5. How can I help the ADHD child improve his attention or concentration?

5.1. Improving Attention Span / Concentration:

• Train longer attention span by slowly increasing the period of lesson / homework from 15 minutes to 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 minutes, with 5-15 minutes breaks in between
  
  • Having poor concentration skill is like having weak muscles
    
  • ADHD children have very weak concentration "muscles" that are very difficult to develop (for a normal child, the concentration "muscles" / skill can be taken for granted)
    
  • As with muscles, frequent use will result in stronger muscles while over-use may result in muscle damage
    
• Some ADHD / ADD children will have extremely good attention span for things that interest him. They overcome their attention problem by hyper-focusing on the activities they are interested in. Some ADHD children also subsequently develop obsessive compulsive behaviour in order to overcome their attention problem
  
  • The ADHD child's interests often do not include homework and academic classes unless these are intrinsically stimulating enough to cross his higher threshold of need to “feel alive”
    
  • Creating homework and lessons that are intrinsically stimulating are not easy and this is the challenge the teacher / parent has to address
    
  • Some teachers have the intrinsic skills to make their lessons very stimulating and interesting (e.g. where the purpose of the lesson is to learn something new in contrast to passing examinations) and these are the teachers who can help the ADHD child better manage in class
    
• Build stimulus into your teaching/revision methods: intersperse high & low interest activities, intersperse listening with hands-on activities, use lots of visuals (e.g. concept maps), use mnemonic learning strategies, use games, competitions, summaries etc.
  
• Teach the ADHD/ADD child how to use attention highlighters (circle key words, underline text, draw connecting lines, draw vertical guiding lines, cancellations etc) and summaries (lists, notes) effectively
  
• Coffee, "Essence of chicken", Effalex (or other Omega-3, 6, 9 oils), Zan (a mix of herbs) and Ritalin had been used by parents of ADHD children to improve attention span. Ritalin is of course the strongest of these items, but care should be taken to observe possible side effects such weight-loss and possible "explosive" behaviour.
  
• Adequate sleep is another factor that may helps to increase the attention span
  
• Heavy physical activities / exercises also help improve concentration but this last for only about 2 hours (one ADD adult attained his PhD through 3 1-hour exercises each day!). Regular healthy outdoor exercise is always beneficial to the well being of any child and could be particularly helpful for the ADHD child who experiences problems getting to sleep.
  
• Colourful items and things that move also help to improve the attention span of the ADHD/ADD child by arousing his interest; Multi-media teaching aids on the computer are thus suitable for the ADHD/ADD child
  
• Improving listening skills may also help to improve attention span; Some "sound" therapy (e.g. Tomatis method or similar therapy) focus on using sound to improve the sensory integration skills of the ADHD/ADD child.
  
• Sensory integration therapy involving muscle movements may also help ADHD/ADD children overcome their problems with motor co-ordination, organisation, over / under-activity, over / under-sensitivity to touch / sounds / movement and delays in speech, language or academic achievement.
  
• Background music also helps to improve the attention span of the ADHD / ADD child (although it may be distracting for some people); Music keeps the right active/creative brain occupied, while the left brain focus on detailed and analytical work which requires attention
  
• Proper nutrition, including supplementing with multi-vitamins, chicken essence, fish and flaxseed oils etc, also help some children with ADHD/ADD improve their attention span. This is especially useful if the child's ability to pay attention is adversely affected by nutrition-related problems.
  
• Reduce the amount of cakes, soft-drinks chocolates, sweets, etc. for ADHD / ADD children. These items may cause the child to have mood swings from very hyperactive to moody and depressed state
  
• Teach your ADHD/ADD child how to relax (e.g. through progressive relaxation techniques, mediation, music, tai chi, etc.). These also help to improve concentration and attention span.