Back-to-School Reading Resources for ADHD

Two weeks ago, we were very privileged to once again participate as educators in an excellent gifted education program called College for Kids. This program at the St. Louis Community College-Meramec was established over 30 years ago with the inspiration and support of dedicated and committed parents of gifted children in the Greater St. Louis Area.

The courses in the College for Kids program are offered each summer for gifted and talented elementary and middle school youth who have completed kindergarten through eighth grade. These courses are designed to further challenge and advance gifted students’ skills.

The students we worked with in the program this week were outstanding and most enjoyable to teach! We provided 2 classes each of ¡Bienvenidos, Mis Amigos!, an exploratory Spanish class and a STEM course called Mechanical Robotic Arm Build.  We certainly appreciated the enthusiasm and motivation demonstrated by these talented students. It was a GREAT week for ALL of us!

At the same time, we could not help but notice that even in this gifted population, there were more than a few students who also had additional needs.  In our work, we have found that many parents and even teachers are not always aware that giftedness AND additional needs can sometimes co-exist for some students (called twice-exceptional).  Very often, these needs involve attention and concentration issues for gifted children and teens.  Many of their young minds require almost constant stimulation, which can in itself feed the ADHD they already may have.

For this reason and because of our experiences with students of all abilities, we thought it would be beneficial to our readers to provide a resource list for ADHD reading tips, especially during this back-to-school season.  One of our previous articles entitled Let’s Deal with Distractions—ADHD Strategies for Home & School included a rather extensive list of general home and school resources for ADHD.

This week, we continue to help parents and teachers in the preparation for a new school year with our ADHD resource list for reading.  We hope this list will assist our readers in helping students experience improved focus, more sustained attention and better concentration when reading (whether online or offline).  It is important to note that these resources can be helpful not only to gifted children but to ALL children with focusing and attention issues.  We hope the list and its “goodies” will provide you with the needed resources to help a child you know with the reading challenges of ADHD.

Helpful Reading Resources for ADHD

The Ultimate Reading Guide for Your Child
Are you hoping your child will love reading as much as you do? Or are you interested in ensuring your child enjoys reading because it was never one of your favorite things to do.  Either way, here are some practical tips to help you turn your child into a book lover.
https://momlovesbest.com/reading-for-kids

How to Improve Reading Skills in Children with ADHD or Learning Disabilities 

by Matthew Cruger, Ph.D. and ADDitude Magazine
Guaranteed tips for improving reading comprehension in children with ADHD or learning disabilities like dyslexia.
http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/983.html

Many ADHD Kids Also Have Reading Problems
by Denise Mann, WebMD Health News
About half of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may experience problems with reading, according to a new study in Pediatrics. It was found that 51% of boys with ADHD had reading problems, as did 46.7% of girls with ADHD. More information about this study and many reading resources for ADHD are offered here.
http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/childhood-adhd/news/20100927/many-adhd-kids-also-have-reading-problems

Print & Use Tools: Study Skills from School Family
FREE worksheets, lists and activities to help children (especially those with ADHD) become better organized, more motivated and more on top of school work.
http://www.schoolfamily.com/print-and-use-tools/category/77-study-skills

Desktop APP: Reading Focus Cards (Patent 8,360,779) (Price: $5.99)
from Brennan Innovators, LLC
This desktop app is the digital version of the physical Reading Focus Cards (Patent 7,565,759), solutions for struggling readers. This app for Windows PC and Macs provides practical READING SUPPORT for children and adults with dyslexia, ADHD, autism and other conditions that can affect reading success. It promotes more FOCUSED online reading of almost ALL digital media (webpages, PDF files, Word docs, Excel spreadsheets & more.)  In addition, the Reading Focus Cards app is compatible with and supports touch-screen technology.  The application can be moved on the screen over text by the fingers, mouse or arrow keys as needed.

1. For Macs (desktops & notebooks):
Visit the Mac App Store and search for Reading Focus Cards or go directly to
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/read-and-focus/id920617853?mt=12
2. For Windows PC (desktops & laptops):
– Visit Gumroad at https://gumroad.com/l/ReadingFocusCards (for Win 7, 8, & 10) OR visit the Microsoft Windows Store at https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9WZDNCRDF33D (for Win 10 only) and search for the app called Reading Focus Cards.

5 Back To School Tips for Your ADD or ADHD Child 
by Dr. Robert Myers, Child Psychologist
Here are some back-to-school tips to make things seem a lot easier & smoother for parents & kids.
http://www.empoweringparents.com/5-back-to-school-tips-for-your-adhd-child.php 

ADD/ADHD Resources for Teachers from TeacherVision
Articles & many FREE resources to help educators manage the special nature of students with ADHD.
https://www.teachervision.com/add-and-adhd/resource/5348.html

For more information on customizable reading tools for better focus & attention, please visit:
www.FocusandRead.com —Tools for struggling readers of all ages!