ADD Student

Do you have a kinesthetic learner? If you have a child with Attention Deficit Disorder, you might.

Kinesthetic learners learn best with hands on styles of instruction. They often struggle more in school because a good portion of what’s being taught doesn’t utilize hands on methods. In addition, they have a need to get up and move around – they actually learn better if they can – but you can see how that wouldn’t work in school.

There are a couple of things you can do at home that might help:

Encourage them to move as they study, if possible. Reading can be done while pacing, and so can studying for an exam.

Find something small and quiet for them to fiddle with, preferably something that they can use in school. I have a pen with little beads attached to the top of it – something like that might work. Giving their hands something to manipulate helps calm that need to move around. Also, the tactile experience of feeling the same thing in your hand that you had when you were studying can trigger memory and help retention.

Whenever possible, find multi-media resources to reinforce what they’re learning. An online video, for example, or a movie made from the book they are reading. A great place to start is the textbook your child is using. Many publishers these days are supplementing their books with websites that have more information. That could be just what your child needs.

If you don’t know what learning style your child is, there are several tests available online, including mine.

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