Online learning struggles

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This topic contains 4 replies, has 4 voices, and was last updated by  DmitriV 1 month, 1 week ago.

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  • April 7, 2020 at 9:25 am #168172

    fmpy
    Participant

    Our school has started online learning, and my 1st grade son cannot sit still in front of his laptop for the class. He is constantly fidgeting, playing with the laptop, playing with the zoom meeting, etc. Class is less than an hour, they take brain breaks, we gave him a fidget spinner and we let him stand up. Its incredibly frustrating (and makes me appreciate the teacher’s patience even more) and I was wondering if anyone has tricks for success.

    Thanks in advance!

  • April 8, 2020 at 10:30 am #168293

    Penny Williams
    Keymaster

    An hour is a long time to expect a first grader to sit still, and impossible for a child that age who has ADHD.

    Is it possible for him to participate on a tablet or phone so that he can walk around and move during the class. “Still” just isn’t a reasonable expectation for that long at that age.

    Some strategies in this article might help with online schooling overall too:

    Stick to the Plan! How to Cement Your Child’s New Home Learning Routines

    Penny
    ADDitude Community Moderator, Parenting ADHD Coach & Author, Mom to teen w/ ADHD, LDs, and autism

  • April 14, 2020 at 3:06 am #168843

    EBethell
    Participant

    I have tried these things 1. I got my son to sit on a yoga ball whilst listening.. it gave him some defeee of movement whilst sitting.

    2. I alternated between sitting and standing. I put the laptop on a shelf that was at his height. Standing was better for him.

    3. I used a sand timers beside the screen a 30min, 15min 10min 5min as I had these and started with the 30 mins saying he could turn them over one by one and when the last one had finished the lesson would be over.

  • April 15, 2020 at 7:55 pm #169309

    DmitriV
    Participant

    One hour is too long for an “unmedicated” ADHD child. We wait for 30-min after Ritalin is administered in the morning and start his studies. Moreover, he takes the lead and brings “sight words, math, biology material to demonstrate his knowledge to us. We attempted to study without medication when we didn’t know he was ADHD and learning seemed torturous for him… However, now with medication he enjoys his studies and shows great initiative towards selecting materials for study.

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