Posted by Tabor on October 23, 2003 at 11:07:45:
In Reply to: ADHD students? posted by lisa on October 22, 2003 at 13:03:53:
I don't claim to be an expert, but where I teach I have many students with ADD/ADHD. I hope that I can give you some methods you haven't already tried. It can be very discouraging at times.
I have found that the best thing a teacher can do with a student who has ADD/ADHD is to be overly consistant. Students with ADHD are really poor at dealing with change. They need to have a sense of external structure, as they tend to lack a sense of internal structure.
Whenever he goes off on something else, just remind him of what he is to be doing. Perhaps make a schedule that each lesson follows, breaking down the lesson into every small segment of time (warm up, scales, etudes or studies, etc.). You can point to the schedule or even make cards which represent different aspects of the lesson and rearrange them every time. Variety in activities can sometimes work for these students, as long as there is a certain consistancy.
Perhaps create an incentive, if he is dropping his horn, for getting through the whole lesson without dropping his horn or messing around with the valves. (food always works for me, but then again, where I work the kids often don't eat well at home). It will be very tough to keep him on task, but being consistant is your best shot at accomplishing anything.
Try to be understanding when he gets off task, and listen for a while when he is telling you about his grandmother, a trip to the store or the playstation 2 game he just aquired, but at the soonest opportunity, bring him back on task. However, be very firm with the schedule. Another thing I've tried is to work with the short attention span of someone with ADD/ADHD by breaking down whatever I am doing into very short segments and practicing them quickly.
I hope that this helps. good luck.