What are the Signs of Impulsivity in ADHD?
Understanding the main challenges in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) helps teachers reach and teach students with ADHD more effectively.
At the same time, it is imperative that teachers do not attempt to diagnose any student. Only a trained person can do that.
ADHD is a disorder with many degrees ranging from moderate to severe. Students can have problems with attention from time to time without having ADHD. Impulsivity in ADHD students is a common trait. Some of these behavioral patterns may include:
- Act without thinking
- Guess, rather than take time to solve a problem
- Blurt out answers in class without waiting
- Not wait for their turn in line or in games
- Say the wrong thing at the wrong time
- Often interrupt others
- Intrude on other people’s conversations or games
- Find it a challenge to keep powerful emotions in check, resulting in angry outbursts or temper tantrums
How can you positively tap the impulsivity in ADHD students?
I would like to suggest that rather than hang onto a label, we look at the behaviours a child displays and deal with the issues that arise. I think we often get stuck on whether a child is ADHD, ADD, ODD, etc and then try to pigeonhole him/her and use this as a way to dismiss the child. I think we are all ADHD, ADD, and ODD, etc at one time or another. Yes, some of us may exhibit these characteristics on a regular basis but that only changes the intensity of the teaching/modelling that needs to happen.