How to Reach and Teach Children with ADD/ADHD

Labeled “dyslexic and profoundly learning disabled with attention and behavior problems,” Jonathan Mooney was a short bus rider — a derogatory term used for kids in special education and a distinction that told the world he wasn’t “normal.” Along with other kids with special challenges, he grew up hearing himself denigrated daily. Ultimately, Mooney surprised skeptics by graduating with honors from Brown University. But he could never escape his past, so he hit the road. To free himself and to learn how others had moved beyond labels, he created an epic journey. He would buy his own short bus and set out cross-country, looking for kids who had dreamed up magical, beautiful ways to overcome the obstacles that separated them from the so-called normal world.

*This book contains adult language.

Sophie is really, really angry! Her sister took her stuffed gorilla. Then Sophie triped on a toy truck. Furious, she slams out the front door and just keeps running. Soon, though, she calms down and starts to notice the ferns and birds. Before long she is ready to be back with her family.

When Josh’s friends call him “Slosh,” it’s particularly painful. Although he’s smart when it comes to computers and math, Josh also has ADHD — Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder. After talking to his teacher, Josh’s parents decide to take him to a doctor, and things start looking up. Best of all, over time, Josh’s classmates come to appreciate him as just another one of the guys.

Life is good for Jenna Bianchi. She’s just started her second year of teaching English at Morrison High School, a job she loves. She has a pet parrot with attitude. And there’s a handsome math teacher who wants to be more than just friends. But everything changes when a defiant, disruptive tenth grader walks into her classroom.

With a smart mouth and a swagger to match, Michael Tayler is a problem for Jenna from the very first day. His school record screams troublemaker, and Jenna wonders if the new year is already doomed. But when she reads Michael’s first poetry assignment, she recognizes it for what it truly is: a cry for help.

Michael’s presence sets into motion a chain of events that turns Jenna’s perfect life upside-down and threatens to destroy her career. Faced with a challenge unlike anything she’s ever known, Jenna commits to doing what no one has done for Michael Tayler before.

So you have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). I bet that means you also have a lot of questions, doubts, and fears. This book provides some answers as well as advice on how to deal with ADHD.

This book uses the Building Blocks model. The Building Blocks model is practical, supported by research, and easy to implement. It identifies ten areas important to school success (the building blocks), divided into three levels:

1. the foundational level includes attention and impulse control, emotion and behavior, self-esteem, and learning environment blocks
2. the symbolic processing and memory level contains the visual, auditory, and motor skills blocks
3. the conceptual level comprises using strategies and thinking with language and images