Children with ADHD and the Covid-19 process

The CIU Faculty of Education, Department of Elementary Education, Preschool Education Faculty Member, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çağla Gür, underlined that the distance education process is much more difficult for children diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), when compared to their peers.

Gür noted, “Often the contents of the lesson do not stimulate the children, so it becomes difficult for them to listen to the lesson due to their already short attention span.”

Noting that it is important not to disrupt the educational needs of children diagnosed with ADHD during the coronavirus epidemic, Gür said that children should not be left unattended.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gür said that children with ADHD are more distracted due to spending a long time on computers, tablets or mobile phones. She went on to advise, “Stimulating effects and vivid colors are used a lot in online games or cartoons, the scenes are constantly changing, and stimuli that will attract the attention of children are presented. This triggers the desire of all children to stay in these environments for a long time and even creates addiction.”

It is important that they spend time in the Garden
Reminding that the content of the lessons do not stimulate children in distance education, Gür advised, “Their already short attention span makes it more difficult for them to listen to the lessons. Here, parents have an important role to play in preventing children from spending their free time online. ”

Gür, recommending parents to direct children to different activities, said, “You can start hobbies that attract their attention and that they will love. They can develop different handicraft skills and participate in gardening activities,” she encouraged.

Gür advised to notify the teacher if your child has ADHD, as this information would be useful for the teacher to know, for them to understand the reason for some of the child’s behavior, and to produce solutions for it

Explanations should be kept short
Gür said that it is important for teachers to include explanations that will attract the attention of students while preparing the course content, and noted that live visuals, short videos or short-term experiments will be more effective not only for children with ADHD, but for all students.

Reminding that even adults have difficulty listening to a long-lasting narrative, Gür said, “Education becomes even more difficult in the online environment. If the narrations are made shorter, visual effects are aimed at enriching the subject, and short videos are added among these narrations, it will make the lesson rich and catchy, as children will be bored with monotonous narration and stop listening to the lesson.”