Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Part 4

Return to part 3 of this article

Source

Contents

Forums

Related Articles

What About Special Education?

The type of special education services a child receives will depend upon the nature and severity of his or her difficulties. Nor all of these children will need special education services. And not all of these children can receive an appropriate education without special education services. Decisions about children's need for special education and their subsequent placement must be made on a case-by-case basis.

A series of steps is typically necessary in order for the child to receive special education services. First, the child must be experiencing educational performance problems. Second, when such problems become evident, the parent or teacher can refer the child to the local school district's child evaluation team and request an evaluation. 'Third, an evaluation is performed to determine if the child does indeed have a disability according to eligibility criteria set forth in state and federal law and if that disability is adversely affecting the child's educational performance. If so, the child may then be found eligible for special education services.

When a child is found eligible for special education, his or her parents collaborate with school personnel to develop an individualized Education Program (IEP) designed to address the child's specific problems and unique learning needs. Here, strengths are considered as well. Strategies to improve social and behavioral problems are also addressed in the IF.P. After specifying the nature of the child's special needs, the IEP team, including parents, determines what types of services are appropriate for addressing those needs and whether these services will be delivered in the regular education classroom or elsewhere (such as the resource room or through individualized attention).

Researchers estimate that half of the children with AD/HD will be able to perform to their ability levels without special education services, provided the disorder is recognized, understood, and curriculum adjustments to the regular program of instruction are made.

The majority of children with AD/HD who require special education services (approximately 35%-40%) will receive them through combined placements which might include the regular education classroom, with or without in-class support, and the resource room. Support personnel are likely to be used as case managers and consultants to regular education teachers.

Some children (approximately 10%) may need to be served in a self-contained classroom with minimal mainstreaming. Such children are likely to have severe AD/HD and will probably have coexisting conditions as well.

Guidelines for Educational Intervention

Here are several general guidelines for improving the social and academic performance of children with AD/HD in both regular and special education settings.

• Place the student with teachers who are positive, upbeat, highly organized problem-solvers. Teachers who use praise and rewards liberally and who are willing to "go the extra mile" to help students succeed can be enormously beneficial to the student with AD/HD.
  
  
• Provide the student with a structured and predictable environment. As part of this environment:
  
  
  • display rules
  • post daily schedules and assignments
  • call attention to schedule changes
  • set specific times for specific tasks
  • design a quiet work space for use upon request
  • seat the child with positive peer models
  • plan academic subjects for morning hours
  • provide regularly scheduled and frequent breaks
  • use attention-getting devices (e.g., secret signals, color codes)
    
    
• Modify the curriculum. In many cases, AD/HD students can benefit from the "less is more" maxim. That is to say, if the student can demonstrate proficiency in 10 problems, 20 do not need to be assigned. Curriculum modification can also include:
  
  
  • mixing high and low interest activities;
  • providing computerized learning materials;
  • simplifying and increasing visual presentations;
  • teaching organization and study skills;
  • using learning strategies such as mnemonic devices and links;
  • and using visual references for auditory instruction.
    
    

These guidelines were designed by Sydney Zentall, Ph.D. (1991).

• For Excessive Activity:
  
  
  • Channel activity into acceptable avenues. For example, rather than attempting to reduce a student's activity, teachers can encourage directed movement in classrooms when it is not disruptive, or allow standing during seatwork, especially at the end of a task.
    
    
  • Use activity as a reward. For example, to reward a child's appropriate behavior or improvement, a teacher might allow him or her to run an errand, clean the board, organize the teacher's desk, or arrange the chairs in the room.
    
    
  • Use active responses in instruction. Teaching activities that encourage active responses such as talking, moving, organizing, or working at the board are helpful to many students with AD/HD, as are activities such as writing in a diary or painting.
    
    
• For Inability to Wait:
  
  
  • Give the child substitute verbal or motor responses to make white waiting. This might include teaching the child how to continue on easier parts of a task (or a substitute task) while waiting for the teacher's help.
    
    
  • When possible, allow daydreaming or planning while the child waits. For example, the child might be allowed to doodle or play with clay while waiting, or might be guided to underline or write directions or relevant information.
    
    
  • When inability to wait becomes impatience or bossiness, encourage leadership. Do not assume that impulsive statements or behavior are aggressive in intent. Suggest alternative ways or behaviors (e.g., line reader, paper passer). It may be important to cue a student when an upcoming task will be difficult and extra control will be needed.
    
    
• For Failure to Sustain Attention to Routine Tasks and Activities:
  
  
  • Decrease the length of the task. There are many ways to do this, including breaking one task into smaller parts to be completed at different times or giving fewer spelling words or math problems.
    
    
  • Make tasks interesting. Teachers can heighten interest in tasks by allowing students to work with partners or in small groups, by using an overhead projector, and by alternating high and low interest activities. Make a game out of checking work, and use games to overlearn rote material.
    
    
• For Noncompliance and Failure to Complete Tasks:
  
  
  • Generally increase the choice and specific interest of tasks for the child. Teachers may allow the student with AD/HD a limited choice of tasks, topics, and activities,. Teachers may also find it useful to determine which activities the student prefers and to use these as incentives.
    
    
  • Make sure tasks fit within the student's learning abilities and preferred response style. Students are more likely to complete tasks when they are allowed to respond in various ways (e.g., typewriter, computer, on tape) and when the difficulty of assignments varies (i.e., not all tasks are equally difficult) It is important to make sure that disorganization is not the reason the student is failing to complete tasks.
    
    
• For Difficulty at the Beginning of Tasks:
  
  
  • Increase the structure of tasks and highlight important parts. 'This includes encouraging note-taking; giving directions in writing as well as orally; stating the standards of acceptable work as specifically as possible; and pointing OUt how tasks are structured (e.g., topic sentences, headers, table of contents).
    
    
• For Completing Assignments or Time:
  
  
  • Increase the student's use of lists and assignment organizers (notebooks, folders), write assignments on the board, and make sure that the student has copied them.
    
    
  • Establish routines to place and retrieve commonly used objects such as books, assignments, and clothes. Pocket folders are helpful here; new work can be placed on one side and completed work on the other. Parents can be encouraged to establish places for certain things (books, homework) at home. Students can be encouraged to organize their desk or locker with labels/places for certain items.
    
    
  • Teach the student that, upon leaving one place for another, he or she will self-question, "Do I have everything I need?"