11a. Ask, "Why would you ask that?"

_____11b. Ask, "Why would you want to know that?"

_____11c. Say, "You and I will talk about that later."

_____11d. Say, “That’s not appropriate.”

_____12. When needing to build consensus, preface your remarks by saying either:

_____"I'm glad you said that . . .”

_____“After listening to all of these ideas . . .”

_____13. When someone makes any accusation against you in front of a group, start your response by saying, “I’m glad you said that.”

_____14. End with the phrase, “It’s your choice” after explaining to a misbehaving student the benefits of returning to work versus the consequences that will occur if he continues to misbehave.

Walk And Talk

(From Chapter 7 of my book, “The ADHD Solution for Teachers: How To Turn Any Disruptive Child Into Your Best Student)

When walking around campus, take one student with you.

Places to go include: your school mailbox, the counselor’s office, and the copy machine.

You don’t have to talk about anything “heavy.”

You might ask, “What did you do last night?” to start the conversation.

Let the student talk. Listen and ask questions about what he likes.

Notice how the student will tell you what he needs.

Notice how the student will give you ideas on how to better “hook him” into the class.

You should see significant improvement in your ADHD students after three months or less of using this technique.

Suggestion: After each walk, jot down a couple notes in your teacher binder. Example: Walked with Joey. He’s into ‘Sims City’ computer game. He said he doesn’t understand two of our vocabulary words.

Using ‘The Stoplight’ To Create Student Responsibility and Increase Compliance

(From Chapter 11 of my book, “The ADHD Solution for Teachers: How To Turn Any Disruptive Child Into Your Best Student)

If a student is continually questioning your authority in class, use this strategy. If the same student tells his parents that you are picking on him, hold a parent meeting and use this strategy. Practice it a few times and it will soon become second nature to say these magic words:

Have you ever been in a car with your Mom?

When the traffic light turns red, what does she do?

When the light turns green, what does she do?

So, the job of the light is to give your Mom directions, and your Mom’s job is to do what?

If your Mom yells and screams at the light, will it change any quicker?

Is it personal? Is the light turning red on your Mom because it’s mad at her?

I am just like that traffic light. My job, as your teacher, is to give you directions and your job is to . . . what?

That’s right! It’s nothing personal. In fact, if you think about it, my job as the teacher is to tell you what to do and your job is to . . . what?

That’s right — to follow the direction quickly and quietly.

It’s nothing personal.

Recording Student Misbehavior

(From Chapter 12 of my book, “The ADHD Solution for Teachers: How To Turn Any Disruptive Child Into Your Best Student)

Recording student misbehavior is important for these reasons:

It can be used to show administration and staff exactly what sort of problem you have on your hands.

It can be used to show unconvinced parents the extent of the student’s misbehavior.

It is useful in assessing the student’s problem and what strategy might work best.

It is useful in monitoring the student’s progress or decline.

There are three aspects of a behavior that may be recorded:

Frequency. How often does the behavior occur?
Duration. How long is he doing the behavior?
Intensity/Force. How strong is the behavior?

Most of the time, we are concerned with recording frequency and/or duration. For example, if a student is continually getting out of his seat without permission, you will want to record the frequency of that behavior. However, if a student only gets out of his seat one time per day, but will not return to his seat for 20 to 30 minutes, then we are interested in recording the duration of that behavior because that is the more germane problem.

How to Record the Frequency of a Behavior

Pick a starting time. For example, write down “8:45 a.m.”

Then, every time the student exhibits the target behavior, make a tally mark on your paper.

When you are done observing, write down your ending time. For example, you may write, “ending time 9:15 a.m.”

Record in your teacher binder the data. For example, On November 21st, during reading time, from 8:45 to 9:15, John got out of his seat 23 times.

Consider using graph paper and make a chart.

After doing this for a few days, you will have baseline data.

Then, try only one intervention at a time to see what works and what does not work.

Ask other professionals for intervention ideas.

When there is a meeting, bring all your data, a list of interventions you have tried and their level of success.

When recording duration of a behavior, just write down when the behavior started and when it ended and record that daily on graph paper as your baseline data. Then, do step 7-9 above.

STUDENT MISBEHAVIOR RECORD

For:______

Description of behavior:

Date / Starting time / ------Tallies------ / Ending time / ------Comments------

Nonverbal Cues To Keep Class Rolling

Using hand signals and prearranged visual cues can make a big difference in eliminating distractions. Remember to individualize them for your setting and make sure your administrator is involved in your planning.

Here are some sample scenarios you can use with your own ADHD students:

The child needs to move to a cubicle in the back of the room. He holds up one finger. You nod your approval and he goes.

The child needs to go to the special education room. He holds up two fingers. You nod your approval, he grabs his permanent “pass to room X” and he goes.

The child wants permission to take the bathroom pass. He holds up three fingers. You nod your approval and he takes the permanent bathroom pass.

The child wants permission to do art, draw, read a magazine or write a letter. He holds up four fingers. You nod your approval.

The child wants to go outside the class where you can see him and he can bang on a muted drum pad or practice the guitar. He holds up five fingers. You nod your approval and he takes his permanent “hallway music pass.”

The child needs to get up and walk. He holds up his fist and that means he wants to take the attendance sheets to the office. You nod your approval.

Scenarios 1 through 5 focus on the student self-monitoring his behavior. Experts agree that self-monitoring is a critical skill for ADHD students.

Hand signals can communicate both ways. Perhaps the student cannot self-monitor with 100 percent reliability. In that case, you may need to signal him with two fingers to go to the special education room. This is best done discreetly as you walk up and down the aisles of the classroom. That way, you can signal for his eyes only and lessen the chance for disruption.

Alternately, you can simplify this strategy by using colored cards with pictures on them. Maybe green is for music on the lawn; red is for Ms. Reddrick’s room, the special education teacher, etc. The child can just hold up his color-coded pass and you can then nod your approval.

Replace Tattling with Student-to-Student Compliments

(From Chapter 16 of my book, “The ADHD Solution for Teachers: How To Turn Any Disruptive Child Into Your Best Student)

Teach your students how to give and receive compliments.

What constitutes a good student-to-student compliment? One that focuses on student accomplishment rather than their clothes or appearances. For example, “I like the way you waited your turn at the lunch line,” is much better than, “I like your shoes.”

Here are some other guidelines to follow:

Teach your students to compliment a personal attribute rather than physical talents. For example, “You are a nice person” is much better than, “You are the fastest kid in class.”

Teach students the difference between compliments and harassment. Students need to know that it is not how their words are intended, but how a “reasonable person” receives them.

Students need to know that they will often get in trouble when they compliment a member of the opposite sex about a specific body part or by complimenting their body in general.

Students need to know that they can often get in trouble by complimenting someone on their clothes. For example, if a teenage boy says to a girl, “Hey, nice sweater,” that may constitute harassment. Teach your students that it is better to be safe than sorry. On the other hand, show your students a reasonable spectrum that betrays common sense. For example, “Hey, nice Bears hat” is another clothing-based compliment, but would be nearly impossible to construe as harassment.

Students should be taught that “elevator eyes” (sizing up someone of the opposite sex by looking up and down their body) is not acceptable behavior.

Two ideas to add compliments to your classroom:

Create a “Caught-Ya-Being-Good” box. Students are encouraged to drop one to three compliments in the box throughout the day. At the end of the period or day, the teacher reads them to the class. For example, “Someone said that Joe let Ed borrow paper during science.”

At the end of the day, each student must read his or her one best compliment to the class. Then, they repeat the compliment by saying it directly to the student. The student receiving the compliment is instructed to simply say, “Thank you.” Adjust this idea any way you want. Watch for popular kids getting too many compliments. Toss into the box your own anonymous compliments since you are part of the class too! The class doesn’t have to know the compliments came from you.

12 WAYS TO REACH AN ADHD CHILD EACH AND EVERY DAY

(From Chapter 18 of my book, “The ADHD Solution for Teachers: How To Turn Any Disruptive Child Into Your Best Student)

1. Take their ideas seriously.

2. Define limits clearly.

3. Be a good role model.

4. Teach them to spend time and money wisely.

5. Establish reasonable expectations. Give ADHD children reachable goals so they can see, touch and feel success.

6. Give them responsibilities.

7. Be available.

8. Show them what they do is important to you.

9. Express your values (but keep religion private).

10. Spend time together.

11. Ask them lots of questions.

12. Build a daily rapport with parents by calling them twice as often with positive reports than calls regarding areas of concern.5 Class Rules That Create Responsibility

(From Chapter 13 of my book, “The ADHD Solution for Teachers: How To Turn Any Disruptive Child Into Your Best Student)

In order to foster responsibility from your students, create class rules on the first day of school with your entire class. Post them where everyone can see them — this will remind your students of their obligations every day and also give you a handy visual tool when giving directions.

Remember to involve your students in the creation of their class rules. Keep the rules simple and short.

Here are five sample rules:

1. Follow directions quickly and quietly.

2. Do your best work.

3. Respect yourself and others.

4. Be on time.

5. Keep your hands and feet to yourself.

I recommend all five rules for use in grades kindergarten through junior high/middle school.

I recommend that Rule Number 5 be omitted for high school age students.

Creating Community in the Classroom