What to Do with Your ADHD children | ADHD Information
There are some kids that you will inevitably have to kick off the bus....ADHD or not. The worst kid on my dd's bus was not ADHD, but he was a terrible behavior problem. My dd, the ADHDer, was always telling that kid to stop hitting, yelling, etc. He got kicked off the bus every year. Now he walks to school.
The parent who used ADHD as an excuse for her son's behavior is doing just that....using it as an excuse for bad behavior. That is unfortunate, because it gives all ADHD kids more negative stereotyping that they don't deserve. ADHD kids are impulsive, but they are not abusive or mean, and they are not bullies. They are very often the victims of bullies though.
Driving a bus is a hard job. I appreciate you coming here and looking for ways to work with these kids without kicking them off the bus. It shows that you care, we need more bus drivers like you.
I commend you for trying to understand what causes the boys behaviors! Not many would take the time.
Have you tried rewards? Donuts? candy? at end of week for good behavior? Or maybe each day if needed.
One thing that works for me is points, have them earn a point for good behavior, then a reward at the end of the day. Three strikes you're out when a bad bahavior starts say "Johnny sit down, then Johnny sit or you lose a point, then Johnny you lost a point. At first give really good rewards each day, then go to every other day, then each week. Keeping three points a day gets a reward. It may sound lame, but my dd really loved getting candy from the bus driver. Also her bus driver gave everyone a small candy as they exited the bus, but she picked a different kid each day to get a large candy and made a big deal out of it as they pulled to a stop. My dd said it worked. Also,this was a middle and high school bus.
On my bus as well as in our county the buses do not have radios and the boys on my bus do not sit togeather. They are both up front with me but in separate seats away from each other. I don't so much have a problem with the boys because I can talk to them and be their friend when they behave but it just seems like those days are few and far between. I keep them separate from one another because I've noticed that they do feed of one another like you all have said and I simply can not put them with anyone else becaue anyone I've tried to place them with has flat out refused to be placed with them. Plus one of the boys refuses to be next to anyone and rather than have him contantly push the other child out of the seat or make it as unpleasant as possible to be next to him I simply leave him alone. I know you would say 'its your bus, its your call' but why would I place a normally very shy, well behaved student next to a child that would potentially bug the heck out of them. It seems more a punishment than a solution. In regards to the hitting etc... that is not a problem I believe once again to be related to the ADHD. Its more a reaction to the rejection they face from the other students who are annoyed with the other behaviors. I don't allow retaliation on my bus nor do I tolerate unsafe behavior or harassing/bullying. I try to make the bus ride as calm as possible so there is no radio on the bus, everyone is in an assigned seat at all times and we talk quietly amoungst ourselves meaning people in the front are not to shout to the people in the back. But one of my ADHD students tends to yell and harass the other students, not mind his own business, comment rudely everytime I discipline another student and that causes him to get into trouble with the other kids. I've tried letting him bring a gameboy or cd player on the bus to keep him in his own seat and out of everyone else's business but it hasn't worked. And when he gets excited and starts yelling the other ADHD child starts getting excited and starts yelling at him to 'shut up'and 'stop causing trouble'. And just like an avalanche its like 'oh here we go again'. They do feed off one another. I will be trying some of your tips though as the school year winds down and see if any of them help. grouping a bunch of ADHD kids together is like begging for chaos. Every time one starts to re-gain control another will wind him back up. They really do feed off of each other's energy. LOL, when my son started pre-k there were 3 boys that seemed to feed off each other this way. They kept grouping them together until 3rd grade, when they finally found some sympathy for the teacher and split them up into different classes. Eventually all three were diagnosed with ADHD
Hi my son has never had any trouble on the school bus. He has had the same driver since kindergarten, and we are very sad to have a new driver next year as he enters seventh grade. Now something kind of amusing of all the kids on this bus his driver taught him how to basically drive it in case of an emergency. So he knows how to stop it, brake it and call for help on the CB. She found out last year he had adhd and said he's one of the best behaved on the bus. You need to win the kids respect on your bus, and they will listen. They can sense that you have a problem with them.My ADHD daughter does not cause problems herself on the school bus, but does complain about the noise and chaos caused by the other kids. She usually comes home with a headache when she takes the school bus. She also cannot stand the radio playing with the other noise. I usually pick her up after school when I can.I agree with everything said here.
My sons have never received a write up or been kicked off the bus. They have been talked to or moved to the front for turning around in their seats or having their feet in the aisles. I hear about the naughty kids and the ones that pick on them but they have two older sisters and they pretty much end any bullying aimed at their brothers. They miss the bus, such as this morning. One son got on the wrong bus and rode that bus to end of the route and NO ONE noticed there was a strange kid on the bus. 
The other son, on two occasions did not get off at our house and was found by the driver at the bus garage. The driver now stops at the end of the route and walks the bus to make sure he got off.
ADHD kids will feed off of each other. Having their friends over can be a very trying experience.
The most trouble has come from my now 17yr dd. She will once a year get a write up for being mouthy. About this time of year, so any day now she should be getting one. She is quite loud and when the driver tells them to quiet down dd will respond with I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING. Towards the end of the year and the driver has had enough. I will have her apologize or if "miss mouthy" can't handle that she will write an apology note.
Hitting, kicking, spitting are not things I've ever heard in regards to my children, on the bus or school.
Now at home with their sibs, alls fair in love and war.
P.S. Good Luck, your job is not an easy one nor is it one I could do. I commend you for the responsibility you take on.
From what I gathered from the parents and the children themselves these kids have very short attention spans, get excited/distracted very easily (especially in the schoolbus enviroment like all children tend to), and once they're excited its almost impossible to calm them down (get them to listen and just behave). I'm almost to the point of exhaustion with these children because everything I do to try to make the trips to and from school safe and calm have either only worked for a short period of time or failed altogeheter and I'm through. I find that their behavior is not only, sorry to sound insensative, annoying but its getting to the point that its annoying to the other students so much so that I find myself having to ward off potential bullies and fights from occuring because the other students are tired of having to sit on the side of the road for 15-20 minutes everyday while we wait for the children with ADHD to calm down, sit safely and stop playing or harassing each other and other students. I find myself having to try and protect them from the other students who don't know they're ADHD because they tend to overplay, not know when to let up or just outright get offensive when the person they're trying to play around with gets annoyed/angry and just wants to be left alone and these children either won't or can't just settle down. I'm aware that I proably sound really ignorant to alot of you parents out there who have to deal with ADHD children in your homes but like I said I know nothing about this disorder and I'm lost. Its costing me time and alot of heartache on the job. And I'm not like most who would say "just kick them off the bus". I want to get a better understanding of this disorder and find ways to deal with it and make riding the school bus a fun and SAFE ride for everyone. I believe these kids have every right to ride the school bus with their peers but they have to follow the rules too and from where I'm coming from its just not being done. The rules are in place to keep the children safe and allow me (the driver) to my job to the best of my ability. And another thing parents I've read alot of your posts saying the schools are being unfair, the bus drivers are being unfair, nobody understands your situation, the school overreacted and kicked your son/daughter off the bus but you have to see things from where we're coming from too. Its ridiculous for us to have to place 98% of our attention on your child jumping around the aisles, hitting, spitting, yelling, and being unsafe on the bus when we should be placing most of our attention on the road and the hazards outside. Parents forget we are driving a HUGE vehicle and we have to concentrate on the road more so than your children's unsafe behavior. And sometimes sacrificing the one for the good of the other 68 is what has to been done. But alot of the times no the school doesn't care to understand your situation, yes they do overreact and yes they are unfair but I'm not one of them. I want to understand and I want to be fair. So that's why I'm here, to learn. Our bus company can deny services to children who create dangerous conditions. They have never complained to me so either my son is behaving himself or they choose not to enforce their rules.
My son has never displayed those behaviors on the bus. He HAS been hit by OTHER children on the bus. I do admit that he has some issues with personal boundries and can annoy other kids at time. He may be noisy but he is not aggressive in any way. In fact, he did not even hit back when the other kids picked on him (and my boy knows karate
) I spoke to the school's principal aobut those incidents and she handled it. There is an older boy on the bus who bothers him quite a bit but the kid is a bully with serious family problems and he picks on everyone. From time to time I remind ds of the bus rules and that the rules are there for safety. he knows that if he cannot take the bus he will have to walk to school (about 1 1/2 miles). Since he is little I told him I would follow in the car to make sure he gets there safely. It may sound harsh, but real life has real consequences and I feel he needs to be motivated to use self-control, to the best of his ability. He needs to work harder than the other kids, simply because of who he is, and while educational modifications are wonderful, the world will not make exceptions for him when he is an adult.
My son is very hyper and impulsive and has gotten into trouble on the bus. However, the bus driver reports the behavior to the principal, she reports it to me, and we hold my son accountable for his actions with punishment. ADHD kids may get hyper on the bus but they have to be disciplined and held accountable like other children. And you are correct, if they choose not to follow the rules they should get kicked off the bus.
One of my sons "punishments" was sitting directly behind the driver by himself for a week. Another was loss of recess at school because of the behavior. One time when a parent told me what my son did on the bus he was sent to his room afterschool for the day. Yes my son still has issues with impulsivity and hyperactivity, but he knows that he must control it or he will be punished.
OH and one more thing, just so you realize regarding the medication issue - there are children that do not respond well to medication and cannot handle some of the side effects, so its not always that parents "don't believe" in it...
hawks292138796.3944560185Well, I don't know where to begin . Let's see...
ADHD does not make children behave in the ways you describe. Hitting, spitting, and yelling are not diagnostic criteria for ADHD. My son is ADHD, and he did not do any of these things on the bus, but he did want to quit riding the bus because of the other kids, who were misbehaving. I gladly obliged, and we carpool to school, now. Why do you think these kids who are misbehaving have ADHD? What ADHD kids are more likely to do on the bus is forget their backpacks, be late to arrive at the bus stop, have to be reminded to get off at their stops, be overly chatty, drop their papers all over the floor of the bus, etc. Hit, spit, and yell? Nope. That's not ADHD. Those are the kids picking on the ADHD kid.
lillian38796.3616898148WEll, I can only speak from personal experience but my son has never exhibited those types of behavior on the school bus.
He has been talked to by the bus driver about his inability to stay in his seat, but not to the severity you describe.
If certain children are disruptive then they should be put in assigned seats till their behavior improves. I don't beleive in singling out ADHD kids for things they cant control, but bus safety is very important.
I agree with Lillian though, this doesnt strike me as ADHD behavior
I would kick them off the bus...sorry but that behavior, ADHD or not, is dangerous ....sounds like these guys are just outta control and ADHD does not have much to do with it...sounds to me more like PIA syndrom ( just kidding)...
our driver goes back to school if the kids are not behaving ...and the parent of the offenders have to pick them up there...
my son ( ADHD) is very good he loves his driver and she loves him..I betcha she does not even know he has ADHD.
joemom38796.4374421296Yep, assign them boy/girl and keep the worst ones up front with you.
Rewards always work, BUT, you do have to change them frequently.
I doubt all the kids in question have ADHD, but even so... rules are rules and they must learn to follow them. That is the way life works.
Interestingly... I took my kids OFF the bus because of the obnoxious children you describe. When my 5 year old learned to curse back at a kid harrasing him... I knew it was time. The other reason I took my boys off the bus.... my driver could barely speak the English language. We are Southwest Florida and there are lots Latino's living in our area. They work hard and are dependable, but for GOD"S sake... hire the ones that speak ENGLISH FLUENTLY.
Taffy38796.5372106481Well we are required to have assigned seats and all of these particular students sit in the front of the bus behind me. I don't think the hitting etc is caused by the disorder but when I explained these behaviors to the parents the answer I got was 'oh he has ADHD'. Are they making excuses or just not understanding the problem? So, what you are talking about are mainly boys, all with ADHD, sitting together on the bus? Easy way to handle this situation...Change the seating arrangement, and put some of these boys surrounded by the quiet, shy girls. It will work like a charm! I used to do it in the classroom
.Just a tidbit of info that you may be well aware of -- kids with ADHD tend to get EASILY overstimulated. If you have a radio on your bus, I'd keep it off. The calmer the environment you can make it, and the less stimulating, the less likely you will have issues with the kids who have ADHD.
I also agree with lillian's advice -- mix up the boys and girls. I've noticed with my son that he almost feeds off other kids with ADHD -- they are magnets to one another. If you separate them and encourage a calm ride (for everyone!) maybe that will help. Good luck!