Classroom Accommodations for ADHD

Due to the impulsive, hyperactive, and/or inattentive behaviors associated

with students with ADHD, it can sometimes seem difficult to find management

strategies that work with these particular students. In Classroom Accommodations

for Children with ADHD, Russell Barkley (2008) shares a variety of

recommendations in regards to this topic. Clear and concise rules and

consequences, reward systems, and self-awareness training, are a few strategies

that are particularly useful for students with ADHD.

According to Barkley (2008), rules and consequences must be clear, brief,

and more frequently delivered to students with ADHD. It can be beneficial to make

rules more obvious to students by creating physical representations, such as

laminated cards on desks, or the use of timers to display time left for completion of a

task. In regards to consequences, students with ADHD respond best if given these

penalties immediately after the misbehavior has occurred.

The use of rewards/incentives should work alongside that of consequences.

This means that although it is important to point out misbehaviors with students, it

is just as (if not more) significant to show these students that you notice their

positive behaviors as well. Rewards can be as simple as giving praise and

acknowledgement of good behavior and work performance, or giving points or

tokens that can be saved and used to “buy” items or privileges. Regardless of the

type of incentive used, children with ADHD generally respond very positively to this

strategy.

Finally, teaching students with ADHD to be more self-aware can have a great

impact on their behavior in the classroom. Due to emotional immaturity, many

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students with ADHD lack the level of self-awareness that other children have;

therefore, they should be explicitly taught how to monitor their own behaviors. For

example, teachers can implement daily conduct cards that require students to self-

evaluate themselves, with a rating scale, in regards to various topics such as class

participation, getting along with classmates, and following class rules. After students

complete the chart, they should review it with the teacher. This helps hold students

more accountable for their classroom behaviors.

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