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| Tutoring the ADD Child | Reading can be tough for a student with ADD because his or her attention disorder may prevent him or her from focusing his or her attention on the main ideas. A child may become unfocused by more unimportant parts of the material that are more attractive to him. A tutor can teach children strategies to identify the critical parts of the reading. These include noting titles and key words, and rewriting significant pieces of information. With creative writing, a tutor may help a child focus on significant information by tracking characters, plot and setting. It is significant to realize which parts of the reading a child is having complexity with and focus on these areas.
Writing is also extremely difficult for a lot of ADD people. Frequently a motor complexity makes the physical process of writing a hardship. Many times it will be preferable to use a keyboard. Some ADD students bring laptops to school and take notes that way. Additionally, an ADD student may have trouble organizing thoughts to prepare written material, and be overwhelmed by a writing assignment. A tutor can help the student break down the assignment into separate topics, identify critical information, write a list of ideas, and find a system to order them before writing the assignment.
Besides to helping the student with organization and specific subject matter, a significant role of a tutor is to help build self-confidence. The tutor should always teach strategies to help the student work autonomously with getting overwhelmed. The student should be frequently encouraged and praised for small achievements. There should be a support system for times when a tutor is not there and the student needs help. It is a good idea to have a parent or older sibling obtainable during homework time.
Tutors working with children who have attention deficit disorders should have knowledge of the typical behaviors of ADD children and use suitable interferences. For instance, for ADHD children it is sometimes hard to sit still; it may be easier to stand. For a child who has problems with staying listening carefully on one activity, it is a good idea to change activities often and include breaks if needed. Material should be presented in a way that is motivating and will stimulate a child.
A tutor cannot do it all. In most cases a tutor will work with a student in one or two exacting subject areas. On the other hand, some time should still be spent on general organization. In particular a tutor can help develop every day routines for work completion. A child should have a specific study time every day and a strategy to complete homework without worry. Additionally, a tutor should work with the parent, teacher and other important people. With joint attempt and a goal to teach strategies to become an independent worker and learner, an ADD child can succeed.
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