How to Reach and Teach Children and Teens with ADD/ADHD

Sandra F. Rief

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781118937792
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Inclusive Education

The most up-to-date and comprehensive vital resource for educators seeking ADD/ADHD-supportive methods

How to Reach and Teach Children and Teens with ADD/ADHD, Third Edition is an essential guide for school personnel. Approximately 10 percent of school-aged children have ADD/ADHD—that is at least two students in every classroom. Without support and appropriate intervention, many of these students will suffer academically and socially, leaving them at risk for a variety of negative outcomes. This book serves as a comprehensive guide to understand and manage ADHD: utilizing educational methods, techniques, and accommodations to help children and teens sidestep their weaknesses and showcase their numerous strengths. This new 2016 edition has been completely updated with the latest information about ADHD, research-validated treatments, educational laws, executive function, and subject-specific strategies. It also includes powerful case studies, intervention plans, valuable resources, and a variety of management tools to improve the academic and behavioral performance of students from kindergarten through high-school. From learning and behavioral techniques to whole group and individualized interventions, this indispensable guide is a must-have resource for every classroom—providing expert tips and strategies on reaching kids with ADHD, getting through, and bringing out their best.

• Prevent behavioral problems in the classroom and other school settings
• Increase students' on-task behavior, work production, and academic performance
• Effectively manage challenging behaviors related to ADHD
• Improve executive function-related skills (organization, memory, time management)
• Apply specific research-based supports and interventions to enable school success
• Communicate and collaborate effectively with parents, physicians, and agencies

Part 1
Key Information for Understanding and Managing ADHD

1. Section 1.1: Understanding ADHD
2. Section 1.2: ADHD and Executive Function Impairment
3. Section 1.3: Making the Diagnosis: A Comprehensive Evaluation for ADHD
4. Section 1.4: Multimodal Treatment for ADHD
5. Section 1.5: Medication Treatment and Management
6. Section 1.6: Behavioral Therapy for Managing ADHD
7. Section 1.7: Keys to School Success for Students with ADHD
8. Section 1.8: ADHD in Preschool and Kindergarten
9. Section 1.9: ADHD in Middle School and High School

Section 1.1
Understanding ADHD

Clarifying Terms and Labels

ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) is the umbrella term or diagnostic label established by the American Psychiatric Association. It is inclusive of three presentations (or kinds) of the disorder: predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, and combined (meeting diagnostic criteria for both inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive ADHD). Many people prefer to use the term ADD when referring to individuals with predominantly inattentive ADHD, and that presentation is also referred to as such in federal education law (IDEA). Although I use ADD/ADHD in the title of this book, as I have done since the first edition was published in 1993, throughout the remainder of this book, I will be using only the label of ADHD, which is inclusive of all three presentations of this disorder.

Descriptions and Definitions

Some of the definitions and descriptions of ADHD have been changed or refined as a result of all that we have learned in recent years from neuroscience, brain imaging, and clinical studies, and likely will continue to change in the future. Until recently, ADHD was classified as a neurobehavioral disorder, characterized by the three core symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, and sometimes hyperactivity.

It is now recognized that ADHD is a far more complex disorder, involving impairment in a whole range of abilities related to self-regulation and executive functioning. This more recent understanding of ADHD is reflected in some of the following descriptions, as shared by leading ADHD authorities and based on the most widely held beliefs of the scientific community at this time:

• ADHD is a neurobiological disorder characterized by chronic and developmentally inappropriate degrees of inattention, impulsivity, and in some cases hyperactivity, and is so pervasive and persistent that it interferes with a person's daily life at home, school, work, or other settings.
• ADHD is a disorder of self-regulation and executive functions.
• ADHD is a brain-based disorder involving a wide range of executive dysfunctions that arises out of differences in the central nervous system—both in structural and neurochemical areas.
• ADHD represents a condition that leads individuals to fall to the bottom of a normal distribution in their capacity to demonstrate and develop self-control and self-regulatory skills.
• ADHD is a developmental impairment of the brain's self-management system. It involves a wide range of executive functions linked to complex brain operations that are not limited to observable behaviors.
• ADHD is a neurological inefficiency in the area of the brain that controls impulses and is the center of executive functions.
• ADHD is a dimensional disorder of human behaviors that all people exhibit at times to certain degrees. Those with ADHD display the symptoms to a significant degree that is maladaptive and developmentally inappropriate compared to others at that age.
• ADHD is a common although highly varied condition. One element of this variation is the frequent co-occurrence of other conditions.

Signs and Symptoms

In making a diagnosis of ADHD, a qualified clinician does so based on the criteria set forth in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published in 2013 by the American Psychiatric Association, which is discussed further in Section 1.3. The DSM lists nine specific symptoms under the category of inattention and nine specific symptoms under the hyperactive-impulsive category. Part of the diagnostic criteria for ADHD is that the child, teen, or adult often displays a significant number of symptoms of either the inattentive or the hyperactive-impulsive categories or in both categories.

Following are lists of behaviors or observable symptoms that are common in children and teens with ADHD. Those symptoms that are found in the DSM-5 criteria are italicized and listed as the first nine bullets in each category. Additional symptoms associated with ADHD are also included; they are not italicized.

Most people display some of the following behaviors at times and in different situations to a certain degree. Those who have the disorder have a history of frequently exhibiting many of these behaviors beyond the normal range developmentally when compared to their peers, in multiple settings (such as home, school, social, and workplace), and to the degree that they interfere with or reduce the quality of their functioning. Such a history is a red flag that an evaluation for ADHD by a well-qualified professional should be considered.

Symptoms of Inattention and Associated Problems

• Often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, at work, or with other activities.
• Often has trouble holding attention on tasks or play activities.
• Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly.
• Often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (for example, loses focus, side-tracked). Note: This is not due to oppositional behavior or failure to understand instructions.
• Often has trouble organizing tasks and activities.
• Often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to do tasks that require mental effort over a long period of time (such as schoolwork or homework).
• Often loses things necessary for tasks and activities (for example, school materials, pencils, books, tools, wallets, keys, paperwork, eyeglasses, mobile telephones).
• Is often easily distracted.
• Is often forgetful in daily activities.
• Has difficulty concentrating and is easily pulled off task.
• Tunes out, daydreams, may appear “spacey.”
• Requires a lot of adult prompts and refocusing to complete tasks.
• Has many incomplete assignments and unfinished tasks.
• Has difficulty working independently; needs a high degree of supervision and redirecting of attention to task at hand.
• Exhibits poor listening: not following directions, being pulled off topic in conversations, not focusing on the speaker.
• Makes many errors with academic tasks requiring attention to details and accuracy (such as math computation, spelling, and written mechanics).
• Cannot stay focused on what he or she is reading (loses place, misses words and details, needs to reread the material).
• Exhibits poor study skills, such as test-taking and note-taking skills.
• Goes off topic in writing, losing train of thought.
• Makes many written errors in capitalization and punctuation; has difficulty editing own work for such errors.
• Makes numerous computational errors in math due to inattention to operational signs (plus, minus, multiplication, division), decimal points, and so forth.
• Appears to have slower speed of processing information (for example, responding to teacher questions or keeping up with class discussions).
• Misses verbal and nonverbal cues, which affects social skills.
• Does not participate in class, or participates minimally.

Symptoms of Hyperactivity and Impulsivity and Associated Problems

• Often fidgets with or taps hands or feet, or squirms in seat.
• Often leaves seat in situations when remaining seated is expected.
• Often runs about or climbs in situations where it is not appropriate (adolescents or adults may be limited to feeling restless).
• Often unable to play or take part in leisure activities quietly.
• Is often “on the go” acting as if “driven by a motor.”
• Often talks excessively.
• Often blurts ou...