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ADHD Sleep Tips for Kids That Actually Work!

November 2, 2017 by Selena Robinson 32 Comments

Getting enough sleep is a major problem for kids and adults with ADHD. I’ve been a light sleeper for years, but I had no idea it was related to ADHD until I started researching symptoms.

Personally, I CANNOT go to sleep without reading first. If I try to just lie down, my mind will race with a thousand “I need to” and “I really should” thoughts, and eventually I’ll jump up and start doing stuff. Not good if I expect to be a relatively happy mom the next day.

Our kids tend to be light sleepers too. Tigger and Roo take a very long time to fall asleep, and poor Pooh has struggled with night terrors ever since he was an infant. The irony is: The less sleep kids with ADHD get, the worse their symptoms are. So we’ve had quite a few rough homeschooling days due to lack of sleep.

I’ve been reading lots of information about establishing good sleep habits, and today I’m sharing three ADHD sleep tips for kids (and adults)!

If this post is helpful, be sure to read my list of the best ADHD homeschooling tips around!

Image: Deyan Georgiev / Dollar Photo Club

ADHD Sleep Tips for Kids

1. Provide plenty of physical activity during the day.

For years, my husband has done manual work. On days that he works, he rests well at night because he’s so exhausted from the day. On weekends, though, he tends to stay up late into the night.

Turns out that’s related to ADHD! When kids and adults with ADHD exert themselves during the day, they sleep more soundly at night. Make time for your kids to get up and move vigorously during the school day and they should rest better.

2. End screen time a few hours before bed.

It’s no secret that kids tend to get excited after watching television, but that is true to an even greater degree in kids with ADHD. And it’s not just TV. Any kind of screen time, including computers, tablets, and smartphones, can be overstimulating and make it harder for kids to go to sleep at night. Of course, as I write this, it is 11:38 p.m., so this is a “Do as I say, not as I do” moment. 😉

We’ll be talking more about screen time limits later in the series, but it is critical that we minimize (and even eliminate) screen time when possible to avoid sleep problems and loss of focus. That’s where adding in physical fitness can help, because it gives kids an outlet for their energy instead of adding more stimuli.

3. Establish a bedtime routine and stick to it.

We’ve used a set bedtime in our family for years. But that’s not all that’s involved in establishing a bedtime routine. You know how doctors encourage you to create a routine of bathing, reading, and singing to help babies learn to sleep at night? We should keep that going with our kids long after babyhood.

We covered the importance of routines for ADHD yesterday, and those same points apply to the bedtime routine. That means that consistency is critical. Once you establish your bedtime routine, stick with it every night. Over time, your kids’ bodies will learn that nighttime is for winding down and resting.

Note: I’ve been hearing good things about melatonin. My daughter’s pediatrician actually recommended it to us during her last visit. But I’ve been hesitant to try it, because I’ve heard that it gives some kids nightmares. So if any of you have any thoughts or experiences with melatonin, please tell me about them! (Disclosure: I am not a medical professional. Please consult a doctor before deciding how to treat ADHD in your family.)

Have you struggled with helping your kids with ADHD go to sleep? Do you have any ADHD sleep tips for kids that work in your family? Tell us about them in the comments!

Need more help parenting and teaching kids with ADHD? Read these posts for ideas!

$Math Activities for ADHD Students$

For more help parenting kids with ADHD, follow my ADHD Tips board on Pinterest!

Don’t miss these other great posts!

10 of The Best ADHD Homeschooling Tips Around

November 8, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

We’ve been writing about homeschooling with ADHD for a while. Which makes sense because we’re homeschooling kids with ADHD in our own family. 🙂

If you picture ADHD as a condition that involves constant motion, you’d be right…and wrong. Some kids are physically hyperactive, while others are mentally hyperactive, and still others are both and/or emotionally intense. ADHD looks different in different kids.

And that means that homeschooling a child with ADHD calls for some serious adaptation on the part of the homeschooling parent. Over the years, we’ve learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t, so I’ve rounded up 10 of the best ADHD homeschooling tips around. Read through these and try them with your kids!

Image c/o: Yaruta / depositphotos

10 of the Best ADHD Homeschooling Tips

1. Read as much about ADHD and ADD as possible to find out how this disorder can affect children. Then be willing to incorporate as many learning strategies as you can. Here’s a list of my must-read books for ADHD homeschooling parents.

2. Stop trying to create the “ideal” homeschooling life. You know that mental picture of the parent smilingly teaching several children at the kitchen table? Yeah, forget that. Here’s why.

3. Spend some time watching your child to find out which type of ADHD he or she has. Learning how the disorder affects them personally can give you valuable insights into how to teach them. Brush up on the different types of ADHD for more.

4. Create a daily routine for your child that is ADHD-friendly. Bear in mind: This will NOT be a timed schedule, but a daily framework he or she can come to expect. Learn more about how to develop an ADHD daily routine that works for you.

5. Help your child set realistic learning goals that are tailored to his or her abilities. Then encourage them to meet those goals. Read more about how to help kids with ADHD meet their learning goals.

6. Consider making lifestyle changes to help your kids with ADHD sleep better at night. It’s a fact that kids learn better when they’re well rested. (Don’t we all?) Find out how to help your child with ADHD improve his or her sleep habits.

7. Adapt your teaching methods to suit your child’s attention span. While we want to help our kids learn to concentrate, they simply won’t if we teach them in the traditional manner. Here are a few ways to change up your teaching methods for kids with ADHD.

8. Use hands-on math activities. Math is often a headache for kids who have ADHD and/or attention issues. Executive functioning problems can make it difficult for children to follow a math problem through to the end and execute the required steps to solve it. Get some ideas from this list of math activities for ADHD students!

9. Limit the use of screens in your child’s day. Kids with ADHD who have a lot of screen time each day often struggle with attention span more than those who don’t, which can make homeschooling tougher. Take a look at how you can set screen time limits for your kids with ADHD.

10. Use a flexible homeschooling schedule and always, always, always be willing to change it. Try this list of 15 homeschool ADHD schedule ideas!

Want more ADHD homeschooling tips? Don’t miss these posts!

$Math Activities for ADHD Students$

And for more support, grab a copy of my ebook “Homeschooling with ADHD”!

Follow my ADHD Tips board on Pinterest for more ideas!

Why We Love Using CTC Math for ADHD Kids

August 12, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

My youngest son is a bit of a challenge when it comes to teaching math. He has ADHD, so he’s super active and his attention span is extremely short. He likes math in general, but when it’s time to do some actual work, he tends to whine, tune out, and get frustrated.

So I was excited to try out the CTC Math Membership to see if the program would be a good fit for him. Guess what? HE loves it! And I love any math program that will get him to love math. 😉 See why we love using CTC Math for ADHD kids in our family!

$CTC Math for Second Graders with ADHD$

Plus, there’s an incredible giveaway available! Five winners will get a one-year membership to CTC Math absolutely FREE! Read on to learn how to enter!

Disclosure: I received access to this program in exchange for this post and I was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review.

$Why CTC Math is Great for Kids with ADHD$

How CTC Math Works

Here’s a look at how the CTC Math membership works:

$CTC Math Second Grade Lessons$

As parents, you can sign in and decide which lessons in each grade you want your child to cover. Roo is entering second grade this year, so we started him off there.

$CTC Math Writing the Numeral Video Lesson$

Each lesson has a short video that demonstrates the concept in question.

$CTC Math Writing the Numeral Exercises$

Then there are ten exercises for the child to complete.

$CTC Math Patterns in Number Charts$

One of the things I really like about this program is that the exercises follow the exact same structure as the problems shown in the video. So, there are no “tricky” questions.

$CTC Math Patterns in Number Charts Questions$

Every time your child completes a question, he or she gets a check mark or a red X showing if their answer was correct.

$CTC Math Second Grade Lesson Outline$

As they work through the lessons, they can see their grade for each concept. This is really helpful, because you can see at a glance which topics they may need more help with before test time.

And, if you look at the top, you’ll see that you can choose the length of your child’s tests. That’s a super option, because some kids don’t need a lot of questions (or don’t have the attention span to complete a lot of questions). That way you can customize the test length for each child and each lesson.

Just in time for the new school year, CTC Math is offering a huge discount – just for homeschoolers! Right now, we can get 60 PERCENT off the regular price, which means you can grab a one-year family CTC Math membership for just $118.80!

Want to test the program out before you buy? Sign up for a totally free trial!

Why I Love Using CTC Math for ADHD Kids

So, what makes CTC Math so awesome for kids who have ADHD?

$CTC Math Video Lesson$

As you can see, my boy is really into that video lesson. Know why?

$CTC Math Video Lesson Summary$

It was only a little over a minute long! While some videos are closer to three minutes, they’re all very short, which is perfect for kids with attention issues.

See the “For Your Reference” heading at the bottom? If you download the “Lesson Summary” PDF, you can see a list of what will be covered in the video, along with the answers.

$CTC Math PDF Lesson Overview$

Just like this! So you can prepare ahead of time and come up with additional problems for your child to practice that use this same concept. I also like that, because there are some concepts that I already know may be a bit confusing. This way, I’m prepared to work them through along with him.

$Using CTC Math for Second Grade$

Roo did a great job at using the computer to answer the questions. Since the questions aren’t timed, he didn’t feel any pressure to finish them before he was ready. That’s another reason why CTC Math is great for kids with ADHD. It reduces anxiety.

$CTC Math Writing the Numeral Questions$

At the top, the program keeps track of how your child is doing on the questions he or she has been answering so far. When Roo saw that he was on track to get them all right, he stopped in the middle of one of his problems and said, “I better slow down. I want to get a 100.”

I had to pick my mouth up off the floor. I don’t recall him ever saying he needed to slow down for anything ever in his life before. The scorekeeping is a great motivator.

$CTC Math Lesson with a Chalkboard$

So, since he wanted to slow down, we paused on the questions and worked out a couple of the “Writing the Numeral” problems together.

$Using a Blackboard with CTC Math$

I wrote numerals and number words on the blackboard.

$Working Out Math Problems with CTC Math$

He wrote them down as either numerals or number words on his paper. When we practiced a couple, he seemed to feel more confident and we returned to the questions.

You can take a break on the questions anytime and resume when you’re ready. (Another win for CTC Math!)

$CTC Math Writing the Numeral Exercise Results$

That break for more practice worked! He got his 100. 🙂

$Why CTC Math Works for Kids with ADHD$

And, he’s actually been asking to do this program each day since. It’s definitely a keeper!

To learn more about CTC Math, follow the company on social media!

And….drumroll….here’s your chance to enter the CTC Math giveaway! Five winners will receive a FREE 12-month membership! To enter, use the Giveaway Tools widget below!

Entry -Form

P.S. Don’t forget to stop by and check out the amazing 60% off CTC Math homechool deal – available right now! And while you’re shopping, sign up for a free trial to see if a CTC Math membership will work for your kids! SPOILER: It will. 🙂

$Why My ADHD Child Loves CTC Math$

Need more ideas for homeschooling your child with ADHD? Follow my ADHD Homeschooling Tips board for our tried-and-true suggestions!

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling ADHD Students

April 25, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

We’re parenting three children who have ADHD/ADD in our family. (The jury’s still out on the toddler, so far.) To add to our unique situation, both my husband and I also have ADD. Fun!

Naturally, we have to make use of a LOT of creative tips and ideas for homeschooling ADHD students. We’ve shared lots of posts on this topic over the years and I’ve gotten some great suggestions from other websites as well.

So – without further ado – here is the Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling ADHD Students! I hope that these resources are just as helpful to you as they’ve been to us!

Image c/o: Rawpixel via depositphotos

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling ADHD Students

How to Deal with a Homeschooling Dawdler

Homeschooling with ADD and ADHD

Managing Expectations for ADHD Students

How We Homeschooled My Kiddo with ADHD

Adapting as a Teacher to ADHD Kids

When Traditional School Fails: Homeschooling May Be a Better Option

Preparing Kids with ADHD to Learn

Homeschooling Kids with ADHD

Making Lifestyle Changes to Homeschool Kids with ADHD

Why Special Needs Kids Thrive in a Homeschool Environment

How to Consider Other Kids When ADHD Homeschooling

How to Work with ADHD in Your Homeschool

Homeschooling as a Mom with ADHD

Small Muscle Handwriting Practice for Kids with ADHD

Our ADHD-Friendly Homeschool Room

How We Did Spelling In Our ADHD Homeschool

3 Tips for Raising Boys with ADHD

Pages: 1 2 3 4

iLS Home Program for ADHD and SPD

April 11, 2016 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

As most of you probably know, we have children who are living with ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder. In fact, both my husband and I also have ADHD/ADD.

We’ve written extensively about life with ADHD here on the blog, so when I learned about Integrated Listening Systems – a natural therapy for improving attention and sensory processing skills, I was super excited to give the iLS Home Program a try!

Here’s what the program includes and how it can benefit children with various learning difficulties and special needs!

Disclosure: I received access to this program in exchange for this post and I was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own. For details, see my Disclosure Policy.

What is iLS Home Program Therapy?

The iLS Total Home Focus Program is a sound and movement therapy system for individuals who are living with special needs, including ADHD/ADD, Down’s syndrome, Sensory Processing Disorder, Dyslexia, Autism, Apraxia, Dysgraphia, and Auditory Processing Disorder.

Since we have children who have both ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder, we jumped at the chance to try the program. Here’s a quick overview of how it works:

This is a look at what is included in the iLS Home Program. As you can see, it’s pretty extensive.

You receive an iPod Touch with a waist pack. Kids need to use the program two to five times per week for sessions of 20 to 50 minutes.

The special iLS headphones are part of the program’s unique benefits. These headphones feature special sensors behind the ear that make contact with the bones in the head. The goal is to provide listening therapy through the body’s various systems via bone conduction. Pretty neat!

The balance board is part of the exercise regimen, designed to improve balance and coordination.

The weighted beanbags and balls are accessories for use with the program home exercises.

Along with the program supplies, iLS provides a Playbook that demonstrates various exercises and skills you can try with your children. The Playbook also gives you a chance to note your children’s progress as you use the program.

What are the Benefits of the iLS Home Program ?

Clients who have used the iLS Home Program have reported substantial benefits for those who have attention and sensory issues. For example, some who have tried the iLS program for ADHD have noticed an increase in ability to concentrate, organize, and complete tasks. The program has also helped to decrease anxiety and promote calm, which leads to improved sleeping habits (something that has been a real issue in our family).

iLS can also help with vestibular and proprioceptive issues, which are common for children with SPD. Since the program includes exercises that are designed to improve hand/eye coordination, balance, and auditory processing, I am really looking forward to seeing how much it helps our family.

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be using the iLS Home Program with my children over the next several weeks! I’m looking forward to sharing our progress and results, especially for those of you who have children living with ADHD, autism, SPD, or other special needs.

Visit the iLs Total Home Focus Program website to learn more about how this program works for home use! And if you have any specific questions about how the program is working for us, feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer!

For more about life with ADHD, follow my ADHD Tips board on Pinterest!

How to Help Kids Deal with ADHD and Frustration During Schoolwork

October 24, 2014 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

For kids with ADHD, the inability to concentrate can become frustrating, especially during schoolwork. Personally, as a woman with ADHD, I get irritable when I have to read something two or three times in order to understand it. Multiply that by 10 and you have my kids’ feelings when they can’t understand something.

It’s extremely irritating to feel as if your brain isn’t working well and that’s a common experience for kids and adults with ADHD. Then, if your kids are perfectionists, they’re going to have an even harder time dealing with these frustrations. Our youngest boy is extremely hard on himself, and since he has a hard time focusing, he gets frustrated on a daily basis.

Over time, though, we’ve learned how to help him calm down and refocus. Here are a few suggestions to help your kids with managing ADHD and frustration! If these tips help, be sure to read more about how you can schedule your homeschool for kids with ADHD!

Image: kmiragaya / Dollar Photo Club

Tips for Helping Kids Deal with ADHD and Frustration

Anticipate the meltdown.

Start to recognize your child’s triggers. We talked about identifying our own triggers as parents with ADHD the other day, and we have to do the same thing with our kids.

For Roo, handwriting (which we’ll talk about next week) is a particular issue. He thinks that his letters should look exactly like the ones on the chalkboard. There have been days when he literally erases every single letter at least once. Every. Single. Letter. Now that I know that he feels that way, I reduce his copywork so that he won’t get overwhelmed. If you know which areas of homeschooling tend to give your child problems, try to find ways to make the lesson a bit easier on them.

Try deep breathing.

Deep breathing is one of the suggestions in Dr. Daniel Amen’s book Healing ADD, and for good reason. Breathing deeply is a natural way to release tension that builds up in the body when we’re frustrated or angry.

Whenever Roo gets frustrated during class, I have him stand up. Then I take his hands in mine and we breathe deeply together three or four times. Generally, he calms down right away. If we don’t do deep breathing, he often can’t calm down enough to hear my suggestions or accept my help.

Communicate.

Once your child has calmed down a little, encourage him to talk about his feelings. Why did he get frustrated? Is there a particular concept that’s hard for him to grasp? Would he like some help? Teaching our kids how to express themselves can help them avoid getting frustrated in the future.

With Roo, we ask “Can you tell us why you’re upset?” (This is usually after the deep breathing.) He generally answers with an extremely thorough explanation about what happened, what he didn’t like, and why it bothered him so much. After he explains himself, we can address his concerns and offer help.

Now, I will admit: Sometimes we go through all of these steps and he is still frustrated. That’s our cue to take a break from school and come back to the concept a little later on. Usually after a little time has passed, he grasps the concept better and we can return to our regularly scheduled lessons. 🙂

Do your kids with ADHD get frustrated during schoolwork? How do you help them deal with those feelings? Share your suggestions in the comments!

Stop by to see some of our other ADHD homeschooling tips!

$Math Activities for ADHD Students$

Plus, get more ideas from my ADHD Tips board on Pinterest!

This post is part of the 31 Days of ADHD Homeschooling series! Stop by tomorrow for Day 25: Test Taking Tips for Kids with ADHD!

The Ultimate Guide to Brain Breaks eBook

Setting Learning Goals for Children with ADHD

October 12, 2014 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

I am a huge proponent of goal-setting. Since I have adult ADHD, I usually need regular goals to help me stay focused on what I’m trying to accomplish. As a result, I try to set learning goals for my kids with ADHD as well.

Goal-setting, though, only works if we consider our kids’ unique situations. That’s just another vote in favor for homeschooling, because we can set different goals for each child that are specifically designed to help them improve in their schoolwork.

Here are a few tips I use to help set learning goals for children with ADHD! Read on to see if these tips work for your family!

Be sure to stop by and read our best tips for homeschooling with ADHD as well!

How to Set Learning Goals for Children with ADHD

1. Make sure the goals are attainable.

The most important part of goal-setting for ADHD kids is choosing reasonable goals. Simply getting started can feel overwhelming to the ADHD brain, so if the process is too intimidating, your kids won’t even want to try.

Have the kids start with small, reachable goals that are catered to their levels. If you have a kindergartner that loves to read, set a goal of finishing one easy reader per day. But if you have a kindergartner who doesn’t love reading, set a goal of reading for five minutes per day. That way, there’s no pressure for kids to compete with their siblings.

Take-away: Have the kids start with small, reachable goals that are catered to their levels.

2. Have them choose their own deadlines.

Some kids with ADHD do well with pressure and work best on a deadline. Others don’t. If your kids like deadlines, have them decide when they think they can accomplish them and then write them on a calendar.

Resist the urge to choose a goal date for them, unless their goal is something ridiculous such as “Learn to multiply and divide by the end of first grade.” In that case, you might want to help them set more realistic expectations.

You might also want to consider a very small incentive to spur them along. Something simple and (preferably) inexpensive, such as additional play time, a new book, or extra alone time with Mom may be a strong motivator.

Take-away: Ask kids when they think they can accomplish their goals and shoot for that date.

3. Work along with them.

I’ve also found that my kids work the best when they feel that I’m involved in the process with them. So when they set goals, I check in with them everyday and ask about how they’re doing. I also ask about what challenges they’re facing and how they think they can overcome any obstacles to reach the goal.

In some cases, I actually sit in with the kids as they work. If Tigger is reading a new book for an assignment, I might have her read on the sofa next to me as I’m working. If Pooh is working on handwriting, I generally sit at the table with him. Just my presence can be enough to help them stay on task.

Roo is my reluctant reader, so we set a goal of reading five minutes per day together. He looks forward to our time and he’s developing an interest in reading!

Take-away: Work with your children as they reach for their goals.

How do you help try to set learning goals for children with ADHD in your family? Do you use any kind of incentives to motivate them? Tell us about it in the comments!

This post is part of the 31 Days of ADHD Homeschooling series! Be sure to stop by tomorrow for Day 13: Inspiring the Unmotivated ADHD Child to Learn!

Did you enjoy this post? Stop by to read even more tips on ADHD homeschooling!

Plus, follow my ADHD Tips Pinterest board for more support!

Creating an ADHD Daily Routine for Kids

October 6, 2014 by Selena Robinson 10 Comments

If you’ve read any books about ADHD, you’ve probably seen the advice “Use a consistent schedule” again and again.

I know I have.

Based on what doctors know about this condition, having a regular routine is essential to keeping ADHD in check.

This is particularly true if you’re homeschooling, because you’ll have to come up with a schedule on your own and then stick to it.

We’ve tried several homeschooling schedules over the years, but most of them have been a terrible fit for our family.

It wasn’t until I started considering our kids’ ADHD that our homeschooling days began to take shape.

Find our tips for creating an ADHD daily routine for kids below!

Plus, see how to get a set of free printable daily routine checklist strips you can use with your kids!

And don’t miss our list of ADHD homeschool schedule ideas to try!

Tips for Making an ADHD Daily Routine for Kids

1. Get the kids involved in planning the routine.

Kids are far more likely to follow a schedule that they have a part in planning.

Ask them what school subjects they like the best and which ones they like the least. Alternate them on the schedule, and begin with one of the least-liked subjects first.

For example, Tigger doesn’t like math. We do that first everyday.

She knows that once it’s done correctly, she can get on to the subjects she enjoys. That generally motivates her to complete her assignments.

2. Make the routine easy to follow.

Another way to help kids stick with a daily routine is to make it easy to follow.

Make a schedule that uses pictures and short words and then post it somewhere visible in the house – in the hallway, on the refrigerator, or even in the kids’ rooms.

Grab our Daily Routine Cards to set up a daily schedule the kids can follow!

Go over the schedule with each child and make sure that he or she understands it.

Then institute it slowly – adding one subject or activity at a time until the kids remember which lesson comes next. Easing into the routine can help the kids avoid getting frustrated.

3. Use a timer for daily tasks.

One of the common symptoms of ADHD is the tendency to get overly involved in a single activity. While the kids might enjoy this at the time, it can cause you to lose track of your daily lessons and throw off your entire schedule.

Try to keep your lessons to 20 to 25 minutes and use a digital timer to let you know when to switch to a new subject.

If there’s a subject the kids really love, make room for that in the routine so that they don’t have to break off from a favorite activity before they’re ready.

In our family, Roo has a very hard time shifting his focus onto another subject once he gets started.

His favorite pretend play activity is building, so I make room for that by having him complete his schoolwork early in the day. Then he has as much time as he likes to play without having to make a sudden transition to a new activity.

Printable Daily Routine Checklist for Kids

One of the things I love the most about blogging is getting to know other parents who are raising children with ADHD.

In our ADHD Homeschooling Support group on Facebook, a reader had the brilliant idea of a printable daily checklist that she could use with her ADHD son.

I use a whiteboard for our day’s routine and we check off items as we go.

But the reader suggested a smaller checklist that could be cut apart into strips. Then you could hand them out as they go through the day.

That is GENIUS.

Since kids with ADHD can get overwhelmed by long to-do lists, using smaller strips is a great way to keep them motivated. So I’m excited to share a set of FREE daily routine checklist strips for kids!