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Providing Choice can Enhance Cooperation and Schoolwork
A study that recently appeared in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis provides preliminary evidence that permitting children with ADHD to choose their assignments can enhance their cooperation and performance.
In this case study (i.e. a case study is a study of a single individual) an 8 year old student with ADHD was allowed to choose from among 3 assignments during designated work periods. The assignments re identical in length and difficulty and were matched to the work assigned to the rest of the class. Available choices were rotated to insure that all necessary work would be completed during the week.
Prior to implementing this choice procedure, the student was observed to be off task and disruptive almost 80 % of the time. When assignment choice was allowed, this dropped to 20%. Thus, although some difficulty remained, the amount of improvement was substantial.
Why might this procedure be effective? It is well known that children with ADHD are less likely to display their symptoms when engaged in a task that they are interested and invested in. By allowing an ADHD child to choose his or her assignment, the likelihood of their being interested in the task should increase. Their behavior and performance improves as a result.
This strategy of providing options is one that parents and teachers can experiment with right away. For example, providing a child with a list of chores to choose from may enhance cooperation. (Note that the choice is not whether or not to do a chore, but which chore to complete.) Breaking up daily homework into separate units and letting the child choose which unit to complete first may also prove helpful. Permitting the child to choose the time designated to complete homework can also be tried.
Discussing the choice procedure with your child’s teacher may also prove worthwhile. Although it may take the teacher some extra time to work out the appropriate choices to present, if the procedure is effective it can significantly reduce the time she must spend trying to make sure the work gets done.
No procedure will work for every child with ADHD, and this is certainly no exception. you may also find that it works sometimes but not others. Even so, this technique can be an important strategy for parents and teachers to have in their overall repertoire, and is a relatively easy procedure to implement.
Note: This article originally appeared in Attention Research Update, an online newsletter written by Dr. David Rabiner, a Duke University psychologist and former member of CHADD's Professional Advisory Board. You can learn more about Attention Research Update and sign up for a free subscription at www.helpforadd.com.