Help students with their organizational skills. Messy notebooks and desks are a trademark of kids with attention disorders. Terry Cook, a social worker in Decatur, Illinois, says her school gives some students organizational planners. Collaborate with parents. More importantly, he notes, parents can use the daily report card to create a reward system at home.
Parents can use big rewards that really matter to kids, like use of TV, computers, and video games.
The worst thing you can do is to write off a student with attention problems, says California special ed teacher Sandy Rief. But if the student has ADD, teachers have to understand the nature of the disorder and have some tolerance and patience. Rief urges teachers to provide the structure and support these students need and find their strengths and positive attributes. Robert Brooks, a psychologist at Harvard, suggests looking for ways to boost students' self-esteem. It gives them a sense of pride and a way they can be successful at a school activity.