Modifications for the Hyperactive Student

Modifications for the Hyperactive Student

I bought a book a while back called "It's So Much Work to Be Your Friend" by Richard Lavoie. The book is about helping the child with learning disabilities find social success.

Because life got busy I had to take a break from reading but I recently picked it up again. I skipped ahead to the chapter on Attention Deficit Disorder and immediately found something that I just had to share.
The book made a few suggestions for modifications and adjustments that could be made in the classroom that would allow the hyperactive child to function more effectively:

"These techniques take a "fight fire with fire" approach: rather than constantly battling with the child's need for activity and movement, provide the child with ample opportunities to be active during classroom activities. In effect, you are legitimizing the child's need to move by making movement part of your lesson plan!"
"For example, provide the hyperactive child with a standing desk and allow him to complete written work while standing. This simple adjustment may satisfy the child's need to be active during a sedentary activity. Give the child a clipboard to use during writing activities and allow him to work on the floor or in a beanbag chair. One teacher reported remarkable results after allowing her hyperactive students to sit in rocking chairs during silent reading activities. Another teacher assigned a child two seats in the classroom and allowed him to change seats whenever he needed to move about. Ask the hyperactive child to do classroom chores (e.g., water the plants, erase the white board, deliver messages). You can also legitimize the child's movement by doing quick (thirty-second) calisthenics between class activities. Again, these modifications recognize that the excessive movement is beyond the child's control."

I especially liked the idea of having two seats assigned to the child in the classroom. Wish I'd had this book when my son was in school.