ADHD-Teacher Tips for Impulsivity
27
Jan
2010
Try some of these and see what works. Be creative and if you find something that works share it with others. Remember, impulse control problems are among the most common in children with ADHD, especially the boys.
- Remind the child often of your expectations. Have a chat with them and ask them if they know when problems have occured in the past for them. Ask if they have found solutions to those problems in the past.
- Interpret to the child the impact of the actions on others. For example, “You pushed Sarah out of her place in the line, this made her angry.”
- After the interpretation see if the child can identify a solution to the problem. If they can’t provide one or two options and watch for their occurance. When they occur be sure to praise and reward.
- The use of a token system, which can either be earned or lost, can be helpful. The child gets a token for desired behaviour and loses a token for undesired behaviour.
- Tokens need to be “cashed in” for some concrete reward; for children with ADHD this may mean they get the reward before the first break, before big break, twice a day, once a day. It depends on the child.
Be patient, invent your own system. Talk to teachers and parents to discover what works for them.