Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

• ADHD is far more than just a problem with attention, hyperactivity, or impulsiveness. It is a disorder of the brain's executive system-- a system essential for effective functioning in school and in most other important domains of life...." Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is not specifically defined by IDEA.

• Students with ADHD have intellectual abilities which reflect the typical population in IQ scores. They are as likely to be identified as gifted as peers. Those who have ADHD and are gifted have more positive school outcomes than those with ADHD alone. As far as academic achievement, students with ADHD have lower academic achievement, lower grade point averages, and higher retention rates. They also tend to have lower vocabulary development and working memory challenges. Their symptoms include inattention which relates closely to academic outcomes. Approximately one/half of students with ADHD also have a learning disability. The strongest predictor of academic achievement is a student's ability to plan ahead and the ability to organize time and materials. In regards to behavioral, emotional and social characteristics there is an 11 times more likelihood than their peers to experience oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder. Students with ADHD tend to have more difficulty with regulating positive and negative emotions. They also tend to have impairments in pragmatic language which leads to impairments in social skills.

• Students with the inattentive type of ADHD usually are not as disruptive as those with hyperactivity-impulsivity, educators may overlook their needs. These students often display a slow tempo in their approach to academic tasks, boredom, lack of motivation, and self-consciousness. Moy boys than girls have the inattentive type of ADHD. They are more likely to experience anxiety and mood disorders and often face their biggest challenge with academic achievement.

• Problems associated with hyperactivity and impulsivity typically start at the preschool level and may evolve to the combined type as children get older and confront higher expectations in school. These students are often described as displaying fidgetiness and being in constant motion. These characteristics align with hyperactivity. By contrast, characteristics with impulsivity align with difficulty in derring gratification, withholding an inappropriate behavioral response, or blurting out answers or comments out-of-turn. Although hyperactivity tends to decrease with age, impulsivity typically persists into adolescence and adulthood.

• Inattentive-Hyperactive-Impulsive Combined students is a combined type describing students that have features of both inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity. The characteristics are academic challenges, social challenges, and increased prevalence of both internalizing and externalizing behaviors. In the United States, approximately 10 percent of children are identified with having ADHD. The rates have increased by 42 percent between 2003 and 2011. Boys are approximately two times more likely to experience ADHD than girls.

The causes of ADHD are:

• Heredity- 6 - 8 times more likely to have ADHD if their parents have ADHD.

• Brain differences - variations in brain anatomy, brain functioning and neurochemical factors (ex. neurotransmitters)

• Environmental Causes - environmental toxins, poor diet, low family income, child abuse and neglect.

• Prenatal - exposure to cigarette smoke, lead, and alcohol

• ADHD Video

• ADHD Child Vs. Non-ADHD Child

• ADHD TED Talk

• Preferential Seating in a Quiet, Undistracted Location

• Frequent Breaks

• Plenty of Good Exercise

• Clutter Free Environment

• Longer times for testing

• Testing set apart from their peers

• Allow students to have a standing desk