Attention Deficit Disorder

[Alan Armstrong]

How do you promote a student to a higher belt level that has ADD?

Perhaps this is not an issue with a large class of students, as the student with an ADD will lag behind and quit.

A student with ADD will need the patients of the CI, certainly a test for the instructor!

[Tempest]

Barring any physical disability stopping them, work them, work them VERY hard. Get them in to sparring as soon as you are able. They need the contact to help with focus. What you will see, is that at first they will struggle, but if you push them to anaerobic failure, then they will find themselves able to focus more effectively the next time. Repeat, until they are able to focus sufficiently for your purposes.

Please note that I am largely speaking from personal experience and anecdotal observation here. There may be more medically qualified people on here who could assist with this.

[Alan Armstrong]

Barring any physical disability stopping them, work them, work them VERY hard. Get them in to sparring as soon as you are able. They need the contact to help with focus. What you will see, is that at first they will struggle, but if you push them to anaerobic failure, then they will find themselves able to focus more effectively the next time. Repeat, until they are able to focus sufficiently for your purposes.

Please note that I am largely speaking from personal experience and anecdotal observation here. There may be more medically qualified people on here who could assist with this.

Great answer Tempest; can't agree with you more. Have a student that needs to be challenged physically as in sparring; to keep him focused, otherwise he starts wandering.

[sensei8]

One of the worse things that a CI can do with a student that's ADD is to give those long, and drawn out speeches about everything and anything, and not just about MA. I've visited those dojo's where the CI went on and on and on about whatever; will kill drive in a second!

Keep them engaged on the floor whether it's a drill or learning something new, but for whatever one does, positively engage that student...challenge that student, but make sure there's meaning, and not just killing time!!

I usually have those students test first! Otherwise, they're no use to even call them up!! In drills and the like, put them either in the front or just before the middle of the line, even though they'll be at the back of the line from time to time, but if possible, have them in a shorter line!!

[Nidan Melbourne]

You need to keep those with ADD focused and interested in what they are doing. They may get bored really quickly if they don't find it interesting.

In a way you will find that those children (and adults) can actually give you somewhat of a good indication whether what you're doing is interesting or not.

[Alan Armstrong]

I've been testing out all the advice given here on ADD and it's all working out fine.

Could also be how to engage a student to focus by giving an intensive invigorating class.

[G95champ]

Most ADD students struggle with being still and listening not being active.

Being a school teacher and coach at the high school level,this is simple. I've NEVER had a football or basketball player say,"coach I can't play because I have ADD" but they will say, ,I can't do this assignment ". in the classroom

You never heard of ADD 30 years ago. IMO it's extremely over rated and abused by kids and overprotective parents who know they can get out of classroom work by playing the SPED card.

Right now I have 2 kids with autism in my dojo. Both do fine

Here is the secret teaching technique the best answer for ADD is a punch in the face. I don't mean that in a bad way but karate has a way of teaching you to pay attention just like mom and dad used to do with a belt and teachers used to do with a paddle. Karate kid 101' "focus Daniel Son Focus"

[singularity6]

I've been diagnosed ADHD (there is no ADD diagnosis in the DSMV... just ADHD with an additional descriptor.) For the most part, I have learned to cope with my plight (and my case isn't the most severe, either.)

I can tell you that paying attention in class isn't bad if there are few distractions. The minute someone starts talking, it's all over for me. I can't listen to 2 voices at once and get anything out of it.

Excessive motion will also throw me off. If there are people walking around the school (parents of students, other people using the facility, etc,) then I end up splitting my attention to them.

Sparring isn't too much of an issue - getting knocked upside the head quickly changes your focus!