“He’s out of his seat again.”
Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are for the most part constantly in motion. In the classroom they squirm in their seats, jiggle their knees, tap their feet, or their pencil or their fingers on their desk. They even get up and roam the classroom, seemingly without purpose. These kids, by actual study were found to move about the room eight times as often as other kids; their arm movements occur twice as often.
We often tend to blame them for their distractability, we label them “annoying,” but their behavior isn’t a choice. It’s an expression ,of a brain-based biological disorder. They can’t resist the impulse to move. They are often otherwise “neat kids” who we enjoy having around. Ironically, while they may wish to behave more in accordance with your standards, they like the way they are. These are often very happy kids.
What can we do to help them? Channel all this excess energy into constructive pursuits, as well as provide chances for them to burn it off. In the classroom we may do this by building in acceptable movement throughout the school day. Create opportunities for them to move around in useful ways such as passing out supplies, collecting papers or running messages to the office.
It’s also important to alternate high- and low-energy activities such as following recess with a writing assignment, or a spirited activity with math. They may do well sitting on pillows or exercise balls or being allowed to pace the floor while thinking through a class assignment, or pondering a story to write.
Of course, sports pursued on a regular basis create an ideal solution. Martial arts, basketball or volleyball come to mind. (Baseball not so much if they spend a lot of time in the dugout.) And I always suggest gymnastics or track.
At home, a different set of ideas may be necessary. It may be advisable to let them leave the dinner table and walk around for a couple of minutes. In church, at the theater or a musical event or any setting requiring them to sit still for a protracted period of time, the same applies. An early-morning run, a bike ride or jumping rope before getting on the school bus all provide an important release of energy. Encourage them to run around the playground at school before going into class.
A rocking chair in the child’s room, the living room or wherever she likes to sit and read, can be calming. And the exercise ball is a great idea at home.
I mention a lot of this with some authority. We didn’t know much about hyperactivity when I was a kid, and I was one of those kids. I had to sit in the front of the room. Coming back from the pencil sharpener where I went, maybe 20 times a day, I would thump each kid on the back of the head. I spent a lot of recesses being kept in. Today I am an adult with ADD. The hyperactivity component, I like to think, dropped out along the way (although some who know me will dispute this).
But I was a happy kid, even though I often wished I could please my significant adults. I really didn’t know I was different. I just knew I didn’t fit in somehow. In retrospect, I see how many of the foregoing suggestions (and a lot more understanding of the problem) would have helped.
And yes, I survived. And today I’m a fierce advocate for using all we know about these kids about whom we care so much.
Robin C. Harris, an 18-year resident of Lake County, is the author of “Journeys out of Darkness, Adventures in Foster Care.” A retired educator, he is a substitute teacher for Lake County schools and has recently completed two works of fiction for children and teens. He is available for tutoring in first through eighth grades. Harris can be contacted at harris.tke@att.net.
