Everyday Distractions

Jon Anderson Laurie Green

Professional School Counselor MSUM Intern 2002-2003

Belle Plaine High School Belle Plaine High School

Belle Plaine, Minnesota Belle Plaine, Minnesota

Description of the lesson(s) or Program

The following developmental guidance lesson helps students understand the struggles that people who have various mental illnesses, such as Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD), face everyday situations. The purpose is to promote acceptance and understanding of peers who have difficulty concentrating/focusing or who “misbehave” in the classroom.

Activity:

Select a few students to assist you in a demonstration. Tell the class that they are going to take a quiz or complete a worksheet that will be graded. (Handout included called JACK.) Hand out the worksheet/quiz. During this time have one of the students asked to assist you to switch the lights on & off. Another student should walk/hop/skip, etc. between the desks while the other students continue taking the test. A third student could hum, tap a pencil loudly, or perform another distracting activity.

Allow this scenario to continue for a few minutes before telling the students they will not actually be graded on this activity. Then ask students to talk about any difficulties they may have experienced while trying to complete this activity. Identify and discuss with students the various distractions that occur within the classroom that made it difficult for them to focus on the task at hand.

Encourage them to think of things that may distract the entire class (room temperature, rattling windows, loud talking, etc.), as well as, individual distractions (lack of sleep, problems at home, hunger, etc.). Have the class discuss how often these distractions affect their school performance.

Explain to the students that people with ADD/ADHD struggle with these difficulties on a daily basis. Someone with ADD/ADHD has difficulty paying attention and focusing on the task at hand. Tuning out or ignoring even minor distractions can be difficult for those with ADHD. Children with ADHD may also be hyperactive and exhibit impulsive behavior. These individuals may struggle with listening well, organizing their work adequately, or following appropriate directions. Participating and cooperating in recreational activities and /or games can also be challenging for individuals with ADD/ADHD.

It can be difficult to ignore or respond positively to peers that disrupt the class or who don’t follow the rules during activities or games. However, students that struggle with ADD/ADHD need friendship and support, as well as, positive reinforcement. They don’t need to be the targets of ridicule, but rather they need friends who are able to understand the obstacles they face in and out of the classroom.

Additional Activity:

Have student’s chart or graph things that may distract the entire class (room temperature, rattling windows, loud talking,), as well as, individual distractions, (lack of sleep, problems at home, huger, etc.). Keep track during the week of the many ways classmates might get distracted during the school day.

Have student’s journal about a time or times when they felt distracted and how these distractions affect their school performance.

Connections to the Profile of Learning:

Everyday distractions directly relates to the Decision Making Minnesota Graduation Standard, Middle Level.

Specifically, making informed decisions based on information to promote personal health. Everyday Distractions will provide students with the signs and symptoms of ADD/ADHD that affect adolescents. This lesson is reflective of the Educational and Personal Domains of the Minnesota School Counselors Model of Developmental Guidance and Counseling. The lessons attach themselves to the educational domain through a demonstration of an activity that provides distractions for all students, that emulates the symptoms of ADD/ADHD. In the personal domain, the lesson provides the opportunity for students to chart distractions in the classroom and at home personally.

Resources:

Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health in conjunction with the Community Public Relations Initiative

2002 Classroom Activities for Grades 4-8, 165 Western Avenue, Suite 2, St. Paul, Minnesota 55102, 1-800-528-4511,

Email: dsaxhaug@macmh.org

For Further Information:

Jon Anderson

Professional School Counselor

Belle Plaine High School

Belle Plaine, Minnesota

952-873-2403

JACK

Jack bangs his head. He’s in trouble again, but he’s not sure why. Mrs. Jensen is towering over his desk, her eyes icy. She reminds him of a giant when she does that-like something out of a horrible fairy tale. He hears her voice, but he can’t seem to concentrate on the words, she’s saying… something about being out of his seat. Was he out of his seat? Did he just stand up? Were his legs falling asleep? Or was he on his way to get something? Jack can’t remember. He begins tapping his feet faster, and faster. He notices the girl in the seat next to him is blowing her nose. Gee, she looks funny when she does that. Jack can’t help but smile. He starts to open his desk when he notices that Valerie’s wheelchair still has that same small squeak. Jack just can’t help it…he starts to hum. Bjorn’s mom suddenly appears at the classroom door she has Bjorn’s lunch. It seems he’s forgotten it again. She steps into the coatroom and Jack notices that Maria’s backpack has just fallen off her coat hook, slipping silently to the floor. Jack tries to stop humming. He can feel Mrs. Jensen’s eyes glaring into the top of his head. He brings his hands up to cover his face, when he notices how dirty his fingernails are. He hates that. Why won’t his fingernails stay clean? He starts to open his desk to find a paper clip to clean his dirty nails, when he notices that Max is up again sharpening his pencils…does that make 6 or 7 times now? Jack hopes he hasn’t lost count. Even though Mrs. Jensen’s I-am-trying-to-be-patient-with-you-but-you-are-making-it-very-difficult-voice gets louder. Jack no longer hears.

Using the story above…answer the questions below.

In this story Jack seems to be struggling with ____________________________.

A. Paying attention B. Getting his pencil sharpened

C. Listening quietly to the story his teacher is reading

In this story Jack is distracted by _______________________________.

A. Bjorn’s Dad B. The Principal C. Everything

In this story, Jack’s teacher Mrs. Jensen has Jack’s full attention. True False

In this story, Jack’s disability is deafness. True False