Understanding Your ADHD Child's Learning Style

How does your child learn? In what ways does he or she learn new material best? What type of learning style does your child favor?

Rory Stern, PsyD, therapist and ADHD coach who specializes in working with ADHD children and their families, explains that there are three major types of learning styles (although these are by no means the only learning styles).

Visual Auditory

Kinaesthetic

Why Are These Different Styles Important?

Determining learning style can make a big difference in your child’s school success. The trick is getting a handle on what learning style or combination of learning styles work best for your child.

“A simple way to understand these different learning styles is to consider what senses your child relies on most when learning,” notes Dr. Stern. Once parents and teachers understand the way a child learns, teaching methods can be better geared to maximize the learning experience.

Visual Learners

Visual learners learn visually, by seeing, explains Dr. Stern. “In school, your child will do best from seeing examples and having an opportunity to watch.” These children respond well to colourful pictures and illustrations of the learning material, written lessons on the board or overhead projector, outlines, diagrams, charts, maps and educational videos – all things they can see to absorb the information. They also tend to cue in well to a teacher’s facial expressions.

Note taking (depending on the student’s age) is helpful for visual learners. “We want to make sure that this student is taking good notes, and reviewing good notes,” says Dr. Stern. “If your son or daughter does not take good notes, then we need to make sure that he or she has a study buddy or partner who is willing to share their notes.” Talk with your child’s teacher about helping you coordinate this.

Auditory Learners

“These children learn and retain information when they have an opportunity to hear it,” says Dr. Stern. Auditory learners cue in to voice tone, speed, volume and inflection, as well as body language and learn best by hearing class lectures and participating and listening to class discussions.

“One of the best strategies for these students is to allow them to record classroom lectures,” notes Dr. Stern. “By recording a lecture or classroom instruction (depending on the child’s age), the pressure is off of your child scrambling to take notes to keep up. Because we know anyone who tries to keep up at a pace that doesn’t match his or her own, sacrifices really understanding the material.”

An added benefit to recording classroom instruction? The student can replay any material he or she was not able to grasp fully and move along with learning at his or her own pace.

In addition to using a tape recorder, auditory learners benefit from reading text out loud and presenting learned material orally. They may want to rephrase and repeat back new material to help reinforce learning. Some enjoy music in the background when studying.

Kinaesthetic Learners

“These children are often the ones labelled as ADHD,” says Dr. Stern. “Why? A kinaesthetic learner is very active and will appear to be fidgety and sometimes highly active.”

These students love to be wholly physically absorbed in the learning activity, actively exploring and moving around. They may have trouble sitting for long periods of time, becoming bored and distracted when they are not “doing.” Hands-on, tactile teaching approaches in which a child is allowed movement work best for kinaesthetic learners. Science labs and experiments, involved unit studies, field trips, crafts, skits, model building – all help a kinaesthetic learner absorb new information.

During the times when these students need to be seated, it is helpful for them to sit up front in a classroom where there is a lot of activity going on as the teacher teaches. This way it is easier to stay engaged in the learning process.

Dr. Stern explains that it is sometimes helpful for a kinaesthetic learner to hold something in his or her hands to fidget with while doing work – silly putty, a Koosh ball, holding the book while reading (rather than setting it on the desk) - anything tactile works well.

Many kinaesthetic learners benefit from being permitted to work standing up, though the rest of the class may be seated.

Teaching to a child’s strengths and favoured learning style or combination of learning styles is always more productive than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Studying with ADHDHyperactivity and attention deficit disorder

You are not alone if you have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.About 4% of school age children are also affected.In addition, other students have one or a few of the characteristics of ADHD.

These strategies are suggested as part of a professionally organized program of assistance. They are derived from the American description of ADHD1. However, as a student, you also have your own personal learning style, including "intelligences" (c.f. Kolb), personality types (c.f. Myers-Briggs), etc. These will be helpful to know and develop in overcoming ADHD

In class:

To help you follow instructions:

Simplify instructions down to a basic one or two, and build from there. Verify these with your teacher, or

Ask your teacher to break down assignments into steps for you to follow

Answering out of turn, or interrupting the class or teachers is normal for ADHD, but it is best to remember that you are trying to learn

Write your question or comment down on paper before speaking Practice raising your hand before volunteering

Refer to our Guide on Classroom Learning

To take good notes is task for all students. These techniques may give you an advantage:

Bring a tape recorder to class Study with a classmate taking the same class

Refer to our Guide on Taking Notes in Lectures

With ADHD, lecture is not the best form of learning. Ask your teacher for a printed summary of the lecture, or alternative methods to get the same information

Homework:

To help you concentrate:

Find a quiet place in your home, to avoid distraction such as movement and noise of your family, pets, TV, telephones, music, etc.

If space in your home is limited, your parents or tutor may find space in a library, religious center, neighbor's house, or other sympathetic place

Special "headsets" can block out noise and help you focus

get into a routine, a consistent time you study

Refer to our Guide on Concentration

To help you remember:

Develop routines/habits!For example, before going to school, organize your schoolwork in the same way each day. Have some one help you begin to establish this pattern

Keep your assignments in the same pocket of your backpack. Tell your teacher about it

Keep a list of things to remember in a pocket of your backpack.

To help with details

Review your homeworkwith your parents, a classmate, a tutor

use grammar and spell checkers regularly for computer work

Remember that making mistakes, or overlooking details, is not for lack of intelligence, but rather a characteristic of this condition.

Help with learning

Take care of yourself; get the help you need:

Patience is a challenge for those with ADHD.If you are feeling angry, discouraged, or frustrated over your progress, find some support. Our learning involves family, teachers, professionals, as well

as ourselves. We all need patience. Their messages should be steady and consistent, but try to understand if they aren't always so.

According to the American Surgeon General "Inattention or attention deficit may not become apparent until the child enters the challenging environment of elementary school. Such children then have difficulty paying attention to details and are easily distracted by other events that are occurring at the same time; they find it difficult and unpleasant to finish their schoolwork; they put off anything that requires a sustained mental effort; they are prone to make careless mistakes, and

are disorganized, losing their school books and assignments; they appear not to listen when spoken to and often fail to follow through on tasks.

"There appears to be a "disconnect" between developmental or educational (school-based) assessments and health-related (medical practice-based) services." (DSM-IV; Waslick & Greenhill, 1997).Mental Health, a Report from the Surgeon General, Chapter 3, as found at http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter3/sec4.html (December 11, 2000) European description of "ADHD" http://www.mentalhealth.com/icd/p22-ch01.html Edits and revision with appreciation to Julia Nielson, Counsellor, Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada. Being in Control. The

Role of Biofeedback in Controlling ADD by Jason Alster, MSc, http://www.lessontutor.com/ja_biofeedback.html includes a link to a bibliography on ADHD

Executive function deficits can create challenges for students with ADHD. Luckily, there are creative interventions teachers can use to help improve a student’s success in the classroom. Below is a listing of several teaching accommodations that work well for students with ADHD. They were compiled by Chris Dendy, MS and reprinted with her permission. Ms. Dendy is a leading ADHD expert and author, a former teacher with more than 35 years’ experience, and mother of two grown sons and a daughter with ADHD.

General Teaching Strategies:

Make the Learning Process as Concrete and Visual as Possible

Written Expression

Dictate information to a “scribe” or parents. Use graphic organizers to provide visual prompts.

Use “post-it” notes to brainstorm essay ideas.

Math Use a peer tutor. Use paired learning (teacher explains problem, students make up their own examples, swap

problems, and discuss answers).

Memory Use mnemonics (memory tricks), such as acronyms or acrostics, e.g., HOMES to remember

names of the Great Lakes. Use “visual posting” of key information on strips of poster board.

Modify Teaching Methods

Use an overhead projector to demonstrate how to write an essay. (Parents may simply write on paper or a computer to model this skill.)

Use color to highlight important information.

Use graphic organizers to help students organize their thoughts.

Modify Assignments – Reduce Written Work

Shorten assignments. Check time spent on homework, and reduce it if appropriate (when total homework takes

longer than roughly 10 minutes per grade as recommended in a PTA/NEA Policy, e.g. 7th grader = 70 minutes).

Write answers only, not the questions (photocopy questions).

Modify Testing and Grading

Give extended time on tests. Divide long-term projects into segments with separate due dates and grades.

Average two grades on essays -– one for content and one for grammar.

Modify Level of Support and Supervision

Appoint “row captains” to check to see that homework assignments are written down and later turned in to the teacher.

Increase the amount of supervision and monitoring for these students, if they are struggling.

Use Technology

Use a computer as often as possible. Use software to help teach skills.