FOUR SCHOOL BASED STRATEGIES FOR ADOLESCENTS

In Phyllis Anne Teeter’s 1998 book, "Interventions for ADHD", she lists school based strategies provided by DuPaul and Stoner to address the academic skill deficits, organization problems and difficulties in self-directedness that many adolescents with ADHD experience.

These strategies are:

1. Basic instruction in study and test-taking skills needs to be ongoing. Students should be provided with supervised practice.

2. Homework should be organized in an assignment workbook that includes short-term and long-term projects. Teacher-parent communication, starting with daily or weekly check-in procedures (e.g. initial assignments or home-school notes), is recommended. Reinforcers are made available to the student for compliance in keeping the log and can be phased out as the student takes on more responsibility.

3. Allow the student to tape-record lectures as a way to compensate for attentional and/or organizational difficulties. This may be a useful tool when the student is first learning to take notes and is under the supervision of the teacher. Another set of books should be made available to keep at home to avoid the problem of "forgetting."

4. Continued use of self-instruction and self-monitoring techniques for assignments, note-taking and organizational skills is recommended. This can take the form of providing a set of rules for the student to follow. Self-monitoring flows out of an effective behavior management program.

​This list is not exhaustive but can provide a good starting point to develop a program based on the individualized needs and strategies of the student.