So, school has started and a new teacher has begun to understand what it is like to have a severe ADHD child in her classroom. Too bad she has no idea how to cope or what strategies to use to help the Monk do the best that he can and how to manage his behaviors in her classroom. So far, she has tried several ways to make him behave in the manner that she wants (which is sitting still, listening intently, and paying very close attention - which any parent of an ADHD child knows works, OH SO WELL!) and they have all had punitive consequences (again with the oh so well comment). So I finally had to lay the smackdown and pull out my own teacher language to get her to understand what the MONK needs to be successful, not how she thinks he should behave. I provided a new behavior chart (which is much more positive rather than the pages full of frowny faces that she was doing) and we've been able to talk to Monkey much more every day about the VERY specific behaviors that he should and should not be doing in class. It helps much more as he now doesn't feel as though he is being punished everyday for just being himself (which is what he was feeling when he saw sad face after sad face everyday. It was getting to the point where he started to talk about how he hated school).
What some parents (and teachers) may not realize is that kids with ADHD do not intentionally act out in class. They want to listen and sit still, but they don't know how or can't control their little bodies to do that. Monkey draws (a lot!) in class, but that doesn't mean that he's not listening. He makes noises while working, he wiggles and moves and gets distracted. That's what ADHD is and it is not his fault and he is not a bad kid. However, that is what his teacher was making him feel like with all of her punitive consequences. When a child feels as though being themselves in wrong and they are going to be punished for it, of course they are going to start not liking going to the place where they are getting treated that way. I really don't want Monk to hate school. He loves learning and shouldn't be made to feel as though he is a bad kid just because he has some movement and concentration issues that are not his fault. He is only 6 and, yes, he needs to learn how to manage his ADHD. But, that doesn't mean that he should be punished for just being himself. Teachers (and some parents) really need to learn how to work with their child's disability rather than punishing them for it.
To see the behavior chart that we use for school, check out the website where I found it:http://acupcakefortheteacher.blogspot.com/2013/04/behavior-calendars-editable-option.html
Also, here is the "Choice Chart" that we use at home:
What some parents (and teachers) may not realize is that kids with ADHD do not intentionally act out in class. They want to listen and sit still, but they don't know how or can't control their little bodies to do that. Monkey draws (a lot!) in class, but that doesn't mean that he's not listening. He makes noises while working, he wiggles and moves and gets distracted. That's what ADHD is and it is not his fault and he is not a bad kid. However, that is what his teacher was making him feel like with all of her punitive consequences. When a child feels as though being themselves in wrong and they are going to be punished for it, of course they are going to start not liking going to the place where they are getting treated that way. I really don't want Monk to hate school. He loves learning and shouldn't be made to feel as though he is a bad kid just because he has some movement and concentration issues that are not his fault. He is only 6 and, yes, he needs to learn how to manage his ADHD. But, that doesn't mean that he should be punished for just being himself. Teachers (and some parents) really need to learn how to work with their child's disability rather than punishing them for it.
To see the behavior chart that we use for school, check out the website where I found it:http://acupcakefortheteacher.blogspot.com/2013/04/behavior-calendars-editable-option.html
Also, here is the "Choice Chart" that we use at home: