Tool Kits For Adhd

Educator Develops Products and Resources to Uplift Learners and Elevate Teachers

School’s out for the summer, but that’s not stopping Ruth Beauchamp — educator and founder of Oranda , a Pacifica-based company that develops tools and resources for teachers to better engage students — from contacting school district decision makers about her premier product Recessitate , color-coded activity cards that calm down, wake up or gear up students for learning within a matter of minutes.  

“I'll also network with professional development gurus that work with teachers to develop partnerships and visit local parent groups as a guest speaker as well as attend expos to reach my target audience,” said Beauchamp, an expert in classroom management and student engagement who established Oranda last year after 10 years of teaching teachers and making thousands of classroom visits.

“I'm keenly aware of the terrific pressures our teachers and students feel in the current educational climate," she said.

That experience is what inspired her latest product Recessitate, a recipe box of 24 playful activity cards with fun activities to “manage a student's mood for today's learning and workspaces while decreasing unwanted behavior, increasing student focus, engaging diverse learners, and building classroom rapport,” said Beauchamp.

Screaming in the classroom, sluggish, tired kids, fidgety and anxious energy, you name it, after years of observing unengaged students and stressed-out teachers, “I felt a great urgency to create a tool to refresh, refocus and recharge our students and teachers,” said Beauchamp.

Recessitate activities are the result of three years of intensive research on experts in moving and learning, occupational therapy, neuroscience and mindfulness and their positive effects on student engagement and classroom climates.

For teachers, Recessitate is an efficient way to get students in the frame for learning and incorporates both physical education and health standards in a fun way that builds relationships and creates a sense of classroom community.

For students, Recessitate teaches self awareness and self-regulation by providing a set of strategies that students can take with them throughout their life to shift their energy for the better.

This is how it works: teachers “read the room” to determine what color card is needed. Blue cards are for calming down and have activities to relax the mind and body. Orange cards provide activities for gearing up by stretching and crossing the midline to help focus, and purple cards get the blood flowing to brains and bodies with lots of physical activity. Each glossy card has five to 12 easy-to-read bulleted prompts on one side and take one to five minutes each to execute.

Confidence is Key for Children and Teens with ADHD

Keeping you informed how our Tool Kits can help your child.

Our creative team is always developing and discovering new tools and activities for children and teens to master the everyday emotional challenges of their lives. Check back often to see what's new and how you can help your child.

If you have a child diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), you probably have observed how frustrating it can be for the child. Even though your child has intellectual strengths, these capabilities may not be reflected in school performance. Your child’s academic and interpersonal functioning can suffer due to lack of attention, poor self-control skills, problems with listening, and difficulties with judgment and reading social cues.

There has been a lot of progress in helping these youngsters over the past decades, which is promising since at least 5.4 million children from 4-17 are diagnosed with ADHD. Moreover, the diagnosis of ADHD has increased by 22% between 2003 and 2007.

Kids with ADHD require a comprehensive approach. It has recently been reported that 66% of youngsters with a diagnosis of ADHD receive medication. There are a variety of school-based interventions that help these students such as organizational instruction, resource room, extended time for exams, and group or individual counseling. Outside of school, kids may be tutored, attend social skills training, and receive psychotherapy, in addition to developing athletic and creative talents. Sometimes it can be mind-boggling for parents to manage the interventions needed to help a child succeed.

What often hits parents at their very core, is watching their child fail or be rejected socially. This is all too common for kids with ADHD. Families rightfully worry about the impact of these setbacks on children’s self-esteem. Child confidence is especially important for youngsters with ADHD since they are frequently reprimanded, reminded, rejected, or ignored. Tools that help these children and teens focus on their strengths, face criticism and disappointment, resist peer pressure, recognize the value of personal effort, and deal responsibly with mistakes can go a long way.

Tool Kits for Kids recognize that families and kids with ADHD are short on time. If you have a few minutes, check out the Charge Up Your Confidence Tool Kit from Tool Kits for Kids to learn a powerful and quick way to bolster kids’ self-esteem.

Taking Charge of Adult ADHD

Making the system work for your child with ADHD

Psychological abstracts

Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, A Casebook

ADHD, the great misdiagnosis