When I was presenting this weekend at the Council for Exceptional Children Conference in Saratoga Springs, N.Y, some of the attendees asked me about some interesting questions. Here is one:
“I have a graduate student whom I am teaching who constantly interrupts my teaching with his incessant questions. What can I do to stop him from interrupting my lesson?”
Here is my suggestion:
We know that exercise diminishes hyperactive and impulsive behavior. Before you begin teaching, see if you can get him to get any sort of exercise that you can. Tell him “I am desperate for a cup of coffee. Would you possibly be able to go to the student center and pick me up a cup of coffee?” Whatever you can suggest that would get him to walk around before your class will diminish his impulsive talking.
Children, adolescents and adults with ADHD typically do not have a worldview where they understand the consequences of their actions. Additionally, with the permission of the “powers that be” at your school, ask if you can have someone videotape your lesson where his interrupting will be evident. Show him the video and see if he reacts in a way that you will know that he clearly sees that his talking and interrupting is inappropriate. If he does not see that his behavior is inappropriate, prompt him with open-ended questions about the behavior of all of the students in the class, clearly alluding to his misbehavior. Be careful, however, because people with A DHD typically have low self-esteem. You want to concentrate on how to help him to diminish his misbehavior without making him feel embarrassed. You can be honest without being negative. He has to know that if he agrees to let you help him, that he can diminish his inappropriate behavior.
Self-talk can be used very successfully in this situation. If you have experienced a similar situation, let me k now and I will design a task card booklet for this problem.
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