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Reasonable amount of movement during lessons
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Ok , I wasn’t quite sure what to title this, but I have a wiggly 11 yr old. He is ADHD to the max. And some other stuff in the mix. He cannot seem to sit still or stay focused past a couple minutes at best. I find sitting beside him on the sofa as he works through his books etc , works good. BUT you can’tt imagine how many times he just jumps up , gotta go to bathroom, get a Kleenex, heard the mailman put something in the mailbox, the phone rings, have to get it, even though it is supposed to go to machine, looked across the room and saw wooly bears in container and needs to check on them. Saw a squirrel out the window and needs to watch him. Ok so you get the picture, whatever flits through his mind real or not , he is off , whether literally or off in his mind away from our lessons. Needless to say, things take longer to get done. But when I am reading to him , I find myself stopping numerous times to reel him back in, and I overuse the reminder for him to focus. Now on the plus side , once I’ve become exasperated from the interruptions and firmly say enough, he can sit longer and he does interesting oral narrations so I know he is getting the gist of things , although some details are his imagination added to it. I can’t help but think how much chatter and chaos is going on in him and his flitting here and there are adding to it. Our lessons are short so length isn’t the factor, but they are so broken up due to the interruptions he brings into it.
Ay suggestions, especially if you have a wiggly willy , what has helped. Etc.
thank you in advance
Kk
Let him chew gum! Sounds so wacky, but it works. Obviously, sugarless. I have a wiggly, who also had a mild speech delay when he was little. He needed gum early in life to strengthen the muscles around his lips. Sharing the gum story with other moms, I learned that many others with kids who have ADHD and other ASD related things are helped enormously with gum chewing. (some even get a doctor’s note to chew gum in the public school classroom!)
My second suggestion is the yoga ball/exercise ball. Make sure you are getting a junior size and that it is firm, not bouncy. Have him sit (still) on it during your readings. Although the rule is that he is sitting still, he is still working his core (without thinking of it or losing concentration) and he is utilizing the muscles and coordination required for a bit of balance. If you have a $100 to spend and you’re in the U.S. there are a few vendors that have actually made the ball into a “ball chair”. Google this and you will find it. One store is called children therapy store or some such name. I’ve found using the ball without the base is perfectly ok, though having a base to prevent it from rolling about the room when not in use would be handy. Just make sure you are getting the correct size. (usually for kids up to age 12 you’ll want a 16″ ball)
Good luck, blessings to you!
Angie
I’ll offer a different persepective. I am not disagreeing, Angie had great ideas, just want to be the reminder of the other side of things. I’m momma to eight children so far, six of whom are sons. One thing to realize is that your son has built a deeply entrenched HABIT of popping up and flitting from thing to thing. Yes, he may be naturally more distractible and wiggly. That is not a bad thing, God gave that to him. However you do him a disservice if you do not teach him some level of self-control. He can use the wiggly at appropriate times but as he is 11 years old and growing up it is a wonderful time to teach him new habits of self-control and putting off those impulses while he completes a task.
It is not easy but he CAN learn how to do so with loving momma’s help, guidance, and expectant encouragement. Read some of the SCM habit training posts and materials for some inspiration and get him on your side for the process. Often with my boys I find that proposing a new habit as a challenge to beat/master/overcome motivates them. 😉 And enjoy and encourage the wiggly times when they are appropriate too! Starting the day with some heavy exercise may also help settle his body a bit for some of the quieter learning times when you want him to focus. Enjoy him!
I think that Tristan has a good point, but also I have a wiggly child and I learned this summer that by giving that child something to figit with in his hand (like “Thinking Putty” / “Silly Putty”) it calms them down. i also can suggest a large yoga ball that would replace a chair while he is doing seat work. My first thoughts when someone told me to do this were “yeah right, that’s a disaster waiting to happen”, but it wasn’t. I am amazed at how much it changes his wiggly’s. But without good habit training to go along with these ideas, you may have more than you bargained for. I’d be careful with gum becasue down the road the kids can develop TMJ and it’s very painful.
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