Math for a student with adhd?

[lovinmyboys]

Does anyone have a favorite math to use with a student with adhd or executive function difficulty ? My friend is wondering. I have a child with adhd but we just use math mammoth because that is what we use. I didn’t know if there is something better for me to recommend to my friend. Thanks  

[My4arrows]

I don’t think there is anything specific. It will all depend upon the child. Mine with adhd can’t handle mm and we use mus with him since the pages are clean and not cluttered. The amount of problems have been good for him. BUT it may also be a frustrating for an adhd kid being that it’s mastery.  

It also depends if the child is interested in math and has that as an strength. 

If the child enjoys reading a nice gentle approach would be masterbooks math for a living education- this does have Christian content. 

Ive been tempted to switch mine to TT because of the video lessons which he enjoys but another but for mine math is a weakness and he would struggle without the one on one help

[lovinmyboys]

Yes it is so hard to know. Mine has pretty mild adhd and as long as I work one on one with him and keep him on track I don’t feel like he needs a certain program.  

[Coco_Clark]

I have a child with severe ADHD and disabilities that affect executive functioning.  She uses a mix of teaching textbooks and Math Mammoth (especially the subject series and online sources). 

TT works really well for her and I feel confident suggesting it with the caveat that OF COURSE a child with executive functioning struggles is not ever left alone and/or expected to use any math program independantly. 

The parent should also be aware that TT is significantly behind other programs, and does not require deeper level understanding or develop critical thinking.  For us that's perfect, as she is incapable of the deeper problem solving in other maths and she is not college bound.  But "executive functioning difficulty" can mean a lot of things and I don't want to presume.

Honestly I'm a firm believer that any math program could be potentially used with ADHD children, approached the correct way.  

[mamamoose]

Depending on the age of the kid, Right Start can be a great fit!

[sbgrace]

I suspect what works may really vary based on the kid and parent involved, but I'll throw in my observations. Basically, I think most programs can work if the parent/instructor is adapting to the child. 

I think most ADHD kids need outside involvement to compensate for the executive function issues connected to ADHD. For example, sitting with the child for the lesson to redirect as needed or otherwise making sure he/she stays on task. When my son was young, we did a lot of work on a white board (focus on one problem at a time/active), with a buddy system (you do one, I check you, I do one, you check me), and with frequent activity breaks. 

Having said all that, I can share what worked here. My son is overwhelmed if he sees too many problems at once (and math takes a lot of of him--so at some point he's going to check out if he does try to do a large volume). MM was one of the few programs that he just wilted at the look. I may have been able to use it still, if I had used it with a lot of modification.

Regarding specific programs, we started with RightStart (I loved the foundation my kids got and don't regret using it, but it wasn't a great fit--I won't go into detail as it may be different now than it was when I used it/they've updated) through half of level C.

Then I  used Math in Focus 1A through 5A. It seemed to have just enough problems for us, was challenging without overwhelming, and he liked the look. I did work with him as mentioned above.

In the second semester of 5th grade through middle school, we switched to CLE. He liked the variety of problems in that program. It still required my involvement.

CLE just wasn't working for Algebra though. For high school, so far, we finally landed on and finished Lial's for Algebra (big book so a slog, but easy to adapt--and we made it through with a lot of involvement from me).

Now we're trying MUS for geometry. MUS is clean looking and very limited in number of problems--which is really great for this kid. I worry about it being too basic and not having enough challenge, but it's definitely working without overwhelming. He can work more independently, though he is making some inattentive/silly mistakes on assessments and, when there are just 15 problems, that hurts.He quit watching the videos. Still, in terms of low stress math it's far better than anything we've used probably.  I may try something else for Algebra 2, as I think want him to have a really strong Algebra foundation generally. However, I'm tempted to switch back to MUS for him for the rest of high school math. 

Edited January 18, 2019 by sbgrace

[MeaganS]

2 hours ago, Coco_Clark said:

I have a child with severe ADHD and disabilities that affect executive functioning.  She uses a mix of teaching textbooks and Math Mammoth (especially the subject series and online sources). 

TT works really well for her and I feel confident suggesting it with the caveat that OF COURSE a child with executive functioning struggles is not ever left alone and/or expected to use any math program independantly. 

The parent should also be aware that TT is significantly behind other programs, and does not require deeper level understanding or develop critical thinking.  For us that's perfect, as she is incapable of the deeper problem solving in other maths and she is not college bound.  But "executive functioning difficulty" can mean a lot of things and I don't want to presume.

Honestly I'm a firm believer that any math program could be potentially used with ADHD children, approached the correct way.  

I could have written this almost verbatim. Except we don't use MM also. I 100% agree.

[MrsRobinson]

My ADHD kid has struggled through Math Mammoth since 2nd grade. I just gently kept working through it, thinking the specific program didn't matter. And maybe it doesn't but we just couldn't do it this year (5th grade but behind in math). So we are using Kahn Academy and Kate Snow's Facts that Stick series to shore up weaknesses. I am strongly considering a combination of Math u See and Kahn Academy next year for 6th grade. It has been really good for both of us to get a change of scenery, so to speak, even though all the usual challenges are still there.

[EKS]

The program should challenge the student enough to retain their interest without being so challenging that it is overwhelming.  I realize that this is what every student needs in a math program, but it is even more important for kids with ADHD.  And the program that works for one kid with ADHD may be a disaster for another.

That said, I think it's less about the program and more about the parent/teacher's approach.  You simply can't assume that a kid with ADHD will be able to do any math program independently.  At a minimum, she should plan on presenting the lesson and sitting right there while the student does the practice problems.  The trick is to be able to redirect without doing the student's thinking for them.

[prairiewindmomma]

If all of the natural supports don’t work, give meds some serious consideration.

One of mine went through years of supports. He was clearly bright but couldn’t organize coherent sentences and fell apart in math. We finally, after years of frustration did a trial of meds.

He’s likely going to be a math major. Once his brain could focus he took off academically. Like, he truly is a gifted kid.

He used MUS for geometry and Larson for Algebra 1, 2, and Pre-Calc (Chalkdust). He is going to do Calculus at the cc next year.

[momofeat2]

In the early years, I love RightStart math. After that, I don't really know. We never found anything that really worked for my older daughter with ADHD. 😞

[prairiewindmomma]

12.

If I could go back, and have a do-over at life, I would have started him at 7-8. He internalized a lot of negative messaging about himself and missed a lot of social cuing before meds gave him a level playing field at life. He is ADD-I, not the hanging from the rafters ADHD.

[nixpix5]

My little dude has ASD/ADHD inattentive and we tried Rightstart but he couldn't track the manipulatives...too much switching for him. MUS was perfect because of mastery, non cluttered pages and one type of manipulative. He did reach a point in Gamma where it became a battle to keep him focused enough to get through longer problems. We tried TT and that has been a magical fit. However, I do pull in pages of MUS each week once or twice to make sure he is learning and retaining. We also do fun logic based math games and pages as well. TT really has been a lovely choice for him but I do see TT as a last resort math choice for us. 

[goldenecho]

We really like the "Facts that Stick" curriculum here on Well Trained Mind (we've used Addition, Subtraction, and a bit of Multiplication so far).   They are limited in scope, but really got my kiddo through the math facts.  They have short, very visual/tactile lessons followed by games for practice.   It's so easy...one lesson and then practice with games for a week.

Others have suggested Right Start Math for a more complete math program to continue with, and we started on this and like it (VERY tactile, has review built in), but while my son loves the abacus (the primary tool used), it caused some trouble going back and forth from the number line to that.  He doesn't adjust well to new ways of doing things.   But it also uses games and tactile lessons (though the lessons are a bit harder to implement than "Facts that Stick" - doesn't have that easy "1 lesson/1 week of practice rhythm").

Before either of these, we tried Math U See.   It also has some great manipulatives (we still use them sometimes) and I love how it explained place value, but once we got into addition/subtraction it was too much practice with dry worksheets and my son didn't do well with it from that point on. 

 

Edited January 21, 2019 by goldenecho

[Targhee]

After teaching 3 kids with ADHD math, and one without ADHD, I can say there were some aspects that were important.  First, short lessons. Second, engage their primary modality (not all kids with adhd are kinesthetic learners but many are and manipulatives were very helpful initially), and continue to follow their learning style. This is important because they’re already struggling just to listen to a boring explanation or sit in a seat or keep focus through multiple steps (a much greater struggle than NT kids) and so at least give them the benefit of something that makes sense to their way of processing and communicating.  Third, reduce the quantity of practice problems, eliminate straight up drill (replace it with games and other forms of practice), and let them use a multiplication chart as long as they need to.  Fourth, respect that they may have a very difficult time communicating their thinking (showing work, even verbally explaining is hard). Fifth, allow them to do their work where/what position they please all while respecting their sensory needs (one of mine was auditory avoiding, two were auditory seeking, one preferred inverted positions (vestibular sensory seeking), they all hated sitting at a desk or table, etc).  Sixth, encourage their success, be gentle with correction, and don’t assume your way is THE way to do the problem.  Oh, and get them graph paper to keep their work lined up neatly, and show them how to use it.

We have used Miquon, Singapore PM, RightStart, Beast Academy, some Life of Fred, some Education Unboxed...nearly any program (that isn’t too repetitious) can be used, if you just respect their neurodiversity.

[2_girls_mommy]

Targhee says a lot of what I have learned. It was tough for us because we didn't get a diagnosis until age 9, and mine didn't really struggle with anything til around then when there were more mutiple steps. Before then we had already learned to do half of the problems. Physically crossing off half of the problems in early workbooks was satisfying and then when she was copying to paper, just assigning odd numbers. And of course, the extra time for tests. Mine suffers a bit still in the math on her high school exams like SATs because of the math. I suppose we could get an IEP and go the route of getting extra time on those, but we haven't been. Her score is just significantly lower in math than the other subjects because at home, she has as long as she needs on a test. Daily work she handles fine now. Tests take three times as long as it should on tests is all.  For us, we used R&S math through 8th grade. Mine did great with their explanations and problems worked out in the book. We tried Lial's for Alg. 1 and it was a disaster. I think I finally figured out she could never deal with the layout of the book and how they did the problems. It was way too much on the book at once, so different from R&S. We had to go through every chapter twice. I switched her to Mr. D's online for geometry and Alg. 2 and no busy textbook to look at, and she is doing great, making As and Bs. Those are what have worked for us, but I don't think it was the curriculum necessarily except in the case of Lial's definitely not working for her.