Hi Helen,
It's unlikely that any student with ADHD will be able to focus for long periods of time during lectures that are not very interactive. Students with ADHD are more able to manage as they can interrupt and ask questions so there is more of a dialogue than a one-way flow of information. However, if lectures have a large audience, are closed in format and are not interactive, students with ADHD will inevitably struggle to engage or process the material effectively.
We always recommend that students with ADHD receive one-to-one subject-specific support as they will really struggle to learn course content simply by sitting and listening to a lecture or trying to read through long papers or books and would be at a substantial disadvantage if required to do so. This is also true when it comes to revising for exams - discussing how they would answer possible exam questions with a mentor is usually much easier than trying to practice past papers by themselves.
There are also smaller adjustments that may be of use:
- Provide a worksheet to fill in during each lecture on the topic being discussed. Alternatively, fill in an essay outline with notes relating to each section as the lecture takes place. This will help give them something to do and help with staying on focus.
- We also recommend that rest breaks are built into any exams or lectures so the student can take 10-15 minutes each hour to go for a walk and refocus their mind after sitting still for so long. This can vary between individuals, however.
- Audio Notetaker is an excellent piece of software which can help a lot. So long as the student can get a copy of the slides, they can then record the lecture, pair the audio up with the slides and easily highlight the key material as the lecture happens, or after the lecture when reviewing the notes. Information about it can be found here: https://bit.ly/2Njh5S7
- The national ADHD charity, ADDISS, sell these excellent, silent, fidget devices individually or as packs of 10: https://bit.ly/2PaEt6l
Attached is a booklet with further info - you are welcome to use and share this with others if it is helpful.
Best wishes, Poppy Ellis Logan - Adult ADHD Clinic, Barnet Hospital
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2018 14:34:57 +0100
From: Peter Hill <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Tips to Help a Student in Lectures
Hi
An interesting issue.
I'm guessing that the student is allowed to take notes using a laptop (and assuming that literacy skills are up to it). It might be worth working with the student to devise a system that:
a) facilitates the development of ideas - perhaps using a mind-mapping or a listing/brainstorming approach - as the lecture progresses - so the student is 'ahead of the game' as the lecture concludes.
b) ensures that the student maintains focus on the lecture content at the same time.
This system will probably be quite challenging - but helping the student to overcome potential barriers could be helpful for the student's learning anyway.
I think what I'm suggesting here is that, rather than playing catch-up, encourage self-belief, so the student gains in confidence. Obviously, if the student has particularly weak academic skills, this might be impossible anyway. Nevertheless, good luck with it, whichever way you go.
Regards
Peter
-----------------
On 02/10/2018 14:06, Helen Stocker wrote:
> Dear All
>
> I have a student with a number of conditions including dyslexia and ADD.
>
> They really struggle to concentrate in class and have found that they
> concentrate better on the class itself if they are doing something
> else at the same time. Typically they have tended to go on their
> computer or phone and go online, but this is not popular with lecturers.
>
> Does anyone have some suggestions of things that the student could do,
> that wouldn't be OK with their fellow students and lecturer? They have
> tried a fidget cube, but some of the students find it too noisy.
>
> I'm going to chat with the students' lecturers, but it would be good
> to go back to the student with some ideas as to what they could do.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Helen.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
>
> To unsubscribe from the DIS-FORUM list, click the following link:
> https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=DIS-FORUM&A=1
>
--
Peter Hill
Tel: 01299 271540
Mob: 07751 792711
[log in to unmask]
########################################################################
To unsubscribe from the DIS-FORUM list, click the following link:
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=DIS-FORUM&A=1
------------------------------
End of DIS-FORUM Digest - 1 Oct 2018 to 2 Oct 2018 (#2018-78)
*************************************************************
********************************************************************************************************************
This message may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient please inform the
sender that you have received the message in error before deleting it.
Please do not disclose, copy or distribute information in this e-mail or take any action in relation to its contents. To do so is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. Thank you for your co-operation.
NHSmail is the secure email and directory service available for all NHS staff in England and Scotland. NHSmail is approved for exchanging patient data and other sensitive information with NHSmail and other accredited email services.
For more information and to find out how you can switch, https://portal.nhs.net/help/joiningnhsmail
########################################################################
To unsubscribe from the DIS-FORUM list, click the following link:
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=DIS-FORUM&A=1
|
