ADHD Intervention

Exploring children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is very important for the wellbeing of society because children are the future. The focus was children between the ages of 3 through 11 years old. During these age frames the mind is developing rapidly and it is very crucial to approach with sensitivity. ADHD is often over looked as the child not being cooperative and wants to be difficult with higher authority. Children with ADHD have the common symptoms of hyperactivity, learning disability, and easily distracted. Therefore it is very important to know the signs with in a child and using The RATE-C Scale we are able to target areas of concern: (1) ADHD symptoms; (2) emotional control; (3) conduct problems; and (4) social
functioning. The RATE-C Scale is a set of questionnaires based on functioning and behavior of a child (Young, 2013). Once all the data is collected if the score of child is the danger area further interventions are needed to take place.
When looking to set up the intervention knowing what practices will be the most helpful for the child is important. Through evidenced based research the most common practices dealing with ADHD were school-based intervention, Therapeutic Conversation Intervention, and Mindfulness based therapy. This doesn’t mean that these are the only practices to be explored being that all children are different and the mind is so complex. These three can be viewed as a guide for a starting point. The main focus is to tackle the present day issues with the concern areas presented.
School-based intervention this deals with behavioral, academic, and self-regulation interventions. Most students are on medication within school system but these does not regulate how they are functioning completely. It is important to target these areas because it not only effects the student with ADHD but the students within the classroom. From the journal article School-Based Interventions for Elementary School Students with ADHD (2014) authors George J. DuPaul PhD, Matthew J. Gormley MEd and Seth D. Laracy Med further explore behavioral, academic, and self-regulation interventions. Through it all the School-Based Interventions for Elementary
School Students with ADHD states that, “A common goal for school-based treatment is increased positive social interactions with concomitant reduction in verbal and physical aggression.” (2014) This is very helpful in helping the child to see their growth and how to self-regulate without reaching aggression. The first intervention spoken upon is behavioral which has four different strategies. The first is proactive strategies which tackles students with age-appropriate classroom techniques. This is helpful towards teachers to maintain a progressive and positive classroom behavior when dealing with students with ADHD. This happens with the use of cues and prompts throughout the day such as remind students of classroom rules as the day go by and giving praise for appropriate behavior when able. Second is teacher attention which involves a praise and award setup. When a teacher notices positive behavior to praise should occur and when disruptive behavior occurs to ignore it. This end of actions can cause problems because that can cause a student to be more disruptive in the classroom setting. This is why the teacher should in a calm and quiet manner redirect the student. Third strategy that can be taken is token reinforcement/response-cost. This is a reactive strategy which allows automatic attention for behavior such as using a sticker. Some students need that immediate feedback in order to change their ways. Response cost is more of a backwards part where the reward is given first and when the student misbehaves than it is taken away from them. Both are used together for maximum output. Lastly the fourth strategy is daily report cards between schools to home that creates regular communication of feedback. According to the article “This type of home reward daily report cards method has been shown to be effective for students with ADHD, with additional evidence suggesting programs that link school and home are more effective relative to those that are only implemented at school.” (2014) Second intervention is academic which involves dealing with functional impairment associated with symptoms. The main goal is to target the specific academic skill that is impaired for the student with ADHD. This is also important to address because “Although behavioral and self-regulation interventions are effective in improving student attention and reducing disruptive behavior, changes to ADHD symptoms alone do not necessarily lead to concomitant gains in academic skill acquisition and achievement.” (2014) Third intervention is self-regulation strategies which aims to increase self-control in environments where they experience struggle. Allowing the student to see where they need improvements, map their improvements, and eventually take this into other areas need in life. Once a student grasps the aspect of self-control they can accomplish far more. All in all this article was very insightful with looking at it from a school stand point to show that teachers have a role with students with ADHD. Yes medication is used to allow students to go to school without disturbance for other children but this is not helping the child to actually learn to live with ADHD. Therapeutic Conversation Intervention target goal is to help caregivers who have adolescents with ADHD to reach the end goals of better quality of life and general well-being, increased family support and confidence in family illness beliefs, better family functioning and parental coping. The article, The effectiveness of therapeutic conversation intervention for caregivers of adolescents with ADHD: a quasi-experimental design (2016), by authors M.Gisladoti and E.K. Svavarsdottir further explore Therapeutic Conversation Intervention. The main goal is to give caregivers the skills needed to deal with adolescents with ADHD who often times are described as “…chaotic, conflictual, and exhausting. (2016)” The intervention was based on the Calgary Models and the Illness Beliefs Mode which all follow under working on connections of families. There are three parts to Therapeutic Conversation Intervention. Part one is getting educated on ADHD. Part two is in-session and home tasks.
Part three is building an intervention and reflecting upon it. Reflecting happens through private and group sessions, this allowed encouragement to use what they have learned. All in all in the evidence was supported with the outcomes being successful and noticing the improvements at home with the adolescent. Being educated on ADHD as the first step helps to break the stigma attached to ADHD. This allows for more willingness to have patience with an open mind. Mindfulness based therapy follows six main themes improved mood, enhanced relationship to self, increased self-control, improved problem-solving, awareness of the present, and enhanced interpersonal relationships.
This is targeted to be used in short-term and follow-up areas. Through the article Impact of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program from the perspective of adolescents with serious mental health concerns (2016) authors K. Jessica Van Vliet, Allison J. Foskett, Jennifer L. Williams, Anthony Singhal, Florin Dolcos,Sunita Vohra dissect this intervention within adolescents . Mindfulness based therapy is an 8 week program which consist of instruction and practice of formal Mindfulness based therapy meditations. Some of the mediations are sitting meditation, walking meditation, breathing break, and yoga to name a few. Education components are also involved with the program so that discussion is built with understanding of why they do what they do. Also a Mindfulness based therapy workbook and CDs with the material and meditations covered in the classes. Therefore it will also be there for easy access to also review and follow along. Being aware of one’s self opens the doors to building more patience and builds understanding. Mindfulness based therapy is a very particle intervention to use. There was a three month follow up done on participants, as stated in the artic “In follow-up interviews, it was also apparent that many participants felt increased
self-confidence as they successfully applied MBSR skills to their lives. (2016)” This is great that it can be taken from the 8week program and applied further than the 8 weeks.
All in all school-based intervention, Therapeutic Conversation Intervention, and Mindfulness based therapy are great interventions when dealing with ADHD. When picking an intervention to use it is very important to look at the area of target. Where does the improvement need to happen? Is the ADHD effecting learning, parenting, self-awareness, and so much more? Starting with a scale to test where the focus of need is and working from there. Children with ADHD is a wide range and can be viewed many ways but not putting the child into a common box will help. An intervention can be more specialized for the child through combining interventions. If one intervention doesn’t work there is an intervention that will work. These evidence practice literature gave great insight.