How can ADHD tutoring help with executive functioning?

Students with ADHD often struggle with executive functioning skills such as time management, organization, planning, and task initiation. They might forget to turn in their homework or turn it in late, lose their books and belongings, and have trouble staying organized and on task. Individualized, one-on-one ADHD tutoring can help your child build these key skills, which are essential for success in school.

Time management strategies taught in ADHD tutoring

Specific, concrete time management strategies can be taught during ADHD tutoring sessions. For example, your child may develop stronger time management skills and learn to procrastinate less. With the Estimated Time versus Actual Time strategy, students learn to do the following:

• Estimate how long they think a task might take to complete and write down the ET, or estimated time.
• Note how long the task took to complete and write the AT, or actual time.
• Compare the difference between these times.

When students start using this strategy, especially those with poor time management skills, there is often a big gap between the estimated time and actual time. However, the more students use this strategy through ADHD tutoring sessions, the more these times will start to merge and the better their time management skills will become.

Note taking strategies taught in ADHD tutoring

Another skill your child may develop in ADHD tutoring sessions is stronger note taking strategies. There are several different note taking strategies your child might learn in ADHD tutoring sessions, such as outlining, webbing, or column-style note taking. With column-style note taking, your child will learn the following steps:

• Draw a vertical line through the middle of their page (or do so using a computer).
• Write the title of the lesson at the top of the page and label the left column “main ideas” and the right column “notes”.
• When your child is in class listening to a lecture, they should only take notes on the right side of the page, in the notes column. When they come home from school, they should categorize their notes into various main ideas and write the main idea for that section of notes in the left column.

This note taking technique helps ensure that your child captured the information from the lecture, took effective notes, and understood the material that was covered. These diagrams also serve as great study guides for upcoming tests.

How ADHD tutoring can help with task initiation and prioritization

Many students with ADHD struggle with task initiation and prioritization. They may have several homework assignments to complete and tests to study for, but they don’t know where to start. They might jump in and begin working on an assignment that is less important or not due for several weeks and neglect more urgent assignments that may be due the next day or shortly thereafter. ADHD tutoring can help your child learn to prioritize tasks and designate which ones they should complete first and subsequently thereafter, based on the complexity of the assignment and its due date. As students progress through school, the volume of assignments and tests will increase so learning these strategies now through ADHD tutoring can help them tremendously.

Strategies taught during ADHD tutoring can help your child complete their homework independently and efficiently, improve their time management skills, reduce procrastination, increase their note taking and study skills, and help them feel confident and successful in school.

With effective ADHD tutoring, your child can learn how to manage their time, stay organized, prioritize their tasks, and stay focused for longer periods of time. If you are looking for evidence-based, one-on-one ADHD tutoring, EBL Coaching can help your child! We offer individualized executive functioning tutoring in person and virtually to help your child thrive in school.

Read more about whether your child has ADHD at Wondering if Your Child Has ADHD? – EBL Coaching

Frequently Asked Questions

What does an ADHD tutor teach?

An ADHD tutor will typically teach strategies for executive functioning skills, including planning, time management, organization, prioritization, test taking, note taking, organization, and study skills.

Is ADHD tutoring different from regular tutoring?

Yes! Specialized ADHD tutoring is different than general tutoring. With ADHD tutoring, your child should be taught specific research-based techniques for building their executive functioning skills. The ADHD tutor should teach them strategies and then show them how to apply these strategies to their relevant schoolwork.

Does my child need a formal ADHD diagnosis to benefit from tutoring?

No! If you notice your child struggling with skills like planning, organization, time management, task initiation, or focusing for long stretches of time, they can benefit from ADHD tutoring.

Learn more about ADHD tutoring programs at ADHD Tutoring Programs – EBL Coaching
Read more about ADHD at www.aacap.org.

The post ADHD Tutoring Programs Near Me: How to Help Your ADHD Child Build Executive Functioning Skills appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Has your child ever come home with a blank page of class notes?  Has he complained of not being able to listen in class and jot down information fast enough?  Has she ever missed important facts from a teacher’s lecture?  If so, then your child may be in need of some tools for listening and taking well-written notes.

Listening in class and taking notes can be a challenge for almost any student.  As students progress through school, in-class note taking demands become increasingly more challenging.  Students are required to listen to information dictated by their teachers, process that information, and rewrite it in their own words in the form of easy-to-read notes.  Without proper strategies, this multi-step process can be frustrating and overwhelming.

Luckily, there are some helpful tools for developing listening and note taking skills.  For starters, it’s important for students to learn how to jot down information quickly.  This skill is especially important in class, when teachers often speak quickly and relay an overwhelming about of information.  Students often hear dates, names, numbers, and key names, and scramble to try to capture every bit of information in their notes, usually in the form of time consuming full sentences.  Learning shorthand strategies can help students combat this I-must-write-everything-down trap:

Symbols

Symbols — percentage (%), question (?), number (#), money ($) — save time. For practice, have your child come up with symbols for the following words:  and, equals, star, sun, and circle.  You can then dictate mock sentences integrating these words and have your child write the sentences using abbreviations.  For example: “Jack has a question about problem number one and would like an answer.”  Your child might write, “Jack has a ? about problem #1 & would like an answer.”  Have fun coming up with these symbol-filled sentences!

Abbreviations

Abbreviations — Wednesday (Wed), homework (hwk), people (ppl), school (schl) — help students break down words into smaller chunks of letters. Your child can feel free to make up his own abbreviations – there are no set rules for abbreviating most words!  For example, he can choose to abbreviate therefore as thfr, maybe as mbe, or assignment as asmt.  He can be as creative as he likes, as long as he remembers what the abbreviations stand for.  For practice, have your child come up with abbreviations for the following words:  Thursday, workbook, problem, notebook, lesson.  Then dictate sentences integrating these abbreviations for extra reinforcement.

Contractions

Contractions help save time by combining two words into one shorter, more compact word.  Some examples include: couldn’t (stands for could not), he’s (he is), and hasn’t (has not).  Have your child come up with contractions for the following words:   you are, is not, it will, and they are.  For a bonus practice session, dictate sentences containing symbols, abbreviations, and contractions.  He’ll be writing shorthand in no time!

The Notes

Once your child has learned shorthand techniques, it is important to learn how to integrate these symbols, contractions, and abbreviations into well-organized notes.  What is the best way to organize a well-written page of notes?  Part of that answer depends on your child’s preferred learning style.  Some students are more linear learners, who will likely take an affinity towards Column-Style Note Taking. Others are more visually-oriented and will more likely prefer Webbing.  Try both styles of note taking with your child to see which one works best!

Column-Style Note Taking

Column-Style Note Taking helps students organize information into two different columns.  The left column should be drawn 1/3 from the left side of the page, and labeled “Main Ideas”; the right column should be 2/3 from the right side of the page and labeled “Notes”. He should pre-prepare three to four pages of notes (depending on his grade level and the complexity of the lecture) using this column-style set-up.

In class, when the teacher begins speaking, the only place on the page where the student should take notes is on the right side, under the “Notes” column.  During class, nothing should be written under the “Main Ideas” column. At home, he should re-read his notes and group different sections of the lecture into specific main ideas.  For example, if the entire lecture was on World War I, the first part may have been about causes of the war.  Thus, the student would write “Causes of World War I” on the left side of the page, under the “Main Ideas” column, and next to the information corresponding to that section of the notes.  The student would move through all of his notes in that manner, categorizing his notes into different main ideas.

Column-Style Note Taking encourages students to look back at their notes at the end of the school day to ensure they understand all the information that was dictated, and that there are no information gaps.  If there were any gaps in the notes, students can either ask their teacher or a friend for the missing information, or research that information in their textbooks.  Column-Style Note Taking is a very comprehensive strategy for taking notes and preparing well for upcoming exams.

Webbing

Webbing is a sound strategy for students who prefer a more visual technique for taking notes.  To use this strategy, the student first draws a circle in the center of page.   Inside that circle, he writes the topic of the lecture (for example, World War I).  Next, he draws a line branching out of the center circle.  On the line, he writes the first section, or main idea, of the lecture (for example, Causes of World War I).  He then draws bubbles branching out of that line containing important details which describe that main idea.  Once the teacher has finished discussing that section, he draws another line branching from the original center circle.  On that line, he writes the next main idea (for example,  Battles of World War I).  He then draws bubbles branching out of that line with important details describing that main idea, and continues with that pattern until the lecture is complete. Webbing helps students visualize information that they hear, and Web diagrams serve as great tools for test preparation!

The process of listening in class and taking well-written notes can be an anxiety-filled task.  Students will be required to take more and more complex notes as they progress through school.  Learning these techniques for shorthand and different styles of note taking can ease this process and help develop students’ confidence in their own classroom abilities.  So get your note taking gear ready, and start practicing!

The post Great Note Taking Strategies for School Success appeared first on EBL Coaching.

As summer winds down, the thought of going back to school gives many students the jitters. Homework demands build and staying focused in class becomes an important goal once again. Learning strategies to help your child stay focused, organized, and motivated will allow him or her jump-start the school year on a positive note.

The Multi-Sensory Approach

The multi-sensory approach is a great way to help your child stay focused and on-task. By integrating as many senses as possible, you can help your child learn new information and lock it into his or her long-term memory. This multi-sensory approach, which integrates the visual, auditory, and tactile/kinesthetic senses, can be applied to nearly all aspects of school. For instance, it can be applied to math, by using counters, base ten blocks, white boards, play money, and dice. It can also be used for phonics, with magnetic tiles, colored sand, and shaving cream for learning new sounds. Additionally, multi-sensory teaching can be used with reading comprehension and note taking.

Reading Comprehension

A great strategy to help students become active readers and to build their study skills involves three colored highlighters: blue, green, and yellow. As the school year progresses, students will inevitably be required to read passages with increasing levels of text. This strategy will help them organize this information and identify key elements when reading. The strategy works as follows:

The student should first read the passage without any highlighting.

Next, he or she should identify the topic of the passage, which is one to three words describing what the passage is about. Some examples of topics include: the beach, New York City, and bluebirds. He or she should always highlight the topic in blue.

After highlighting the topic, the student should then look for the main idea. The main idea is a phrase or sentences which describes what the author is saying about the topic. For example, if the topic is flowers, the main idea might be: Growing flowers is an easy process. The student should highlight the main idea in green.

Finally, the student should identify the important details. Note that only important details – not just any details! – should be highlighted. Students should also try to highlight words and phrases (not full sentences) whenever possible. They should highlight the important details in yellow.

To take it to the next level, students can write a one to two line summary in their own words describing what the passage is about. They can either write it in their book at the bottom of the page, or on a post-it note that they can stick in their book. This strategy is a great one for building active reading and overall study skills.

Webbing

Often times, students are not introduced to note taking until middle school or later. By using this highlighting strategy as a basis for note taking, we can introduce the concept of note taking at a very early level. The Webbing Strategy is a great way to do this.

Here’s how it works:
Say, for example, a student has to read the following passage for school: Fires can be harmful and helpful. They can destroy homes and buildings and turn forests into piles of ash in very little time. Yet fire gave humans the first form of light and heat. It allowed us to cook food in unique ways. It also helped us create tools and pottery and harden bricks. Fire became an essential part of our daily lives.

After the student reads the passage, he or she should highlight the topic in blue (in this case, fires), the main idea in green (in this case harmful and helpful), and the important details in yellow (students can highlight words such has destroy homes and buildings, first form of light and heat, etc.). This is where the Webbing Strategy, a great form of note taking, begins. Students should draw a diamond in the middle of the page and write the word fires inside the diamond (the topic goes in the diamond in the middle). Next, he or she should draw a rectangle on the top of the page and write the main idea inside of it. Finally, he or she should draw bubbles branching out of the diamond and write the important details inside them. You can encourage your child to use abbreviations, symbols, and contractions, since this is a form of note taking. A sample Web diagram might be as follows:

Note that students are free to add as many or as few important detail bubbles as they’d like. Also, they can color code the bubbles as follows: diamond in blue (for topic), rectangle in green (for main idea), and circles in yellow (for important details).

These strategies are great tools for helping students stay organized, focused, and on-task. They also build helpful reading comprehension and note taking skills. Try these strategies at home with your child as the new school year begins and remember, the more multi-sensory, the better!

The post Strategies to Help Students Succeed in School appeared first on EBL Coaching.