Learning Challenges

Math Tricks: The Right Way to Teach Children with ADHD

My fourth-grader is having great difficulty learning the multiplication tables. We’ve tried many approaches, along with offering rewards, but nothing helps.

If a child has ADHD or a learning disability, memory and other processing weaknesses – not a lack of motivation – are the reasons his brain can’t hold onto certain information. Try these resources:

Times Tables the Fun Way (citycreek.com) is a mnemonic program that uses picture associations and clever stories to help kids remember.

Teach Your Child the Multiplication Tables with Dazzling Patterns, Grids and Tricks (teachildmath.com) helps kids identify patterns, so they can rely less on memory.

[Free Download: Inattentive ADHD, Explained]

Practice one sequence of multiples at a time, until your child has mastered the facts. Engaging other senses can also help information “stick.” Have him type math facts in different fonts or trace them in sand.

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