ADD Student

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I’ve got a couple of really crazy ideas for you and your kids: karoke and closed captions.

I recently read about a new study that shows that singing while reading is an effective way to help both halves of your brain work together.

Most people have one half of their brain that is more dominant than the other.

Right brained people are logical and orderly and often excel at things like math and science.

Left brained people are far less linear in their thinking and tend to be very creative. They tend to be good at things like writing or art.

While almost everyone has a side of the brain that is dominant, most people’s brains integrate the two halves effectively.

Most people with ADHD are left brained and there is a greater chance that the right half of the brain has a more difficult time integrating.

This is part of the reason why ADD brains function (or disfunction) as they do.

So, reading while singing has been proven as a way to bring both sides of the brain together.

Great idea, but how are you seriously going to convince your 12 year old to sing what he’s reading?

Easy. (OK, maybe easy.) Karoke and closed captioning.

Most karoke machines display the words to the song being played. Encourage some fun time playing karoke.

Or turn on a music station on the TV that your child likes and then turn on closed captioning. Now read and sing at the same time.

OK, I admit there’s a possibility that your child will not be excited about singing in the family room.

But maybe with an explanation and some privacy, they might be willing to try.

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Kindall Nelson, a reporter for the Chicago Special Education Examiner, has put together a list she calls Summer Reading for Parents of Special Needs Students.

One of my favorites, The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal by Jonathan Mooney, is on the list. Also included are some great handbooks for both parents and teachers.

The Wrightslaw books are excellent resources for parents, taking complicated issues and making them easier to understand.

How to Reach and Teach Children with ADD/ADHD: Practical Techniques, Strategies and Interventions by Sandra F. Rief, MA is aimed at teachers, but might be helpful for parents as well. You can use these ideas at home for homework and share them with your child’s teachers, too.

See Kindall’s post for the full list and her comments.

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All kids and most parents look forward to summer vacation. When my kids were in school, I looked forward to it as much as they did. It was a chance to take a break and get away from the stress that school could cause for all of us.

But with all the free time that summertime brings, it can also bring it’s own brand of stress and troubles.

The nature of summer vacation for most kids is one of almost complete freedom: no more getting up at a certain time, no school or homework, and for many, no extra activities. Just endless free time.

That kind of freedom can mean trouble for kids with ADHD.

ADHD kids thrive in a structured, organized environment, and for many kids, summer break is just the opposite.

Now all kids are different, as are families. Maybe yours does well in the summer when things are more relaxed.

But if you’re the kind of family or if your kid is the kind of kid who could use some structure, it’s easy to build it in. You don’t have to take it to the extent that the school year does - you can be more loose on when it’s time to get up or go to bed, but still add some purpose to their days.

You could establish a set reading time, for instance. Maybe the hour after lunch or mid-afternoon when it’s hottest can be designated as reading time. You could read to each other, or read silently. And if you could create a cool, inviting spot somewhere ideal for curling up with a book, well, that would be ideal.

One of the ideas I used to do with my kids each summer was to create a theme for the summer months. For instance, international summer. Each week we would pick a country and learn about it. We would cook a meal that was typical for that country and make some crafts that tied in with that culture.

Summer is great for letting kids experiment with crafts. A picnic table outdoors on the grass is great for letting kids use all the paints and glitter and glue that you’re cautious about using indoors. Use newspapers if you want to protect the table.

For more ideas for summer, check your local library for books or local events. And don’t forget sources like Boy Scout and Girl Scout handbooks. There are a lot of good ideas there.

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