*Make eye contact frequently.
*Make sure instructions are short and easy to understand. It would be helpful, if possible, to have the student repeat the instructions back to you. I know I personally still misunderstand instructions sometimes - much to the despair and/or amusement of my husband!
*Try to let the student know (in a private way) when he is not paying attention or not attending to the task at hand. A hand on his shoulder or touching his desk may work.
*Make sure your student is seated away from things that tend to distract him. Placing his desk close to you or at the front of the classroom often helps. One of the coping skills I developed in school was to try to always sit near the front. I didn't have everyone in front of me to distract me.
*Reinforce improvement and promote high self-esteem. If he's like most of us with ADD, he beats himself up enough about his failures.
*Use attention grabbing teaching methods whenever possible. Hands on learning works well for most ADHD people.
*When giving a project, give small tasks (with deadlines) that lead up to the completed project. Otherwise procrastination may set in and the project may never get done.
*Help your student organize tasks in order of priority. Prioritizing accurately is a very, very difficult task for the ADDer. (I guess that's why I play when I should be working, huh?)
*Be aware that your student may appear to not be paying attention, but Attention Deficit Disorder is not very accurately named. The problem is actually a surplus of attention, not a deficit. He is likely taking in everything around him - he may be hearing the bird chirping outside the window, seeing the principal walk by outside the door and feeling his shirt tag on the back of his neck-all at the same time. No wonder he can't always pay attention to what you're saying! Try to limit the distractions around him as much as possible.
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