Teaching Math to ADHD Child: Effective Strategies and Tips for Engaging Learning

Is your child with ADHD struggling with math? They're not alone! Children with ADHD often struggle to concentrate on schoolwork. This is because their attention span doesn't allow them to retain information like other students. Therefore their working memory, the part of the brain that processes data and manipulates numbers, is affected.

If you need helpful strategies to help your child learn math concepts, this article is here to help. We've compiled effective strategies and tips for teaching math to children with ADHD in a way that is engaging and tailored to their learning style.

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Tips and Strategies to Teach Math to Children with ADHD

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may need additional help to learn math. Their ADHD may affect their writing, focus, and ability to stay on task. Because a child with ADHD may rush to complete their work, they often make careless mistakes.

The techniques below help minimize ADHD symptoms and help kids in school and at home complete their homework and assignments and better grasp math concepts.

Use Multisensory Learning Tools

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects a child's ability to pay attention, control impulsive behaviors, and may cause them to be overly active. Multisensory tools can help ADHD students regain focus and help them control impulsivity by redirecting energy and stimulating their senses.

The types of sensory tools or techniques that help kids with ADHD vary, so you may need to try different things until you figure out what works best.

Multisensory Tools to aid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder:

• Fidget toys
• Wobble cushion
• Chewing gum
• Trampoline
• Exercise ball
• Chair bands
• Pop-its
• White noise machine

Here is a complete list of toys for kids with ADHD.

Provide Hands-On Learning Opportunities

Children, especially kids with ADHD, benefit from hands-on learning. For example, manipulatives like counting cubes, a colorful abacus, dice, playing cards, pictures, and tens blocks assist students in solving math problems, particularly in elementary school.

Using hands-on opportunities builds conceptual understanding in math instead of rote memorization. Memorization helps remember multiplication tables, but children need to understand the basic concepts of math works to make learning meaningful.

Break Math Concepts Down into Smaller Parts

If students with ADHD struggle in math, teachers should break problems down into smaller parts. For example, word problems can be dissected, and long division can be separated into smaller problems, enabling a child to complete one task at a time. 

When students can take a word problem apart or a math operation can be simplified, kids with ADHD can go step by step to solve the question.

 Use Visual Aids and Graphics to Solve Math Problems

Visual aids like graphs, pictures, number lines, pie charts, geometric shapes, and fraction bars help students with ADHD when completing math problems. These visual aids are helpful because they provide something concrete students can see.

Teachers can supply students with visual aids to help them solve a math problem, or they can provide tools like graph paper, writing utensils, and manipulatives and encourage students to create visual aids to work out a solution.

Drawing helps students comprehend word problems. Drawing pictures is one strategy that can be especially helpful to younger ADHD students who struggle with reading and writing.

 Encourage Active Learning and Participation

The more active a teacher can make a lesson for students with ADHD, the more knowledge will cement! Real-life examples are a good strategy for teaching children math. If a child can connect with the math problem, it makes understanding it more accessible.

For example, an assignment could use a word problem that discusses buying a new pair of shoes with birthday money. Or they could demonstrate fractions showing a holiday pie that must be divided among family members. These types of problems connect the abstract idea of math to real experiences for ADHD children.

Lastly, ask guiding questions to help them work towards the answer themselves. Allowing opportunities for kids to problem solve builds cognitive connections and will aid them in other areas of school and life too!

 Incorporate Technology and Digital Tools

In our technological era, it makes sense that you and your child's teacher incorporate digital tools to teach math. Online games and apps designed to practice math skills are great tools for students with ADHD.

These games and apps teach practical techniques and immediately supply students with answers for instant feedback. Sites like Moose Math and Prodigiy will appeal to your child. Plus, the gamification aspect will help your child focus!

Older students and teens may benefit from using graphic organizers. Use a site like Canva to design a free graphic organizer for your student!

Mnemonic Devices

Mnemonic Devices may help students with ADHD remember important in math. One popular mnemonic device is Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. This is used to teach students the order of math operations when solving a problem.

Parenthesis, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. Another common device is Dad, Mom, Sister, Brother, and Rover for long division. It means Divide, multiply, subtract, bring down, and remainder.

Perhaps the simplest one is the vision of the alligator eating the bigger number when teaching greater than and less than.

Encourage your child to write these devices out in a fun colorful way, or to make a poster you can hang to help them remember.

 Provide Frequent Breaks and Movement Opportunities

Parents and teachers should occasionally allow a few minutes of movement during homework sessions or class time. Kids with ADHD tend to struggle with sitting still and focusing. So if you notice a child squirming in their seat, it is time for a movement break!

A five-minute dance break, a few laps around the classroom, or some jumping jacks in place can help a student with ADHD re-focus when learning math.

Takeaway

ADHD children may struggle more than their peers when learning math. However, when parents and educators employ efficient strategies during homework or class, kids with ADHD can learn to solve math problems!

When helping your child with math, consider using sensory and digital tools to stimulate and engage them. Provide supplies for children to write out their work or draw illustrations or visual aids as needed. Lastly, provide student access to manipulatives and other engaging tools in your class or at home. 

A warm and supportive environment is the final piece needed to teach children with ADHD math. Understanding math is easier for some kids ADHD or not, so remain patient, figure out what techniques work best for your child, and use the plethora of resources available to you online and through your child's school to make math comprehension happen!