AD/HD & LD Awareness Training

I know George asked for an off-list reply, but I too will be running
another Workshop and would welcome feedback. What follows is an
outline of what I did last time. If you are not interested hit the
<next> button now ans sorry to trouble you ...

Ian F.

-------------- Copy message ----------
Date: Fri, 10 Jan 1997 23:19:24 +0000 (GMT)
From: Ian N Ford <ianford@dircon.co.uk>
To: "George D Grosik, Jr." <stag41@juno.com>
Subject: Re: help...info request

Hi George

I guess you know that I have AD/HD myself , and have worked with AD/HD kids.
I have some sessions which I teach at training sessions for BSA and UK
Scouting which I could share with you. Depending on your timescale I
might be able to mail them. sending files is a problem as I have just
bought a new PC and the modem is not working - interrupt conflicts I
think - and I am waiting to get the technical data to try to fix it.
Meantime I'm running a 1200 text modem from work ... S - L - O - W . . .

The session I do is in a school classroom. I say that I would like to
start of with an exercise about how we think and I have three questions
from a fifth grade level aptitude test, and they have three minutes.
I stop them after two. The problem is the test looks like a standard IQ
or verbal reasoning test, but the questions are impossible. Sometimes I
plant one of the participants to just write anything and put his pencil
down noisily after a minute, push his chair back, put his hands behind
his head ...

Next I ask for someone to read a short passage to the group :

" How oftn dowe ask a scout to do Sumthink that reles in litracery skills ?
Jus look at the boys cut handook as an exampall if yo are having
broplems dearing this just imagne whot is must be lick for a dyslexic boy
having to dale with it every day. "

OK, how did that feel ? Anyone feel frustrated ? Inadequate ? Did anyone
laugh at the person who was trying to read ? What did that feel like ?

After five years of that, would you feel like throwing a chair at the
teacher and saying " to heck with this stuff ? "

OK, now let's talk about learning disabilities and AD/HD. The two are
related because anything up to 2/3 of kids with AD/HD also have some
level of learning disability ( John Ratey, " Driven to Distraction")
and quite a few kids with LDs also have attentional problems.

But before that, thank you for taking part in the exercise. I hope it was
too threatening and didn't embarrass anybody. It is important to realise
that we are here at a Scout training event, that we are adults, and that
this ought to be a " safe space " ... similarly, our Packs and Troops
need to be somewhere where kids feel emotionally safe and where they are
not going to laughed at or put down. As adults we need to be
particularly careful how we talk to kids . prticularly the " problem kids "
... now, I've said it. Problem kids. I don't have problem kids in my unit.
I have scouts who sometimes behave in ways that present a problem. We
need to help our Scouts to learn to deal with their behaviour without
damaging their self-esteem and making them feel that they are bad kids.

We need to address the behaviour, not the boy. Above all we need to learn
not to take things personally. Freddy Scout is probably not bouncing off
the walls because he wants to wind me up or make me feel inadequate as a
Scoutmaster ... but sometimes that is the way I do feel. Then I have to
remember that I am an adult, that I am responsible for my own actions and
feelings. As a youth leader I am also responsible for the youth I have
chosen to work with ...

------

then follows a short intriduction to theory of AD/HD - neurotransmatters,
" cold spots " in the prefrontal cortex , failure of inhibition, the
theory of overattenuation of the eticular activating system, etc.

Management of AD/HD kids is often achieved by good leaderships skills and
policies within the unit. Need for organisation and structure. Active
program involving youth. Physical activity interspersed with instruction.

Discipline problems. I don't talk of " punishment " but " consequences "

AD/HD kids need lots of reinforcement, little and often. Praise three
times for every criticism. Comment on positive behaviour ... use
DESCRIPTIVE PRAISE TECHNIQUE e.g. " That's good Billy ... you have got
your shirt tucked in and your scarf on straight " or " Billy, you did
the KP without complaining or bunking off. I'm very pleased. " Try to avoid
using good and bad.

I use a variation of 1-2-3 Magic. Scouts get two strikes for minor
infringement then time out. Example - on Summer Camp two Scouts were
goading each other. " OK guys, that's enough. Settle down. " ... no
response. " Listen, you get two warnings, then consequences. Back off. "
One lad is about to hit the other who has just called him a dork.
" OK, strike three. Each of you in his tent for five minutes to cool down.
I'll tell you when you come out. Then you just get on with what we are doing,
no sulking or discussing what has happened. Go to your tents. " The kids
were really shaken. I was SM of a Provisional troop, it was the first
encounter. The other kids heard what was going on, and it was new. One
kid was borderline AD/HD, but it wasn't relevant. At the end of camp the
SP/L said that their regular SM used to shout a lot but never did anything.
" You are so calm, Ian ... but it worked. " I explained that if I shout
it only gets people more upset. It also takes a lot of effort, and
sometimes I will walk away from a situation. If I am into a real
conflict situation I have to take control as an adult. " John, we are
both getting angry and it is not helping. The rule is you don't go to the
trading post before the campsite is cleared away. If you think that is
unfair we can talk about it later when we have both calmed down. But
those are the rules at the moment. "

------

Hope that helps - chat soon !

Ian Ford
Trainer, Channel District, Transatlantic Council BSA - and in real life a
Social Work Practice Teacher and postgrad. psychology student.

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