Attention Disorders in Children

Attention Disorders in Children Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a term used to describe a group of behaviors that most often appear in young, school aged children. Scientists are not sure what causes ADHD, although many studies suggest that genes play a large role. Like many other illnesses, ADHD probably results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors such as nutrition, brain injuries, or social environment. Children with ADHD also may struggle with low self-esteem, troubled relationships and poor performance in school. Symptoms sometimes lessen with age. However, some people never completely outgrow their ADHD symptoms. But they can learn strategies to be successful.

The first step in working with students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is to understand that this is a real disability. You can’t see it as easily as when you see someone wearing a pair of glasses, using a hearing aid, or sitting in a wheelchair; however, it is still very real. It is a disorder that is often invisible, buried beneath what appears to be misbehavior, sloppiness, laziness, and even stubbornness. We can call it the hidden disability.

A new study suggests that a better approach for ADHD kids is to let them move all they want.

That's because many kids use their movements. In other words, it may be that excessive movement doesn't prevent learning but actually facilitates it. To accommodate to the student's short attention span, academic assignments should be brief and feedback regarding accuracy immediate. Longer projects should be broken up into manageable parts. Short time limits for task completion should be specified and can be enforced with timers.

Class-wide peer tutoring provides many of the instructional variables known to be important in setting up students with ADHD for success. The rules given to students with ADHD must be well defined, specific and frequently reinforced through visible modes of presentation. Well-defined rules with clear consequences are essential. Because students with ADHD have difficulty following multi-step directions, it is important for instruction to be short, specific and direct.

Although classroom environment changes can be helpful in reducing problematic behaviors and learn-ing difficulties, by themselves they are typically not sufficient.

As students with ADHD are a heterogeneous group, there is no one intervention (or set of interventions) that will improve the classroom functioning of all of these students. Thus, it is suggested that classroom modifications be tailored to the unique needs of each student. In developing these modifications it is per-haps best to begin by examining how the classroom environment might be changed to set up the student with ADHD for success.