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Step 1: Understand Your Child
Look deep into your ADHD child's behavior before you consider prospective schools. First, take a few minutes and write about who your child is as a student:
-- Is he a listener or does he learn better through touch?
-- Does he volunteer or does he need to be drawn out?
-- Does he work well independently or would he do better in a group?
Next, make a list of your child's specific needs: Frank needs a classroom where he can sit away from the windows. Barbara needs a school that's light on homework. Jim needs a teacher who will give him step-by-step instructions. Your list should contain the things you hope to find, but it should also be realistic. Include your child's strengths and weaknesses, both academically and socially. Often, exceptionally bright kids enter academically challenging programs, but fail because the stress levels are too high. Lay out the whole picture, so your child isn't set up to fail.
Above all, focus on your child's needs. Just because a school is considered top-notch — and the whole neighborhood is vying to get in — does not necessarily mean it's an ideal fit for your child.
Next: Step 2: Interview the School...
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