Teacher needing parent advise - ADD / ADHD Message Board

agteach · 02-09-2001, 06:16 AM

I am middle school teacher and am trying to deal with my own ADHD and my students ADD. As a parent how would you want a teacher to contact you with concerns or what modification do you think I should make to help children with ADD. I know how bad I hated school and I want my classroom to be productive and enjoyable for every student and I need you advice on how I can achieve that goal. Please help me with anyinformation you can.

ckinusa · 02-09-2001, 08:40 AM

My thoughts are:
When the ADD/ADHD begins interfering with classroom work or behaviors to call immediately...there may be something going on as a precurser. The parents may have ideas for you as far as incentives...rewards for him/her to work torward...assignment notebooks are life-savers. tailor it to the childs specific needs. I always appreciate it when the teacher notifies us right away vs. waiting until its been going on for weeks.
Good luck.

dij · 02-09-2001, 01:27 PM

I would call right away. The sooner the parents have an idea that the child needs more help, the better.

To me, making sure the person leaves with homework assignments is good. kids are so forgetful.

My son has one teacher who calls things out at the end of class when the bell is ringing. He has an extremely hard time remembering what he is to do that night.

alazay · 02-09-2001, 06:28 PM

I would call right away! A parent has every right to know if you or anyone else suspects that their child might have ADD. Some parents are clueless about this, and would have never guessed.

steph70 · 02-12-2001, 01:50 PM

I'm a mother of two. My 8 1/2 year old son is having problems at school...has been for the last year or so, but only this year has his teacher brought it to our attention, and let us know how bad it has become. As a parent, I agree with the others....let us know as soon as you realize something is wrong, and it's more than just an occasional thing. The teachers as professionals are more aware of what is "normal" for a classroom setting, and are exposed to more children, so (in my mind at least), have a much better idea of what's going on that the parents probably do.
We're not sure what exactly is the "problem" with our son, but it seems to be what his father has/had. At the very least it has aspects of ADD/dyslexia/visual learner...it may not be any of these things, but then again...it might. Never rule anything out!
I can never thank his teacher enough for bringing this to our attention....his other teachers made reference to aspects on his report cards, but never really talked to us much about it, and certainly never said "well, it could be this...." I would never have thought of dyslexia until she mentioned it.
To a large extent, our childrens teachers are our lifelines, and we need to work together to make sure our children get the best of the school experience that they can...education...interaction with peers...etc.
(sorry for the longwindedness