ADHD: Classroom and Therapeutic Strategies

ADHD is marked by an inability to focus for long periods of time. I currently work as a behavior counselor in an elementary school. Last year, I worked at a middle school, and I’ve worked as a substitute teacher for a couple of years. As a counselor and as a substitute teacher, I have seen many kids diagnosed with ADHD struggle in classroom and therapeutic settings.

I provide an hour of individual counseling to my clients every week within the public school system. Because of a jammed packed school day, I split this into three 20-minute sessions (which can still be difficult for kids with ADHD), but I also provide behavioral support within the classroom. These are the techniques I have found to be useful in the classroom and in counseling sessions.

Note: This post contains affiliate links to support this blog. See our Disclosure page for more information.

ADHD Classroom and Therapy Strategies

A Visual Timer 

I believe it’s hard for a lot of kids to focus for an undetermined amount of time. A few years ago, I heard a story at church about marines and Boston marathon runners. In the Marine Corps, one of the training exercises consists of the cadets running until they are told to stop. Only 2% of the cadets make it; whereas, the Boston marathon has a 98% completion rate. The marathon is 26.2 miles. According to this story, the cadets have never been required to run more than 26.2 miles. The biggest difference between these trained cadets and Boston marathon runners is that the marathon runners can see the finish line. They have mile markers the whole race to tell them how much farther they have to go.

I’m not sure how accurate this story is, but I believe the concept applies to kids. They need to see the finish line and have reminders and breaks as they go through the day.I use the Clock app on my iPad. It not only counts down, but it has red circle that visually shows the how much time kids have left. With most of my kids, I start with 5 minutes and work our way up to a longer period of time for both completing assignments and therapy sessions.

I’ve seen a lot of teachers use timers in classroom settings effectively and ineffectively.  Start small and move up to longer periods of time. There also needs to be a small reward when the timer goes off (It can just be standing up and stretching). In addition, the timer needs to be big enough that any child in the room can easily glance at it. If only one or two kids can see the timer, you will lose the last two minutes of the activity as kids keep asking “how much time is left?!”

Visual Schedules

Last year, I had a first year teacher tell me that he couldn’t understand why his middle schoolers wouldn’t stop talking in the alternative class. His exact words were: “They can talk and socialize at breakfast. Lunch is at 12, and they can talk then.” My response: “If you’re trying to get them to stop talking for 4 hours, it will never happen.” I worked with him to create visual schedules for three of his students that broke up the day- Morning, Midday, Afternoon. We used colored note cards on a poster board to make the schedule. Then, the students had paperclips that they could move down as they progressed through the day. We also developed rewards with the students’ input for every 45 minutes to have a built in break.

Even kids who don’t have ADHD, need short brain breaks, which can be difficult in a busy school day. Stretching (Like in Simon Says Yoga), 3 minutes of talking, turn on a song and let kids dance for a few minutes (I prefer playing songs on my phone instead of off of youtube. Kids are always looking at screens.)

Keep their hands busy

Have you ever had a group counseling session with several children diagnosed with ADHD? It’s like herding cats. As soon as you get one to sit down, another one is up asking to play with something else or walking around the room. I have never met a kid who didn’t like play-doh, even middle schoolers love making shapes out of the moldable clay. It keeps them occupied and helps them function in the group setting.

In a classroom setting, play-doh can be distracting and impractical in a large class. I’ve used little fuzzy pom pom balls for kids to hold in their hands as a way to provide some quiet sensory stimuli without being distracting. However, it’s important to talk to your students about holding on to the pom pom, so they aren’t floating all over the room.  I’ve also found this stress ball on a string to keep the balls from rolling around the classroom. At first, it may seem like kids are more focused on them than you, but eventually the novelty wears off. Set clear boundaries (including visual reminders of those boundaries) and make sure they’re followed.

Use a talking stick

This isn’t needed in individual sessions, but it can be useful in group settings. My co-worker decorated a ruler, and we made a rule that you had to be holding the ruler to speak. It made sure that everyone was heard in the group, including some of our quieter clients. This can also work in small group lessons. 

Use Therapeutic Games

Effective therapy can be fun and engaging. Sometimes, you need to sit down and have deeper conversations, but sometimes you need to have lighter sessions so your clients trust you during deeper sessions. I met with one of my clients with ADHD every morning from 8:30-9. Even with play-doh, a comfortable chair, and a visual timer; there was only so long she was going to sit still. We created a simple game as a reward for the last 10 minutes of her session. We threw a ball back and forth- counting as we went. If you dropped the ball, you had to restart counting, and the other person got to ask you a question.

It can be difficult to think of questions on the spot, so I had pre-typed questions that we drew from a jar. None of the questions were deep enough that I felt uncomfortable answering them, and it was a good way to get to know my client better. When the timer went off, whoever had the highest score won the game. Feelings Jenga is also another great, engaging game for kids that helps them discuss feelings, but also keeps them engaged in the session. 

In the classroom, have scheduled ‘brain breaks.’ Play a song and let the kids dance for 3 minutes, play a game of “hot potato,” or let them simply stand up and stretch.

Duct Tape Boundary Lines

When I brought two particular clients in for individual sessions, they were into everything, including going through my desk drawers. They had no boundaries for my office. The school nurse suggested that I put a duct tape line on the ground next to my desk to create a visual boundary. During my very next individual session, my client stopped at the boundary line and didn’t cross it. I hadn’t even brought it up. She knew instinctively not to cross the line.  I had a very similar situation with my other client later in the day. We were able to re-establish boundaries and have a visual boundary for future sessions.

Comfortable Chair

Kids will not sit down for long periods of time if the chairs are uncomfortable, especially if they have ADHD. In every school I’ve ever worked in, the chairs are hard with no cushion. Many teachers have a reading area with bean bags, which is great, but kids still spend a lot of time at a desk. A chair cushion can help provide antsy kids with some extra support. I’ve never cared for the wobble cushions in most schools, so talk to your school administration about other options. If you work in a school, many schools have occupational therapist or special education teachers who may be able to provide seat cushions for children with diagnosed disabilities. Also, some children work better standing up. If you do group stations in your classroom, have one of your stations be a standing station with no chairs.

In therapy sessions, I would often walk with my kids around the building or outside (weather permitting) at the end of the session. Comfortable chairs are helpful, but kids need to get up and move too. Before we start walking, I discuss with them that our sessions may not be confidential if they are in a public space.

Side note: If a student has lost recess because of behavior, don’t make them just sit on the sidewalk. As a substitute teacher, I always made my students walk/run laps around the playground. Sitting on the sidewalk expends no energy.

Do you have any other strategies the work with students with ADHD? Please share in the comments! Don’t forget to pin!