ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER
Definition
ADHD is a chronic condition including attention difficulty, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. It often begins in childhood and can persist into adulthood. It may contribute to low self-esteem, troubled relationships, and difficulty at school or work.
It is seen in 3 different forms; inattention, hyperactive-impulsive, and combination. Inattention type is seen with poor concentration, easily distracted, and little organizational skills. Hyperactive-impulsive is seen with never slowing down, difficulty staying on tasks, taking risks, and talking/fidgeting constantly. Combination type is a combination of symptoms from both inattention and hyperactivity-impulsive, its most common seen in children.
9% of children aged, 4-17 are actually diagnosed with ADHD, the others are diagnosed. Within the whole student body, approximately 11% of children have ADHD.
Instructional Strategies
Give short quizzes more often, rather than long tests. Use lots of visuals, seat the child away from all possible distractions, make expectations clear with the students. Always start lessons with a noise. Children with ADHD like competitive and intense games. They also do best with visual learning, such as charts, pictures, and props
Useful Websites
https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/learning_disabilities/teacher/#.WgIPcmhSxPY
https://www.additudemag.com/teaching-strategies-for-students-with-adhd/
Research
Children with ADHD might be missing nonverbal cues from their teachers. These children can’t always understand that when the either children clean up, they need to do the same. These students might need it written on the board or told verbally to them. Settings such as daycares can contribute to the misperception of other behaviors. https://health.usnews.com/health-care/patient-advice/articles/2017-11-01/are-children-with-adhd-missing-nonverbal-cues-from-teachers
With the rise of ADHD in the recent years, studies have found that the first step of treatment, which would be physiological intervention, is being skipped. Going straight to drug treatments on children under the age of 5 has unknown risks. At a time where mental health is put in the forefront, what is this doing to all the children being placed on these medications. http://beta.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/rise-adhd-educational-psychology-perspective
Scientists studied the brain development in 5 regions of the brain. They wanted to remove the label off ADHD as a “difficult child”. It showed that people aged 4-65 had a smaller overall brain volume and smaller volume in the 5 brain regions studied. They also compared brain size to children that have been on medication and children who have not. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170216105919.htm
Other
ADHD looks very different in boy’s vs girls. Girls tend to blame themselves and it can manifest into other disorders suc as depression or anorexia. Boys tend to blame the "stupid test" http://www.c8home.com/adhd-girls-symptoms-manifest-differently/
ADD is an outdated term for ADHD. There are 3 different types of ADHD.
https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/difference-between-add-and-adhd#overview1