Many people who grow up to be teachers were very successful as students. They were good readers, they did their homework, they respected teachers and they liked being graded. They loved for the teacher to read to them and they were intensely focused when the teacher was giving instructions. Many were served in a program for gifted children when they were young.  With that resume of success, who wouldn’t want to be a teacher? If that describes you, you will probably be caught off guard by the students in your charge who are fidgety, wiggly day dreamers. You won’t get very far into the school year before you start looking for methods to keep half your class focused on what you are trying to teach them. ADHD is very real and affects a substantial percentage of the students in schools. It is almost like torture for a child affected by ADHD to sit still and quietly AND to concentrate at a level where he can assimilate new content into his existing schema. Children need to move around. They need opportunities to interact with peers and objects. They need to do whatever it takes for them to be a successful learner. If you are teaching very young children, you are often the one collecting all of the data to diagnose the attention deficit. If you are teaching older children, they may have already been diagnosed and medicated or they may have a diagnosis and have no medication. The unfortunate reality for these children seems to be an extra dose of discipline; as if we can discipline the hyperactivity out of them.  Relaying to a parent that he is moving around too much, disturbing the class and not focusing on instruction is setting yourself up to be evaluated by that parent as someone who “doesn’t like my child.” The fact that it is not true, does not stop someone from accusing you of it. The parent already knows how active her child is. She has to get him dressed every day, and find where he left his shoes. Approach it with the parent as if you already have strategies that you intend to use to give him some relief when he is feeling like moving. One of the most successful practices is the use of alternative seating. Some children can concentrate better if they can just move their feet. There are a number of products on the market that help children with ADHD to be comfortable while moving and learning. Try bouncy bands, yoga balls, floor cushions, foam pillows and sensory mats. You may need to try several before you find the one that works best for each student you are trying to help. Schools rarely purchase these things but you can often appeal to the parent of a child who is struggling to be still and they are usually glad to purchase the bouncy band or yoga ball just on the chance that it will help. 

Long before I knew stretchy/ bouncy bands were available from OT catalogs, I used bungee cords  from my husband’s workshop  that he typically used to hold things together or tie things down. Wrapping a  bungee cord (or stretchy band) tightly around the front  legs of a student’s chair provides a student who” needs to move to learn” the opportunity to move/ fidget, while staying seated. It is quiet and not disruptive and can support the student to be more focused and attentive.

Exercise resistance bands can also be used  on the legs of a student’s chair.

If you don’t find a successful / appropriate strategy to support the student “who needs to move to learn”, I can guarantee you that he/she will find something and it will not be what  you want going on in your classroom. I’ll never forget when I was teaching Brain Gym® to the entire faculty of a new elementary school. I asked the teachers to consider the possibility of  using yoga balls, cushions, pillows and rocking chairs as alternative seating for students who need to “ move to learn”. One teacher raised her hand and said,…” Do you mean that when Johnny  wiggles all around and throws himself out of his seat, he’s not just trying to get on my last thin nerve?”  I explained to her that in my experience, Johnny was doing his best to get his body in a place where he could possibly begin to take in the information she was teaching. He didn’t want to be rude and disruptive, but he just couldn’t sit there, in that hard desk, any longer!

When school started a few days later, she had cushions, pillows and a few  yoga balls available to students as alternative seating options. I was back in the school the following week and she told me that she was amazed at the difference those options made in the students ability to focus and attend.

Another successful  strategy I used was to have a basket of clip boards available  that students could use to take their work and sit on the floor, on a pillow  or in a bean bag chair, or at  other designated areas around the  classroom. Everyone is not comfortable sitting & working in a hard desk. Give children options.

A co-teacher I worked with for a few years  had  what I call “dinner trays” available for students to use. These are the trays that you might use to  take a meal to someone who is sitting up in the bed ( a tray with legs). Students can take their trays to the carpet, and work on their assignment. 

Give all of your students, especially those who need to more than others, the opportunity to do so. There are 26 different Brain Gym® integrative movements that support learners of all ages. If you are not familiar with them, call me and I will come to your class. In addition, you can teach “wall push ups’ & jumping jacks, which give great proprioceptive input  for your students. This can be done  as a whole class activity or you can have a designated area in the classroom where students can quietly go on their own and get a quick workout.

Take your class outside for a quick walk or run around the playground, baseball field or whatever is available. Don’t underestimate the calming effect Mother Nature can have on all of us. Get out there and breathe that fresh air!

If it’s raining, walk or skip on the sidewalks that are  covered. Be creative! You’ve got this. Five to ten minutes of movement outside will benefit everyone!

Take your time when introducing these “non traditional” options to your class. Initially, everyone may want to do everything!… because it’s so different and looks like fun! ( oops… can learning really be fun?). As you model and explain the different options to your students, be very clear that if they are disruptive , they will lose the privilege, and believe me, they don’t want to do that.

Pamela Webster, M. Ed., SPED