ADHD! What is it really? For starters, it is not defined as a crazy child who runs around, or one who never pays attention in class. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is defined as a neurobiological condition that affects mental functioning (Lim & Quah, 2004). ADHD often persists until adulthood. So what does ADHD look like?
Characteristics
There are 3 different types of ADHD and each has characteristics which set them apart from one another; inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and a combination of both which is also known as the combined type. The combined type of ADHD is the most common form of ADHD among children. People with ADHD tend to be restless and fidgety, unorganized when completing tasks
and have poor self-regulation over their emotions (Lim & Quah, 2004). ADHD
is based on a spectrum where it ranges from inattention to impulsivity. On the inattentive end of the spectrum, one may have poor attention skills and is unable to concentrate on a task over a period of time. On the hyperactive end of the spectrum, one might display signs of either impulsiveness or hyperactivity. The majority of people in the middle of the spectrum have the combined type of ADHD and would perhaps display poor attention skills and hyperactivity. ADHD compromises daily functioning.
Causes
You may wonder why the child has ADHD. Could it have been transmitted in the air or maybe from something he/she ate? None of the above are correct. In actual fact, ADHD in children can be caused by genes, exposure to toxic substances such as tobacco, cocaine and alcohol while in the mother’s womb during pregnancy, injury to the brain from trauma before, during or after conception (Lim & Quah, 2004).
Other relevant information.
Contrary to general beliefs, ADHD is not the result of laziness, poor motivation, low intelligence, disobedience, poor upbringing or selfishness. Children do not choose to act that way, in fact, they would rather not. Children generally display activeness which may look similar to ADHD and may thus be misdiagnosed. Signs of ADHD such as the flapping of hands and being easily distracted are also present in other disorders such as autism and ADHD could be easily misinterpreted if diagnosed without a medical professional.
What are some challenges that teachers have to face while dealing with ADHD children in the classroom? Cognitively, children with ADHD are able to keep up with their peers. However, these children may fall behind as they are unable to give their fullest attention and would tend to miss out on things taught during the lessons. Another issue is that teachers would have to give extra attention to the child with ADHD and this can be hard when the teacher has to be there for the other children in the class as well. Children with ADHD can be disruptive during lessons by running around or trying to interact with the people around them would become a distraction. Both the teacher and their peers would be affected by these behaviours.
Recommendations
Three adaptations
The activity that would be that would be implemented would be a music and movement activity where the class would be required to mimic animal sounds and movements. The activity would be conducted in the music room which is separated from the other classes. All children, including the child with ADHD, would be paired up with a partner during the activity and this pair would be situated near the teacher.
Rationale
The first adaptation would be to set a buddy system which would be in place at all times. This would benefit the class in many different ways. Firstly, the children can mirror each other’s actions and conduct a self-check to correct themselves. Every child in the class would feel included. The child with ADHD would benefit from the partnership as he/she would have someone to turn to when a problem arises. The buddy could also help the teacher to keep an eye on the child with ADHD during the whole activity while the teacher facilitates as a whole. Activities tend to be more engaging when children work in pairs (Radunovich & Munch, 2012). This is another benefit of having a buddy system and it also ensures that children will have fun learning together rather than having one-to-one isolated time with the teacher or even individual learning.
The second adaptation made would be to situate the child with ADHD
and his buddy near the teacher. The teacher would have a good view of them and the whole class at the same time. She would also be able to prevent accidents and respond quickly to any situations that arise. With this arrangement, the safety of the different children in the class would not be compromised, and they would be able to fully immerse themselves in the activity.
The third adaptation made would be to reduce the presence of distracting stimuli such as noises from surrounding classrooms or interruptions by people who walk into the classroom. By conducting the activity in the music room, such stimulus would be removed. The music room has many different resources which could be used in the lesson and external noises from other classes would have been reduced. The music room has a wide, open space which would be sufficient for children to move around and express their physical movements.
Using the above mentioned adaptations, the child with ADHD will be able to learn how to
control himself to act out and enjoy the activity at the same time.
Below are some of the resources you can refer to :)
1. Society for the Promotion of ADHD Research and Knowledge (SPARK)
They are an independent and non-profit organisation to help children with ADD/ADHD and families cope with the disorder.
promote understanding and research on ADD/ADHD to the public and organize workshops and group meetings to have discussions about the issues regarding ADHD.
They specialize in using science and technology to help children and adults with learning and developmental issues.
provide a spectrum of interventions and the results from the tests and assessments are used to tailor an individualized training program for the child.
Department of Child Development.
Therapy and services are provided to help the children cope and integrate into their community in the intervention centres,
Comprehensive outreach programme
Establishes partnerships with preschools and childcare centres to bring early intervention and therapy to the child’s classroom.
Coghill, D. (4 April, 2007). What is ADHD? Retrieved 24 January, 2013, from Netdoctor: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/adhd/whatisadhd.htm
Lim, L., & Quah, M. M. (2004). Educating Learners with Diverse Abilities. Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education.
Radunovich, H., & Munch, A. (2012). FCS2316/FY1329 ADHD in Early Childhood: Part 2 - Understanding ADHD in Preschoolers. Retrieved January 22 2013, from EDIS: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy1330"
Charis' Reflection
Before researching on this disorder with my group mates, I never knew how difficult the life of an ADHD child really is. I was uneducated on the topic of this disorder and held many stereotypes that have since been proven to be false. I thought that the children did not care about how their behaviours affected the people around them and were not affected by their surroundings. I was extremely wrong. Children with ADHD did not ask to have this disorder. They had no choice. The only options they had were to live with it, or to live against it. Both options are extremely trying for both the child and his/her family. Although the children have been born with ADHD, it has no effect on their drive and passion for knowledge. ADHD only affects how they learn, but the material that they absorb will never be affected.
As a teacher, one quality that we need in abundance is patience. And with me, patience is always in shortage. The adaptations that we came up with for the activity could actually be modified and used for other activities as well. They could be used as teaching strategies during lessons. With my newfound knowledge, I know that it is inappropriate to make an active ADHD child sit on the floor through a lesson without providing an outlet for him/her to release the pent-up energy. Music and movement activities are especially purposeful in this aspect and none of the children would feel left out. No matter how much time and effort it would take to educate a child with ADHD, it would always be worth it. A child with ADHD is after all still a child and they would have needs that could only be met by the teacher.
Yan Hong's Reflection
For this assignment, our group had did research on ADHD. I have now better come to understand why they tend to show disruptive behavior in class and how to better manage children with ADHD. As I have a child who has been diagnosed with ADHD recently in my attached class, I used to think that she was too socially outgoing and was attention seeking in every way. Now that I have the knowledge and better understanding on this subject, I find it easier to handle this child in the classroom when she displays undesirable behaviors such as throwing tantrums. Simple instructions and changes, like moving the child with ADHD to sit in front of the teacher, prove to be effective in preventing disruptive behavior in classes. There are community resources that provide helpful information to improved empathy for children with such behaviors.
I have also learnt that children with ADHD do not have any learning disorders, their inattentiveness tends to make them get distracted by other things rather than doing their work. Hence, these children are often misjudged as being lazy or rebellious because they do not focus on their work.
As an educator, it is important to be patient and caring towards each individual child and not let them feel left out. It is even more important to be patient with children with ADHD as sometimes they cannot control their own behavior and it is not what they do intentionally. To make lessons with these children more enjoyable, teachers should first accept the fact that these children have special needs and need accommodation.
Vivian's Reflection
As my group and I researched on the topic about ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder),I am able to understand more on this particular topic. The characteristics of this need allows me to understand that sometimes children may not pay attention and focus not because they do it on purpose or are trying to be rebellious, but because they are not able to. Therefore because of that, they are not able to focus on a task for a long time. They can also be forgetful about what they are doing previously. On the other end of the spectrum, and perhaps together with inattentiveness, they will tend to walk around the classroom at inappropriate times and often intrudes on others not because they want to, but because they have ADHD. Not saying that all children who does that have ADHD, but these are the signs of children with ADHD.
As I noticed that there was this child in my class who is always walking around even when she is asked to sit down, and gets easily distracted even in the middle of her favourite book that was being told by the class teacher. Some things I would do is to seat the child right beside me, if we are having circle time. This is done so that I can keep watch of the child and always bring her focus back to the things that are going on in the classroom environment. Even though it may be a challenge to always have to bring her attention back to the classroom, there will always be classmates around to help them and guide them through their preschool years.
