ADHD

[AnonyMouse_4869]

Hi everyone. I'm pretty sure (but obviously can't make a formal diagnosis!!) that a girl in my class has ADHD. I have been working on strategies to focus her all year but have only recently decided that I'm sure she has this. (I wouldn't say ADHD without being really sure.)

I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for how to support her in the reception environment. I'm the senco too but haven't dealt with this before and all the info I can find is for older children.

 

To give you an idea, when we sit on the carpet (she now has a chair) she shouts, sings, is distracting to others around her, picks up the chair, swings on the chair, puts her feet over her head, gets off the chair and walks around, swings her hair, lays on the chair so that she can touch other children with her feet etc etc.

reading this it sounds like the obvious answer is take away the chair, but without the chair she is sooo much worse!!

At the moment her chair is at the back of the carpet so that it is easy for my LSA to sit with her ( I have to admit that this is the only thing that we find works at the moment, but I have 3 other children at early ŷears action plus and 2 others at school action and I have to spread the support out- which is only one person anyway!) Do you think moving her closer to the front would be better?

 

Current support:

LSA some of the time

Fiddle toy

Chair

Visual timetable

Visual reminders of what is expected

Social story of what is expected

Daily talking time/first call session to aid attention and concentration

 

What else can I do?

Has anyone had support 1-1 put in place for a child with ADHD?

 

TIA

 

Lucie

[AnonyMouse_30128]

go to the carpet shop and blag 30 bits of carpet square(you know the sort you get for samples) then everyone has a designated space for the carpet (you can also widen the spaces between them if this helps) this way everyone is included ans she is not singled out...but it gives her a 'space' to be her!...you can even add a visual signal (like a hand sign or a child sitting) to the carpet so that she knows what to do when it comes out. Wobble cushions may also help if you have funding to get them.

[AnonyMouse_3735]

we also used carpet squares..gave each child a personal space and we could control the distance..

i have in the past used a weighted item for children that find it hard to settle./ sit for any period of time . some children find it soothing and calming. . The weight provides a grounding effect giving the user an improved awareness of their body.

To try it out I used to use an old mans sock, or similar, fill it with a pound of dry rice in a plastic bag and sew it up . The child then had this to hold during story time or at times when we wanted them to sit or calm down.. usually a pound was enough but sometimes we made them heavier.. I had s few filled socks so others could have one as well if they wanted...

[AnonyMouse_21338]

Do carpet squares work - we are going to try this with one of our little ones- but have a feeling the carpet may be another 'prop' for him to throw around, roll on, jump on , etc !

Would you give all children a carpet square ?

[AnonyMouse_3735]

have used them from 3yrs.. did not have younger in setting..

we gave all children a square to sit on... sometimes we would lay them out and ask them to find one or other times they collected them from a pile and put them down themselves.. they always put them in a pile at end of the group time..

if we had a restless or fidgety child it was a way to give them more space so they could lay down if needed..but cannot remember them ever getting to the stage of throwing them or even picking it up once a bottom was on it.. the weighted item usually helped with calming them.

many liked them because it often stopped them being touched or cuddled by other children giving them their own space..

We used them all the time for group times.. in a circle or random.. or in games.

[AnonyMouse_2846]

I have never heard of the weighted item! Thanks Inge will be giving this a go!

Andrea