GPC 355Gizem Şamdan

28.04.2014

Outline

ADHD & Subtypes

Causes

Challenges of ADHD in the classroom

Classroom Accomodations

Teacher Attitudes & Teaching Techniques

ADHD• one of the most common childhood disorders

• affects about 6–7% of children

• diagnosed approximately three times more in boys than in girls

• about 30–50% of people diagnosed in childhood continue to have symptoms into adulthood

Subtypes:

a. Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive

b. Predominantly inattentive

c. Combined hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive

!!! Most children have the combined type of ADHD.

Children who have symptoms of inattention may:

• Be easily distracted, miss details, forget things and frequently switch from one activity to another

• Become bored with a task after only a few minutes• Have difficulty focusing attention • Have trouble completing or turning in assignments• Have difficulty processing information as quickly and

accurately as others• Not seem to listen when spoken to• Struggle to follow instructions

Children who have symptoms of hyperactivity may:

• Squirm in their seats• Talk nonstop• Dash around, touching or playing with anything and

everything in sight• Have trouble sitting still (Ex: during dinner, school

time)• Be constantly in motion• Have difficulty doing quiet tasks or activities.

Children who have symptoms of impulsivity may:

• Be very impatient• Make inappropriate comments, show their

emotions without restraint, act without regard for consequences

• Have difficulty waiting their turns • Often interrupt conversations or others'

activities.

Causes• Genes: Twin studies show that ADHD often runs in families.- If a parent has ADHD, the risk of their child to have ADHD is 54%. - Researchers are looking at several genes that may make people more likely to develop the disorder.

• Environmental factors: Link between cigarette smoking and alcohol use during pregnancy and ADHD in children.

• Brain injuries: Children who have suffered a brain injury may show some behaviors similar to those of ADHD.

• Food additives: Possible link between consumption of certain food additives like artificial colors or preservatives, and an increase in activity.

ADHD in the classroom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-5W_UBJA-Y

Challenges of ADHD in the classroom

• demand attention by talking out of turn or moving around the room

• trouble following instructions• forget to write down homework assignments, do

them, or bring to school.• lack fine motor control, which makes note-taking and

handwriting difficult.• have trouble with operations that require ordered

steps, (Ex: long divisions, solving equations)• have problems with long-term projects• do not pull their weight during group work

Classroom accommodations for students with ADHD

A) Seating

• Seat the student with ADHD away from windows and away from the door.

• Put the student with ADHD right in front of teacher’s desk

• Seats in rows with focus on the teacher work better than seating around tables or facing one another.

B) Information delivery

• Give instructions one at a time and repeat as necessary.• Work on the most difficult material early in

the day.• Use visuals: charts, pictures etc.• Create outlines for note-taking that organize

the information.

C) Student work

• Create a quiet area free of distractions for test-taking • Create worksheets and tests with fewer items; give

frequent short quizzes rather than long tests.• Reduce the number of timed tests.• Test the student with ADHD in the way he or she does

best, such as orally or filling in blanks.• Show the student how to use a pointer to track

written words on a page.• Divide long-term projects into segments.• Accept late work and give partial credit for partial

work.

Teacher attitude

• supportive classroom environment• provide support and encouragement • establish a caring relationship• warmth & patience • positive attitude toward inclusion • knowledge and willingness to work with students

with exceptional needs • willingness to work collaboratively with other

teachers, school counsellor and parents

Teaching techniques for students with ADHD

1) Starting a lesson

• Signal the start of a lesson with an aural cue, such as a cowbell or a horn.

• List the activities of the lesson on the board.• In opening the lesson, tell students what they’re

going to learn and what your expectations are.• Tell students exactly what materials they’ll need.• Establish eye contact with any student who has

ADHD.

2) Conducting the lesson

• Keep instructions simple and structured.• Include different kinds of activities. Students with ADHD

do better with competitive games or rapid and intense activities.

• Use charts and other visual aids.• Have an unobtrusive signal set up for the student who

has ADHD, such as a touch on the shoulder or placing a sticky note on the student’s desk, to remind him/her to stay on task.

• Allow the student with ADHD frequent breaks.• Try not to ask a student with ADHD perform a task or

answer a question publicly that might be too difficult.

3) Ending the lesson

• Summarize key points.• If you give an assignment, have different

students repeat it, then have the class sayit in unison, and put it on the board.

• Be specific about what to take home.

Brad's Story: A 12 year-old with ADHD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2hLa5kDRCA

References• Alberta Education. (2006). Focusing on Success.

https://education.alberta.ca/media/513151/e_chap4.pdf Accessed April, 22, 2014.

• National Institute of Mental Health. (2014). What is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/index.shtml Accessed April, 22, 2014.

• Pfiffner, L. J., Barkley, R. A., & DuPaul, G. J. (1998). Treatment of ADHD in school settings. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A handbook for diagnosis and treatment, 2, 458-490.

• Vile Junod, R. E., DuPaul, G. J., Jitendra, A. K., Volpe, R. J., & Cleary, K. S. (2006). Classroom observations of students with and without ADHD: Differences across types of engagement. Journal of School Psychology,44(2), 87-104.

QUESTIONS?