ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER

(ADHD)

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurobiological condition that is marked by an ongoing pattern of inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development. ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood. (Strock, 2006) It is diagnosed in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. It is normal for children to have difficulties paying attention and behaving appropriately. However, children with ADHD do not grow out of these behaviours and as a result it usually affects their personal functioning and development.

What it is

Inattention refers to an individual who struggles to focus on a task, lacks persistence, and is disorganized.

Hyperactivity refers to an individual who cannot sit still and moves around consistently such as tapping, fidgeting, or talking.

Impulsivity refers to an individual who make hasty actions without thinking through them first which could cause them harm. They may be disruptive, want immediate gratification and lack thinking of long term consequences.

Common Characteristics

Some symptoms of inattention include:

Overlook or miss details, careless with mistakes or finishing work or activities
Difficulties maintaining conversations, listening, or doing tasks
Not following through on instructions
Difficulties with organizational skills, messy
Avoid or dislike tasks that require full focus or mental concentrations
Easily distracted and forgetful

Some symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity include:

Cannot sit still for long periods of time
Fidgets or squirms if forced to stay still
Talk a lot, unable to play or stay quiet
Difficulties waiting turns, not shouting out answers, and can be disruptive

(National Institute of Mental Health, 2016)

Assessment Measures

Diagnosis of ADHD is a comprehensive process that is done by a clinical professional such as a pediatrician or psychologist. The symptoms that have been listed above must be demonstrated over a long period of time, disrupt the individual’s function and cause them to fall behind in their developmental age. Other drugs or prescriptions will also be taken into consideration as they can cause some of these symptoms as well. Most children will receive early diagnosis in their elementary school years. For an adult or adolescent to receive a diagnosis of ADHD they must have symptoms prior to the age of 12 years old.

Social Difficulties

Unfortunately, many individuals with ADHD struggle with relationships and demonstrate antisocial behaviours. Individuals with ADHD can have difficulties with peer rejections, conflict resolution and maintaining friendship and family/romantic relationships.

In a US study, adults with self-reported ADHD reported less stability and significantly higher rates of divorce in marital/cohabiting relationships compared with controls. In addition, they were significantly less likely to have a good current relationship with their parents compared with controls. (Biederman, 2006)

Another US study found that young adult couples with one partner with ADHD displayed greater negativity during a conflict resolution task compared with couples without ADHD in either partner, indicating relationship impairments associated with ADHD. (Canu, 2014)

Academic Difficulties

The following graph demonstrates the struggles students with ADHD have faced academically. This study investigated the impairment at school by statements that more parents/caregivers of children with ADHD agreed with compared with parents of children without ADHD in the European Lifetime Impairment Survey.
Figure developed from (Adamou et al., 2013)

Teaching Strategies

Students with ADHD/ADD need guidance and understanding from their parents, teachers and peers.

Teaching Strategies:

Provide accommodations – what can you do to make things easier for the student
Establish how you will handle disruptions so it is apparent for you and the student
Have a positive attitude – lets figure out ways we can do this together
Maintaining schedules and routines for homework, playtime, bedtime, etc.
Being clear and consistent with directions and rules
Use verbal and written cues
Have smooth transitions between lessons and topics
Make sure that before students start work, they know what is expected of them
Use gental redirection techniques, be supportive and patient
Ensure that the student knows you are there for them

Classroom Accomodations:

Seating – away from windows and doors, put them close to your desk, rows
Information delivery – step by step instructions, repeat, visuals
Student work – quiet areas, extra time, accept late work
Organization – notebooks, colour code material
Lessons – simple instructions, variety of activities, props, charts, summarize key points

What Can the Student do?

Keeping everyday items organized such as clothing, backpacks and toys
Using agendas or a notebook type of organizer to keep track of daily things to do, homework and events
Having a support system filled with love, patience and kindness
Come to class prepared and with a optimistic, positive and calming attitude

Assitive Technology

Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers are outlining assitive technology software programs that support writing programs by collecting ideas and information in any orders. They then take that information and organize it into different choices such as sentences and paragraph development. Graphic organizers and organizing programs use visual representation to hold text, like webs, diagrams, steps, etc., based on a common theme or topic. Then this information can be organized into more formal writing for students to read and refer to later. This can be very benefical for students with ADHD because it can provide them with a way to organize massive amounts of complex and comprehensive information. They can choose which way they would like to view and learn the information in a way that is understandable and makes sense to them as a learner.

(Teaching Special Education, 2016)

Examples:

Draftbuilder

Kidspiration

EduPlace