I am presenting my book today on ADHD and Social Skills at the CEC Convention in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. at 11:00 at the Gideon Putnam Hotel in the Hathorne Room. Come on down!
I am also presenting, I believe, on November 4th in Hawthorne, N.Y. at 7:30 P.M. I will let you know the details in my next post.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Using the Wii to Teach and Information on some New Game Systems you can Use to Teach
As I promised, I am reporting from the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Conference in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. I just listened to an interesting presentation on the Wii game system. Even though there are few if any research studies on whether or not the Wii increases focus and concentration, it APPEARS that this is possible. Additionally, using certain games would be considered exercising, which definitely decreases distractibility and hyperactivity.
The games they discussed are the following:
Pet Rescue which is for early childhood children
Playground which seems to be appropriate for children in the elementary grades
Cooking Mama which seems to be appropriate for children in the elementary grades
They also mentioned some new game systems that are effective to use in teaching as well. Some of these are voice activated. These new game systems are:
Sony Move
Microsoft Kinect
Project Natal which is X Box 360.
Apparently, there is an interesting article in the October 2010 Popular Science magazine which compares the various gaming systems.
Lastly, here is a you tube link that shows some of the new Project Natal system. It is:
youtube.com/watch?v=Rhd5xVkxnYg
The games they discussed are the following:
Pet Rescue which is for early childhood children
Playground which seems to be appropriate for children in the elementary grades
Cooking Mama which seems to be appropriate for children in the elementary grades
They also mentioned some new game systems that are effective to use in teaching as well. Some of these are voice activated. These new game systems are:
Sony Move
Microsoft Kinect
Project Natal which is X Box 360.
Apparently, there is an interesting article in the October 2010 Popular Science magazine which compares the various gaming systems.
Lastly, here is a you tube link that shows some of the new Project Natal system. It is:
youtube.com/watch?v=Rhd5xVkxnYg
Thursday, October 7, 2010
How Can We Convince Our Children to Exercise?
I finally arrived at the Council For Exceptional Children Convention in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., after a three hour trip from Westchester County, N.Y. I must say that the foliage is out up here, in all of its beauty. I did not see my favorite shades of red, but I did see some beautiful yellows and oranges.
As I was driving, I thought about that even though we know that exercise impacts our children with ADHD in a positive way by diminishing their hyperactivity, their impulsity as well as the distractibility that characterizes our children, how can we get them to actually exercise? Exercise seems to be a word about which many of our children do not want to hear.
Perhaps if you link up exercise with the incredibly natural beauty of wherever you live, it might be easier to convince our children to exercise. Perhaps, make the experience more fun by designing a scavenger hunt, for example. However, find out the learning style that is the strongest for your child so that he is more likely to listen to and focus on your instructions, as well as what items he has to find. Give it a try!
As I was driving, I thought about that even though we know that exercise impacts our children with ADHD in a positive way by diminishing their hyperactivity, their impulsity as well as the distractibility that characterizes our children, how can we get them to actually exercise? Exercise seems to be a word about which many of our children do not want to hear.
Perhaps if you link up exercise with the incredibly natural beauty of wherever you live, it might be easier to convince our children to exercise. Perhaps, make the experience more fun by designing a scavenger hunt, for example. However, find out the learning style that is the strongest for your child so that he is more likely to listen to and focus on your instructions, as well as what items he has to find. Give it a try!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Reaching Out for Help
Parents of children with ADHD have told me that they often feel lonely and overwhelmed in managing their children's symptoms. We often talk about what is best for our children with this conundrum of a disorder. We should think of our own well-being as parents, as well. Make sure that you reach out to whomever is necessary to help you with your children's issues, which includes your children's teachers, administrators, school psychologists, as well as wonderful organizations such as Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD).
It is difficult enough to deal with our children with ADHD and and their academic and social difficulties, but to maneuver "the system" without help in terms of not only accommodations but support for our own struggles may be a losing battle.
It is difficult enough to deal with our children with ADHD and and their academic and social difficulties, but to maneuver "the system" without help in terms of not only accommodations but support for our own struggles may be a losing battle.
Come to See My Panel Discussion on Children with ADHD and Social Skills
I will be attending the New York State Exceptional Children (CEC) Annual Convention from Friday morning until Saturday afternoon. I am leading a panel, so if any of you want to come, that would be great. I will have copies of my book that I will gladly sign. Here are the details:
NYS Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
Gideon Putnam Resort
Saratoga Springs, N.Y. 12866
Phone: 518-584-3000
My panel discussion will be on Saturday, October 9th from 11:00 to 11:50 in the Hathorne Room. It is called Teachers and Parents Building Positive Social Skills in Children with ADHD.
Let me know ahead of time, if you can, if you plan on attending. You can email me at estamrapoport@gmail.com.
I will be blogging from the conference. See you there!
NYS Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
Gideon Putnam Resort
Saratoga Springs, N.Y. 12866
Phone: 518-584-3000
My panel discussion will be on Saturday, October 9th from 11:00 to 11:50 in the Hathorne Room. It is called Teachers and Parents Building Positive Social Skills in Children with ADHD.
Let me know ahead of time, if you can, if you plan on attending. You can email me at estamrapoport@gmail.com.
I will be blogging from the conference. See you there!
Monday, October 4, 2010
How do Children with ADHD Receive Criticism?
Receiving criticism well maybe very difficult for children with ADHD. In my opinion, they are often less confident than their typical peers. Why is this? How would you like to hear the following, day in and day out?
✱ “Stop talking!”
✱ “Stop hitting!”
✱ “Biting is not permitted.”
✱ “Go back to your room if you are going to stand there and
interrupt us.”
✱ “I told you to do your homework assignment three times:
Why don’t you listen?”
✱ “You were supposed to bring a raincoat for the trip? Why
did you forget?”
You get the idea. In so many situations, the child with ADHD is yelled at and criticized constantly, as well as being the receiver of negative comments from adults and children. It is seemingly difficult to teach a child to receive criticism well when criticism is the only type of verbiage he receives!
The only way to help the child with ADHD to become better at receiving criticism well is to teach him to separate himself from the criticism that is being directed at him. In other words, the teacher has to help the child with ADHD to interpret the criticisms that are being made to him as meaningless. The teacher must instruct the child not to permit those criticisms to affect how the child really feels about himself. When someone tells the child to stop talking, the teacher should help the child to understand that people are not disinterested in what he is saying, but they just want him to listen more of the time than he talks. The teacher can help the child to listen more effectively.
A good way to teach a child with ADHD to listen more of the time and more accurately is to have the child listen to a story on a CD, either recorded by the teacher or professionally recorded. The teacher should have the actual book next to her at the same time that she listens to the story on the CD. along with the child with ADHD. In this way, she will know the amount of text that she wants the child with ADHD to remember.
She should then ask the child questions after each part to see how much he remembers. If he remembers most of the story, then, by definition, he listened to it well. If he interrupts the reading of the story on the CD, say to him, “Let’s listen now and stop talking, so we can remember the story.” Begin by stopping at short sections that are being read on the CD, even after one paragraph or one page, to ensure that he is listening. Little by little, extend the number of pages that you have read one at a time to see if he remembered the story.
At this point, you can begin to explain to the child with ADHD how much of the time he listened to the story without talking. You can then analogize the way he listened to how he should listen to another child when they are involved in a conversation. You can then explain to the child that when he listens more of the time rather than talking more of the time, people are more interested in what he is talking about. But if the child still receives criticism, how can you teach him to begin receiving criticism well?
Receiving criticism well depends on the confidence level of the child with ADHD. It is more difficult to respond to criticism when a child feels devalued because of that criticism. It
is very important for teachers to work with children with ADHD, as we are trying to do here, to diminish their socially inappropriate behaviors. If those behaviors are reduced, other people will respond less negatively to them. Do you see the cycle here? When the child behaves in a more appropriate way, people respond more positively to him, and he receives criticism well. When the child behaves in a more socially inappropriate way, people respond more negatively to him, and he receives criticism poorly.
✱ “Stop talking!”
✱ “Stop hitting!”
✱ “Biting is not permitted.”
✱ “Go back to your room if you are going to stand there and
interrupt us.”
✱ “I told you to do your homework assignment three times:
Why don’t you listen?”
✱ “You were supposed to bring a raincoat for the trip? Why
did you forget?”
You get the idea. In so many situations, the child with ADHD is yelled at and criticized constantly, as well as being the receiver of negative comments from adults and children. It is seemingly difficult to teach a child to receive criticism well when criticism is the only type of verbiage he receives!
The only way to help the child with ADHD to become better at receiving criticism well is to teach him to separate himself from the criticism that is being directed at him. In other words, the teacher has to help the child with ADHD to interpret the criticisms that are being made to him as meaningless. The teacher must instruct the child not to permit those criticisms to affect how the child really feels about himself. When someone tells the child to stop talking, the teacher should help the child to understand that people are not disinterested in what he is saying, but they just want him to listen more of the time than he talks. The teacher can help the child to listen more effectively.
A good way to teach a child with ADHD to listen more of the time and more accurately is to have the child listen to a story on a CD, either recorded by the teacher or professionally recorded. The teacher should have the actual book next to her at the same time that she listens to the story on the CD. along with the child with ADHD. In this way, she will know the amount of text that she wants the child with ADHD to remember.
She should then ask the child questions after each part to see how much he remembers. If he remembers most of the story, then, by definition, he listened to it well. If he interrupts the reading of the story on the CD, say to him, “Let’s listen now and stop talking, so we can remember the story.” Begin by stopping at short sections that are being read on the CD, even after one paragraph or one page, to ensure that he is listening. Little by little, extend the number of pages that you have read one at a time to see if he remembered the story.
At this point, you can begin to explain to the child with ADHD how much of the time he listened to the story without talking. You can then analogize the way he listened to how he should listen to another child when they are involved in a conversation. You can then explain to the child that when he listens more of the time rather than talking more of the time, people are more interested in what he is talking about. But if the child still receives criticism, how can you teach him to begin receiving criticism well?
Receiving criticism well depends on the confidence level of the child with ADHD. It is more difficult to respond to criticism when a child feels devalued because of that criticism. It
is very important for teachers to work with children with ADHD, as we are trying to do here, to diminish their socially inappropriate behaviors. If those behaviors are reduced, other people will respond less negatively to them. Do you see the cycle here? When the child behaves in a more appropriate way, people respond more positively to him, and he receives criticism well. When the child behaves in a more socially inappropriate way, people respond more negatively to him, and he receives criticism poorly.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
A New FREE Video Game to Learn How to Combat Bullying
Read about this new free (yes FREE) video game to teach children how to combat bullying. It is called Herotopia and children can play anonymously.
http://www.tonic.com/article/herotopia-combats-bullying-in-the-virtual-and-real-worlds-tyler-clementi/
http://www.tonic.com/article/herotopia-combats-bullying-in-the-virtual-and-real-worlds-tyler-clementi/
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