Are you looking for strategies to teach students not to disturb others? If so, keep reading.
1. Connect with the parents to disseminate information about the learner’s progress. The parents may reinforce the learner at home for waiting their turn to speak at school.
2. Provide sufficient chances to respond (i.e., enthusiastic students need many chances to contribute).
3. Organize the learner’s surroundings to limit chances for interrupting the teacher (e.g., keep the learner engaged in learning activities, have the learner seated near the teacher, etc.).
4. Train the learner to carry a notepad with them at all times and to write information down to help them remember.
5. Provide a full schedule of learning activities. Keeping the learner occupied should prevent interruptive behavior from happening.
6. Teach yourself and others about ADHD to increase comprehension and accommodation of interruptive behavior.
7. Urge the learner to create an understanding of themselves and those around him/her. Get the learner to periodically step back and ask themselves, “Am I interrupting others?”
8. Teach the learner about ADHD and the need for developing skills to self-monitor behavior.
9. Give constant, positive reinforcement for appropriate behavior. Ignore as many unacceptable behaviors as possible.
10. Teach the learner to use techniques such as crossing their arms and legs, clinching their fists, and webbing their hands when they feel the urge to interrupt.
11. Inform the learner when they are interrupting your conversation with someone else and tell them that they may talk to you in a few moments.
12. Converse with the learner before starting a learning experience and remind them of the importance of listening and not interrupting.
13. Praise those students in the classroom who wait for their turn to speak.
14. Give the learner an easily grasped list of consequences for unacceptable behavior.
15. Minimize the emphasis on competition. Competitive learning activities may cause the learner to become overexcited and interrupt others.
16. Select a peer, paraprofessional, friend, etc., to signal the learner when they interrupt others (e.g., the person can touch the learner’s hand as a signal that they are interrupting).
17. Talk with the learner to explain(a) what they are doing wrong (e.g., interrupting the teacher) and (b) what they must be doing (e.g., waiting until it is appropriate to speak, waiting to be called on, etc.).
18. Make sure that the learner’s feelings are considered when it is appropriate to deal with their interruptions (i.e., use remarks that do not diminish the learner’s enthusiasm for participation).
19. Praise the learner for waiting for a turn to speak based on the duration of time the learner can be successful. As the learner shows success, slowly increase the duration of time required for reinforcement.
20. Praise the learner for waiting for a turn to speak: (a) give the learner a concrete reward (e.g., classroom privileges, passing out learning materials, 10 minutes of free time, etc.) or (b) give the learner an informal reward (e.g., praise, handshake, smile, etc.).
21. Consider using a classroom management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
22. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
23. Consider using Alexa to help the student learn to behave appropriately. Click here to read an article that we wrote on the subject.
24. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.
