Customer Reviews

How To Reach And Teach Children with ADD/ADHD: Practical Techniques, Strategies, and Interventions (J-B Ed: Reach and Teach)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My daughter's teacher loaned me this book after I shared with her my frustration over understanding "how" my daughter thinks and how to help her with her homework and life in general. If you don't have ADD you can't understand why things that seem perfectly logical to you make no sense what so ever to the person with ADD. I sat down thinking I would flip through and read a few passages...I've been reading for two hours now and an hour ago got paper and pen to start taking notes. There are too many notes! I'm now ordering the book for myself. I have read many books on ADD and this is the first one I've found that gives clear detailed advice on ways to "teach" your child some impulse control, and help her improve her concentration and study skills...BEFORE jumping right to medication treatment.

This book helps teachers and parents structure learning time for better results. Not all children learn through the same methods, and for some children, a typical classroom is utterly frustrating and incomprehensible. Have you ever taught a small child how to walk? Did you talk them through it, delivering lectures and demonstrations, or did you hold their hand till they got their balance, then let them stumble from spot to spot until they learned? Does your child walk fairly well? Great. Now think back... when your child fell or stumbled, did you become alarmed at the setback and take them to the doctor, or did you encourage them to try again?

Most kids learn very well by doing. They may learn a lot less well from lectures. Classrooms, sadly, are mostly teacher talk, student listen environments.

This book gives strategies for structuring lessons so that they involve physical motion, hands-on practice, and creative tasks.

These strategies are useful not only for ADD/ADHD kids, but for MOST kids. We live in a country where normal kid behavior is seen as a pathology. ***important: I know ADD/ADHD is a real neurological phenomenon.*** And, when 20% or more of your boys are tagged with the ADD/ADHD label, it becomes meaningless.

For example, a characteristic of ADD/ADHD is distractibility... but so is over focusing and being undistractable. So is spacing out and daydreaming. A high activity level is characteristic... but so is lethargic behavior or slow work completion. The first chapter of this book points out these contradictions and suggests dealing with kids on a kid-by-kid basis, communicating with parents, and offering a variety of learning strategies (the rest of the book is a help for that.) It provides excellent advice and ideas.

Still, my problem with the book is that is addresses ADD/ADHD from a perspective that classroom learning is normal, and children who don't do well in classrooms need intervention. In my view, classroom learning is unnatural, often stressful, and a sub-optimal system for teaching kids. My conclusion is that the kids who need help are probably as normal as the kids who sit still and raise their hands.

Anyway, I got it because I'm a mom and a Sunday school teacher. This book will help you instruct kids of all types.

This is a great resource for teachers! It is organized in such a way that you can look up quick advice for a successful strategy.

If you want to know about ADHD then pick up this book! It is extremely informative, an easy read and just overall a great resource to have.

I bought this book because I did not know enough about ADHD to effectively teach my students. A constant self evaluator, I knew I had to do something. That something led me to this incredible resource. I have to admit, I have not finished the book but only because I have to improve my teaching of writing and right now, this is my focus (1st year, as you can I don't know anything lol).

I am recommending this resource to you and already have to a host of friends.

How to Reach and Teach Children with ADD/ADHD is a truly fantastic resource for educators trying to best serve children with ADHD. Rief begins the book by demystifying ADHD, writing a succinct summary of ADHD and how it manifests in academic domains. She moves on to sharing suggestions on how to best manage ADHD in different tasks like math, reading, and writing. Her suggestions are research-based and easy to implement. I found her writing easy to read, and I really liked how she interspersed bullet points into the text to clearly and quickly move through a lot of material. I shared this resource with some classmates in my special education master's program, and three ended up ordering their own copies. Teachers, if you purchase any book about ADHD, make sure it is this one.

This valuable book should be read by all parents and teachers. Every student can benefit from the strategies in Sandra Rief's book, not just students with ADD/ADHD. I am a HS teacher and a parent, and I constantly refer to the tools and ideas in this book. It is the best resource I have found for effective teaching of ALL students.

I would go so far as to say this book should be required reading for all teachers. I have shared it with some of the newer teachers in my school and they are amazed by how practical and informative it is. Again, this is an exceptional resource for all children, not just those with ADD/ADHD.

Practical, easy to follow, hands on ideas regarding teaching children with ADD / ADHD in the classroom. The information and ideas in this book have helped me deal more effectively with all children, including those with ADD / ADHD.

If I could only have one book in my library about Attention Deficit Disorder, it would be Sandra F. Rief's comprehensive book, How to Reach and Teach Children with ADD/ADHD. This book is a complete reference for parents and educators.

Divided into six parts, the book has information and techniques for implementing strategies to improve the lives of children with ADD/ADHD. Each part has real-life interviews and stories. There are references organized by section. Each part of the book has an extensive list of resources that address that particular subject.

Part 1-Key Information for Understanding and Managing ADHD-This part discusses the characteristics of ADD/ADHD. Finding a diagnosis is discussed. For those who want more than medication for their child, other types of treatments are enumerated. Differences in students' needs along the Kindergarten through High School continuum are delineated.

Part 2-Managing the Challenge of ADHD Behaviors-Attention Deficit Disorder presents behavioral challenges in the classroom and at home. Events that trigger problem behaviors and ways to address those behaviors are described. Many techniques to assist students with challenging behaviors are spelled out in a user friendly manner. This part also explains strategies to increase the students' attention. There are methods for helping students focus in class.

Part 3-Instructional and Academic Strategies and Supports-Strategies and interventions for all aspects of reading, writing, and mathematics each have their own section. This makes them easy to use for parents and teachers. There are several approaches to finding a style or styles that help the students learn. A complete section on organization gives aid to parents and educators who want to help students with Attention Deficit Disorder develop organizational and study skills.

Part 4-Personal Stories and Case Studies-There is a family's personal story, as told by the mother, of their journey through the maze that is Attention Deficit Disorder. The family has several children with ADD/ADHD, and their mother tells the different methods that were used to help each child reach his or her potential. This story is filled with details to let readers see and feel what it is like to live in a family where multiple people have ADD. It also shows how to get appropriate services for children with ADD. Readers get to know this family, and a bonus is a follow-up that tells about the family twelve years later.

Along with a personal story are two case studies of young men with ADD/ADHD. These case studies give medical, social and/or educational histories. Methods used by their schools to help them in the classroom were presented in detail. Also described were interventions that were used outside of school. Again, Sandra Rief makes the reader feel like they are a part of these children's lives. These case studies provide an outline for building a comprehensive program for a child with ADD/ADHD.

Part 5-Teaming for Success-This part of the book helps the reader figure out how to set up effective communications among the student with ADD/ADHD's team members. This multi-disciplinary team needs to work together to design and implement a successful plan to help the student accomplish his goals.

Part 6-Additional Supports and Strategies-Movement, music, and imagery are explored in this section.

This book, published in 2005, is written in an easy-to-read style. While the breadth of the material can feel a bit overwhelming, the book's sections and its twenty-four pages of references and resources are well-organized. Many of the academic interventions and strategies are research-based. Multiple Intelligences are addressed over several pages in Part 3. While widely used in schools, Multiple Intelligences is not based on empirical research.

Within this book, there are resources that I feel are a priority to read. In six short, well-written pages, Section 1.6 gives a blueprint for building success for a student with ADD/ADHD. Many of the suggestions are expanded in later sections of the book. As a whole, this section can give guidance to parents and educators who want to help the student find success. A crucial key to success is organization. Sections 3.5-3.6 lead the student down the path to becoming a more efficient student through organizational and memory techniques.

Years ago, in 1998, another book by Sandra Rief guided me to becoming an effective advocate for my son. It equipped me with information to help my son become a successful student. That book gave me ideas to share with his educational team, so that they could do a better job teaching him. Over the years, I have recommended How to Reach and Teach Children with ADD/ADHD to the parents of my students. Now, I highly recommend it to you.

This book reads like a typical textbook - you have to really search the book to find the good stuff. The book is not appropriate for parents who are trying to get a game plan nor for general education teachers who are looking for a book to better understand their students who display ADHD-like behaviors; it's just too much and will probably be put down and not finished by the majority of people who purchase the book. The author spends too much time covering every possible ADHD topic and in the process fails to drive in the most critical points.

I purchased this book for a graduate class. The instructor felt it would be better than any textbook. It is a very helpful, practical resource for everything ADHD. It is easy to read.