Your ADHD Child not retaining their homeschool lesson? You might not be approaching the subject the right way.
I was halfway through a homeschool lesson on Colonial America when I glanced at my children. One child was half asleep, their eyes visibly drooping, while the other was trying to take off into space by spinning in circles in their chair. It was obvious that this lesson was boring. I had created hands-on activities, broken down the material into short chunks, and used visual aids—everything I could think of to engage them.
You may assume my children didn’t like American history, but it was one of their favorite subjects! What was I doing wrong?
In reality, I wasn’t doing anything wrong, but my children couldn’t fully engage with the lesson. After all, this wasn’t a “classroom,” so why was I using classroom techniques to teach a difficult lesson? In theory, all of those teaching methods could work for our homeschool and for any child, but not today.
Today they needed unique education for unique kids.
As an educator, I understand that every child has the right to quality education and the opportunity to have fun while learning. Neurodivergent children deserve the same level of education, but sometimes it has to be taught differently. Teaching neurodivergent children does NOT mean lowering the expectations for education, rather it means accommodating the lessons to meet their abilities. The end goal for all children is that they grow to become thriving adults. Yes, there are limits depending on each child’s capabilities, but it is up to us to find what that is and help them reach it.
Deconstructing a Homeschool Lesson
I have talked about interdisciplinary studies before, and it is one of my favorite teaching techniques. In order to deconstruct a homeschool lesson, we need to think in those terms. The end goal for all lessons is still the same. All children have to learn the material presented and be able to complete an assessment. That being said, the path to the end of the lesson will not always look the same.
In the last couple of years, I have noticed a couple of things with neurodivergent students:
- Some students can’t understand a lesson if they don’t understand why it is important. If a child asks, “Why do I need to know this?”, your answer probably shouldn’t be, “Because I said so.” They may obey and do the work like you asked, but they won’t RETAIN the information. They will find a way to memorize what they need to, and then never remember again.
- Many neurodivergent children have fantastic imaginations, but they understand non-fiction literature better than fiction. That being said, when you read non-fiction out loud to them, they will hear it as a story, and can’t focus on it.
Let’s go back to my American history lesson on the colonies:
My kiddos were listening to facts, but they were hearing a boring story.
In order to understand what your child needs to succeed with learning, you have to be willing to deconstruct the lesson. First, understand what the end goal needs to be. Then moving backwards with the lesson plan, break the lesson into chunks of like thoughts.
Now comes the fun part: individual learning! Use your child’s strengths to create a new lesson plan. For instance, if your child loves math or art, use that to form the foundation for your lesson.
Some example: If your child loves art have your them use a tri-fold poster board to represent the social/economic classes of the colonies WHILE you are teaching the lesson. Your child love to talk and engage with other people? Have them build a sales stand and learn cash-crop economy WHILE you are teaching the lesson.
In my original lesson plan, I taught using a traditional style and included hands-on activities at the end of the lesson. This approach, known as “explicit teaching,” works well for many subjects. However, if your children aren’t focused on what you are saying, then forcing the lesson to be taught this way may not be effective. While explicit teaching can work for subjects that interest your children, it’s important to remember that homeschooling shouldn’t just be a classroom at home.
If you take anything away from this post, let it be this: Know your child’s strength and take the time to deconstruct the lessons they aren’t understanding. There will come a time when your children might be able to learn in a more traditional manner as they learn to growth and adaptation, but today might not that day.
Project Homeward Downes
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