1.How many students with ADHD are currently being served in the U.S.? In the U.S there are between 3% and 7% of schooled children that are diagnosed with ADHD

2.How has the number of students identified increased in recent years? What are some of the reported reasons for that increase?     There is no clear answer whether the number of students with ADHD has increase because a historic record does not exist. This makes it difficult to know if the number of students with ADHD has increased.

3.What are the specific behaviors/characteristics of students with ADHD? In what ways do those characteristics make it difficult for students to learn and participate in school?

Some behaviors of students with ADHD are their inability to pay attention and focus. They are easily distracted by extraneous stimuli, and they are often forgetful in daily activities. Often blurts out answers before questions have been completed. These characteristics make it difficult for students to learn in schools because since they are not able to concentrate on what the teacher is saying, they miss a lot of information that they need to pass test or complete assignments. They are not able to participate because they are more interested in extraneous stimuli and do not pay attention to the educational stimuli that is around them. This causes a problem with their participation in school because most of the time these students do not know what they are being taught.

4. Do all students with ADHD demonstrate the same characteristics or degree of behavior? All students do not exhibit the same characteristics or behavior. There are ADHD students that do not need to be place in special education, but they do need special accommodations in regular classrooms such as getting longer periods of time to complete test and assignments. There are students with ADHD that do not have problems in school.

5. According to IDEA ’97, under what category are students with ADHD identified? According to the IDEA ’97 students with ADHD were categorized under the category of other health impairments, but was not identified as a distinct category of its own.

6. What professional organizations have supported the legitimacy of ADHD as a disability?

An organization that supports ADHD is the project eye-to-eye organization, which focuses of building partnerships that provide mentors for people with ADHD. This organization focuses on promoting self-esteem for students with ADHD.

7. Given the following definition of special education, “specially designed instruction that meets the unusual needs of an exceptional student,” list the ways in which a student with ADHD meets the criteria of “exceptional” and what services might be provided to support that student. Students with ADHD that are exceptional are students that show intense creativity, intuitiveness, emotional awareness, and exuberance.

Teachers can accommodate these students by assigning a classmate that can help the student stay on task. Also have students evaluate their own work, which helps them correct their mistakes. This helps the student develop their self-management skills.