Friday, February 11, 2011

What Skills does your Child with ADHD Need to Learn in Order to Make an Easy Transition to High School

Where did the time go? One day, your child comes home with a booklet that he is supposed to look at with you in order to select courses for high school. High school!!!!!! For many children with ADHD, this is a “wake up” call. Other children with ADHD may develop anxiety. However, let us remember that according to definitive research that was done at the National Institute of Health, children with ADHD actually behave as a child who is three years younger than his actual age. Therefore, a child who is 14 actually behaves as an 11 year old.


A child who is 11 years old is not even thinking about going to high school. That being said, that 14 year old must begin high school in September. Arguably, the child’s high school teachers will not lower their expectations for this child, just because research has found that children who have ADHD oftentimes do not behave in age-appropriate ways.

Children with ADHD should be taught from a very young age to self-regulate their behavior as well as how to organize their schoolwork in order to complete it on time. If your child or the child whom you teach has not been taught these skills, here are some suggestions as to what he has to learn before he begins high school in September:

 How to shower themselves without parental help

 How to choose what clothes to wear for school

 How to get out the door quickly in the morning, in order to arrive at school in a timely manner

 How to come home and decide when to do his homework, work on it and complete it

 How to organize his homework assignments as well as their due dates on a color-coded chart

 How to type his assignments on a computer

 How to build time management skills

 How to set long-term goals

 How to complete all of his assignments

 How to develop good note-taking skills

 How to develop good study skills

 How to become aware of his interests so that he can develop them in high school

Please write to me if you would like suggestions as to how to help your child with ADHD to facilitate these skills.

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