Learning to Respect Self and Others

Students who have ADHD generally have a stigma attached to them. Children are so well informed these days that even some young children know what ADHD is, though they may have the wrong information. Well all know that children can be cruel and that those who have a hard time making friends may find social times more trying than other people. Students with learning disabilities and other disorders will no doubt run into some scenarios that we all wish they hadn't. This will probably be reflected in their day-to-day behavior. It may also be a similar case at home. Parents can be disrespectful too, especially when they get frustrated with their children. That's why it's a good idea to teach respect in the classroom and to start laying the foundation for that on the first day of school.

Begin the lesson by asking students what respect is. Discuss their answers with them, then give them some examples of respect, such as proper names and responding when spoken to or listening to their elders. Assure them that everyone deserves a certain level of respect. Ask them how they show respect for themselves. Discuss their answers with them. In case they are hesitant to answer and you need a little prompt yourself, read the list below that shows how people may show respect for themselves.

• good hygiene
• making good choices
• not making fun of self
• not allowing others to make fun of self
• treating others with respect

Once you have had the overall discussion about respect, move on to the next section which offers tips and scenarios to use as a way of teaching respect in the classroom.

Below are tips and scenarios you can use to teach respect to your students in the classroom.

• Role play. This is a great way to teach respect as you set up different possible situations that may occur. Role playing helps students learn how to behave in specific situations and gives the an opportunity to put what they have learned into practice.
• Story boards. Use the story boards to allow students to apply what they know to given situations. This is a wonderful way to get a variety of responses and options for the whole class to see.
• Reward good choices. One very simple way to do this is to hand out an item such as a Popsicle stick when students exhibit good choices. Students turn these in for rewards.
• Chances are that you have earned some respect from your students. Remind them that people should talk to the students the same way they talk to you. Therefore students should not allow people to talk to them in disrespectful ways.
• Remind students to talk to everyone else the same way they talk to you.
• Let students know that if someone is doing something that makes them uncomfortable it's okay to leave the situation or let the person know that they are uncomfortable.
• One of the most important things to do is to let the students know that just because they have a disorder of some sort, that does not make them any less deserving of respect. It is simply another facet of them, such as being right handed or good at checkers.

It's very important to teach students to respect themselves, since this in necessary for good self esteem to develop. Not only that, but respect for self will naturally lead to respect for others as they make good choices to maintain their self respect. Get creative and have some fun with your respect lessons!