With ADHD now affecting more than seven million school-age children, parents continue to search for ways to help their children cope. “So many parents we work with are struggling with how to help their kids stay focused,” writes Susana Kraglievich, founder of the well-respected New York City tutoring company Central Park Tutors. “But the good news is there are strategies you can use to help!”
Below are five quick tips from Susana, whose firm has been tutoring NYC families for more than fifteen years, from the Kennedy’s to the children of Columbia professors, Fortune 500 CEOs to royal families from around the world.
Her advice might be worth listening to: In an article by The New York Times, one busy parent said “this service is a lifesaver,” also noting “that her son’s grades and organizational skills improved and that parent-child conflicts declined after she hired Ms. Kraglievich.”
Here are her tips:
1. Feed them well. Hungry kids are easily distractible, so keep them well-fed, but make sure not to feed your kids any food with artificial dyes or chemicals in it if they have work to do - we have watched kids eat those processed snack foods really struggle with their behavior, and studies have shown the chemicals can contribute significantly to distractability.
2. Make organizing part of your daily routine. You may find it hard to imagine that your child will ever start a homework session by organizing folders and backpacks and then setting self-imposed due dates, but by going through the same process, day after day, children will begin to internalize the routine and become independent, if they start with a simple task like organizing every day.
3. Start small and take breaks. Students are still learning how to learn, and teaching them to learn in chunks can help. Estimate how long your child can realistically focus intently on a task. Tell the child s/he will work very intently for that amount of time and then take a five minute break. During the break the child should move around. By adding two minutes a week you can develop the child’s ability to focus gradually and consistently.
4. Make sure you have a dedicated, clean workspace. Let’s face it, grown adults will spends years hoping for the corner office or an extra 8 square feet of desk space. Where we work is crucial to how we feel about our work. Carving out an area of your home with easy access to materials, storage and clean desk space is just as important for kids as it is for CEOs.
5. Distraction often means students are overwhelmed. Students get distracted for a lot of reasons, but one of the big ones is that students get distracted when they are seeing too much new material all at once. If you see your child is becoming distracted with a particular topic, make sure to pay careful attention to how they are doing in that class, and if possible, to go over the material with them together. It might look like avoidance, but often distraction happens when student’s are trying their hardest and it’s just not making sense.
6. Get Help. The truth is that sometimes having a tutor from the outside can make a huge difference in how your kids perceive the use of their time. We often see our tutors start working with distractible children quite easily and you just have to assume that kids feel a different sense of purpose when they know a dedicated teacher has come to work with them.
“Most important of all,” says Susana: “don’t give up! While sometimes it looks like ADHD is pitting your kids against you, in the end it’s a real struggle for them too, and more than anything they need a loving parent who is there no matter what.”
To learn more about Central Park Tutors or how to help your own child with ADHD, go to https://centralparktutors.com/.
CONTACT:
Central Park Tutors
Michael Wallach
Tel. 917-502-9108
Original Source of the original story >> Top NYC Teacher Gives Tips for Kids Struggling With ADHD