How School Systems Deal with Adhd

Barstow College Randy Payne
Essay Six 29 May 03
Research Paper

How the Barstow Unified School District Deals with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

And Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD)

I believe that children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children 's laughter remind us how we used to be (Masser, Creed, 1977) I don 't know what other people would think but I feel fortunate that two of my three sons have AD/HD. This has allowed me to be more involved in my son 's education in a way I never knew. It 's terrible to think that we let our children 's minds go to waste without doing all we can as parents to help. Many children in today 's schools are missing out on the education they so dearly deserve through no fault of their own. Parents are missing out on the greatest tool at their disposal. The Barstow Unified School District has a program that will assist in identifying children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), assist parents in developing an education program suited for this disorder, and provide guidance to parents in seeking medical assistance as well. What are ADD and AD/HD? Dr. Linda Pfiffner defines these disorders as follows:
ADD and AD/HD are diagnostic terms that describe a diverse group of children who have problems with inattention, distractibility, and in many cases, impulsivity and over activity. These disorders are a serious problem affecting thousands of students every year. Students have trouble staying focused, listening, and completing work. Many create disruption in class by calling out, walking around the room during seatwork time, and socializing at inappropriate moments. While all children are inattentive, impulsive, or over active at times, for ADD and AD/HD children, these problems are much more extreme and enduring. (Qtd. in Pfiffner 13)
Teacher referrals are normally where the school system gets the first idea that a child may have an ADD or AD/HD problem. Parents are not good judges due to their day-to-day contact with their children and are less likely to recognize the symptoms. Parents will normally sit down with the teachers and try to figure out what could work to help the child get back on track. A determination can be made at this time as to whether the family would like for their child to see the school psychologist. The school psychologist can, in a sit down meeting with the child, usually determine within five minutes whether the child has ADD or AD/HD. Once the diagnosis has been made that the child has the disorder, the psychologist will administer some tests to determine where the child has the most difficulties. These tests can include but are not limited to hearing, reading, and comprehension. A lot of children with ADD or AD/HD will have problems with auditory processing because they cannot pay attention long enough to get the information clearly. A clear example of this is, if I give my son three directions such as, take the trash out, feed the dog and close the door, all it would take is one distraction, and some of these tasks may not be completed. Some children have visual processing deficits. They are not able to make sense of what they are seeing, such as dyslexia. Now what the parents do with the information, see their own medical doctor to look at medication, or whether they try diet to control the disorder is up to them. What works for one child does not always work for another. Once the deficiencies are identified, the parents, teachers, and psychologist, to provide special education for the child, can put a plan together. The school system has what is called a Resource Specialist Program (RSP). This is either an in class program where a Resource Specialist will go into the class to help the child, or the child will be pulled out and given extra help during the school day. A lot of ADD and AD/HD children have difficulty organizing and speaking and somehow the quieter environment with a Resource Specialist will help. Usually the activities that the student has the most problems with are reading and comprehension. The school system has a program they can use in a small group to try and get them back on task and has fewer distractions.
Children who have fallen severely behind in their academics are usually the ones who benefit the most from the pull out program. These are usually the more severe children, the ones bouncing off walls, having a terrible time trying to pay attention. The school system may put them in a special day class. These classes will range in size from 15 to 16 students. These students receive special education all day with the services of a teacher and a special instructional aid. This type of program is less preferred. It requires restrictive placement and the school system likes to keep children in regular classes as much as possible. Sometimes when a child is on medication, it helps to keep them in a regular class but sometimes it doesn 't. A lot of parents don 't want their children medicated and that 's fine, it 's their prerogative and as long as a parent will work with the school system, they can determine what 's best for that child. Unfortunately, they have a lot of students with parents who won 't work with them, and that becomes a major problem. These students end up being sent home and missing out on their schooling.
The very hyperactive children are difficult to deal with in the school situation. They have some excellent teachers that really know how to handle these types of children and keep them focused, keep them on task. A lot of times the more aggressive/impulsive students are the students that benefit the most from the special day classes. This is done simply to protect the other students. With the impulsive child, going up to another child and just pushing him/her, it could be just playing to them but, to the child on the ground, it 's difficult to explain to him/her and their parents why they are on the ground. The impulsive child does not understand the consequence of their action. A lot of times these children get in a lot of trouble and get blamed for things that they have done but haven 't been able to help themselves due to their condition. Therefore, placing a child that is hyperactive-impulsive in the special day class is beneficial to all concerned.
The aims for the school system are, in the early years to have enough intervention in place to keep the children at grade level and not refer to special education. It 's very hard in those early years to differentiate between an environmentally caused low achievement child and a child who truly has a learning disability. The school system tries to put a lot of interventions into place first so that by the time a child gets to third grade, they really have some kind of an idea that oh, this child does have some kind of a problem and we need more information.
With all of these factors, the system must look at all of the various ins and outs and work out how best is this child going to learn. Sometimes it takes a while and sometimes teachers have to try different things. As special education teachers, they know what works for one child may not work for another even though they have the same processing deficits. Once you hit the right combination it becomes very satisfying. It 's like a light has just been turned on in the child 's head and he/she can see clearly now and begins to make progress. The Barstow Unified School District 's system for dealing with sufferers of ADD and AD/HD is to be commended. Their identification of students with this disorder, their educational development programs and their involvement of the parents are all contributing factors in their interest to provide the best education they can to our children.

Works Cited
Masser, Michael, and Creed, Linda. "The Greatest Love of All." Gold Horizon Music, 1977.
Newton, Janet. Pupil Services, Barstow Unified School District, Personnel interview. 23 May 2003.
Pfiffner, Linda J. Ph.D. All About ADHD: The Complete Practical Guide for Classroom Teachers. Scholastic Inc., 1996

Cited: Masser, Michael, and Creed, Linda. "The Greatest Love of All." Gold Horizon Music, 1977. Newton, Janet. Pupil Services, Barstow Unified School District, Personnel interview. 23 May 2003. Pfiffner, Linda J. Ph.D. All About ADHD: The Complete Practical Guide for Classroom Teachers. Scholastic Inc., 1996