Hyperactive Student

Technique: Many students are fidgety in adolescence. Attention deficit disorder is commonly diagnosed prior to adolescence with inattention and impulsivity as primary characteristics rather than lack of motor stillness.
Procedures:
Look for many of the following characteristics. They must be pervasive enough that they impair ability to learn. They may also inhibit the studentâs ability to maintain relationships with peers:

Lack of attention to detail
Frequent careless mistakes
Difficulty sustaining attention, including inability to stay focused with tv
Does not listen, even when specifically addressed
Does not follow tasks through to completion (pervasive)
Has difficulty organizing tasks and activities
Avoids tasks which call for sustained mental effort
Loses materials (pencil, books, assignments, outline, etc.)
Distracted by small extraneous stimuli
Forgetful in daily activities.
Often fidgets with hands and feet
Often out of seat, even when expected
Describes pervasive sense of restlessness
On the goâ as if driven by a motorâ
Blurts out rather than being able to wait for turns
Interrupts and intrudes on others
Seems unable to engage in activities quietly pp. 83-85 (From Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV).

Managing impulsivity:

Help these students become aware of the problem.
Teach students to recognize when they are on the verge of acting on impulse.
Once students are alert to impulsiveness, work with them to develop an individualized plan of action.
Help students monitor the plan until it becomes effective.
Teach students to reward themselves for the hard work.

Seat students out of the center of attention.
Allow them to run in place, do calisthenics or quietly expend energy and to self monitor, attending to the need for activity rather than letting it take over.
Many students during the middle school years mimic many of these behaviors. Rather than labeling students, provide a learning atmosphere that is active, heavily involved in hands on learning and open to social interactions.