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Is
your Teacher ADD-Friendly? (Inglés)
Is
your teacher ADD-Friendly
:)
or ADD-Toxic??
:(
by
Kathleen Nadeau Ph.D.
author of Help4ADD@ HighSchool
High
School years (and Junior High School years) are some
of the toughest years you’ll go through if you have
ADD! Surprised to hear this? Probably not! If you’re
a High School or Junior High School student you already
know how tough it can be. Just think about it –
If
someone had 6 or 7 different jobs, with each of his
bosses giving him work assignments without knowing or
caring how much work the other bosses had already given
If
those six or seven different jobs –were difficult, requiring
lots of reading, writing, and memorizing and most were
not very interesting
If
his jobs had to start really early in the morning without
his being able to get enough sleep, because his jobs
also required him to work at home at night
If
those jobs required him to sit and listen all day, with
very few breaks, to constantly take notes and to remember
what was said all day long every day
If
he had to move from one job to the next all day long,
not having his own desk and having to keep track of
papers and materials for each job
If
his worksite was noisy and distracting
If
his only break was a half hour lunch break and the company
cafeteria sold pretty bad food
If
he had little or no choice over the work he was assigned,
and couldn’t concentrate on doing the kinds of work
he was naturally good at
Think
how hard that job would be! And that’s a description
of high school!
Sounds
pretty awful, doesn’t it? But the picture doesn’t have
to be all bad
One
thing that’s important to do is to carefully choose
the classes you take and to try to select teachers who
are good for you and your ADD.
What
should you look for?
An
"ADD-friendly teacher" is:
A
teacher who is excited about a subject, and works in
creative ways to get you excited too
A
teacher who is flexible, and tries to work with you
instead of rigidly sticking to "the rules"
A
teacher who encourages rather than lectures when you’re
having difficulties
A
teacher who understands that ADD can cause forgetfulness,
even when you’re trying really hard to remember.
A
teacher who is organized and clear about what is required
in the course
A
teacher who is fun and interesting, and seems to enjoy
the class
An
"ADD-toxic teacher" is:
A
teacher who doesn’t "believe in" ADD, and
refuses to accommodate you
A
teacher who shows little interest in his/her students
A
teacher who is rigid and inflexible
A
teacher who is boring or non-creative
A
teacher who is disorganized
A
teacher who can’t be bothered to help you individually
A
teacher who motivates through shame and criticism rather
than praise and encouragement.
Work hard to fill your schedule with ADD-friendly teachers
and with courses that you’re interested in. Individual
teacher, section and course selection is a common accommodation
for students with ADD in college, and SHOULD be a common
accommodation in High School.
Work
closely with your academic advisor and have your parent,
tutor, or other professional that you work with help
you lobby to get a more ADD-friendly schedule.
Try
not to take your most difficult classes at times of
day when you are tired or less able to concentrate –
and try to mix up your hardest classes with classes
that give you a break.
[REGRESAR]
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