Learning Disability

University of Guyana

Faculty of Education and Humanities

Department of Foundation and Education Management

Course Number: ESE 4101

Course Name: Introduction to Special Education Needs

Course Title: Research Paper

Name of Student: Hemwantie Persaud

Registration Number: 14/0315/0168

Name of Lecturer: Mr. Sherwin Fraser

Date of Submission: 2015/11/20

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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to identify a topic based on a learning disability that currently exists.

The researcher carefully chooses Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder which includes the

symptoms, diagnostic criteria, learning strategies and classroom interventions. Thus relevant

information is presented to support the views based on same. Finally it also emphasizes with

reference facts to deal with such disorder.

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 Learning Disability

Education is thought to be one of the most important accomplishments in an individual’s life.

However, there is varying degrees by which individuals are able to learn because not all children

learn at the same efficiency. Research shows that children who are poor learners may have some

sort of disability

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is sometimes known as the invisible impairment as it is

difficult to diagnose. It is also considered to be a chronic condition that affects millions of children

and often persists into adulthood. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has a combination of

problems, such as difficulty sustaining attention, hyperactivity and impulsive behaviour.

Psychiatrists say ADHD is a neurobehavioral developmental disorder. Dr. Edward Hallowell

explains having ADHD is like having a powerful race car for a brain, but with bicycle brakes.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is considered to be a serious public health problem which

causes problems in how well children do in school, in their ability to make and keep friends, and

function in society. Although there are treatments to improve ADHD symptoms, less is known

about managing ADHD as a child and reaches adulthood.

The problems of ADHD are very common; between 3 and 6 per cent of all children in school

age suffer from it (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2002) and the problems continue

for these children as they grow up in about 40 per cent of the cases, as the revision of Nolan,

Volpe, Gadow, & Sprafkin (1999) points out. Other researches even increase this number stating

the percentage of children suffering from ADHD in school age to up to 5 to 10 per cent (Scahill

& Schwab-Stone, 2000). With these facts facing the education procedure, we have to keep in

mind that in our classrooms there is at least one child that suffers from ADHD (DeShazo,

Lyman, & Grofer, 2002). These research studies show us the need of considering this kind of

problems, approaching diagnosis and intervention about ADHD. We also need to provide them

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with strategies that can help in their day to day life since there is still no total solution to the

problem.

Signs and Symptoms of ADHD

The researcher found that inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity are the core symptoms of

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. A child’s academic success is often dependent on his

or her ability to attend to tasks and the teacher and classroom expectations with minimal

distraction. Such skill enables a student to acquire necessary information, complete assignments

and participate in classroom activities and discussions (Forness & Kayale. 2001). The symptoms

of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are most often first recognized by the child’s teacher.

ADHD children have difficulty sitting still, maintaining their attention on the task at hand, and

thinking through their answers before they respond to questions. Although ADHD is distinctly

different from learning disability per se, the behvioural features that define the disorder short

attention span, distractibility, impulsivity, over activity occur on a continuum across the

population. Thus the ADHD diagnosis requires through consideration of the severity of the

symptoms and the relative degree of functional impairment.

The symptoms of the disorder may change as a child grows but many children with ADHD do

not grow out of it (Mannuzza, Klien&, Malloy 1998). The behaviour associated with ADHD

change as children grow older. Example preschool child may show gross motor over- activity

that is always running or climbing and frequently shifting from one activity to another. Older

children may be restless and fidget in their seats or play with their chairs or desks. They tend to

do their work carelessly. Adolescents are more withdrawn and less communicative.

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Diagnostic Criteria for ADHA

After researching the diagnostic criteria for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity

Disorder the researcher found that for a child to be diagnosis with ADHD the child must have six

or more signs and symptoms from one or both of the two categories; inattention or hyperactivity

and impulsivity according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

published by the American Psychiatric Association.

ADHD is diagnosed in five major steps, with each with specific criteria. For this to be

recognized the symptoms must appear before the child reaches age seven, persist for at least six

months and appear in the school environment as well as the home. There must also be clear

evidence of clinically significant impairment in social, academic or occupational functioning.

Diagnostic criteria for ADHA are based on extensive empirical research and, if applied

appropriately, lead to the diagnosis of a syndrome with high interrupter reliability, good face

validity, and high predictability of course and medication responsiveness. The criteria of what

constitutes ADHA in children have broadened, and there is a growing appreciation of the

persistence of ADHD into adolescence and adulthood. As a result, more children especially girls

are being diagnosed and treated with medication. Epidemiologic studies using standardized

diagnostic criteria suggest that 3% to 6% of the school-aged population may suffer from AHDA.

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Learning Strategies

A learning strategy is a plan or steps to take when learning something. Learning strategies

can help children acquire and retain knowledge. Learning strategies can be simple or complex:-

General cognitive strategies help students process, retrieve, or manipulate information, such as

note-taking, making a chart, or outlining an essay

Metacognitive strategies help students set goals, plan, or monitor and evaluate progress

Students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) make up a significant portion

of the students receiving intervention in schools. Bloom and Cohen report that 4.5 million

children in the United States between the ages of 3 and 17 had ADHD in 2006 (Bloom & Cohen,

2007). This disorder can have a significant impact on students’ academic success due to

difficulty with selective attention, sustained attention, impulsivity, and high levels of

activity. Learning strategies are a frequently used intervention for students with ADHD (Zentall,

2005). Furthermore, learning strategies to improve listening effectiveness are supported for

this population (Alberta Education, 2006). In order to get students to pay attention and focus

praising and using incentives are an incredible motivator. The use of multi- sensory activities

can enhance students because they are consider kinesthetic learners and any hands on activity

using manipulative can help learners process information effectively. Cooperative grouping is

one of the most effective strategies used when teaching ADHA students.

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Classroom Interventions

Some classroom interventions to assist teachers to work successfully with children with

ADHD are as follows: classroom structure, productive physical movement, peer interventions,

token economies and self-management. The interventions reviewed were presented on a

continuum from the least basic modifications needed in the classroom to those in which more

time and resources are involved. All the strategies reviewed were evidence based.

The heterogeneous nature of ADHD, with its variance in severity and response to treatments

mean that a full range of techniques must be at the instructor’s disposal. Myths about the

generalities and limited interventions have been addressed and dispelled in an article by DuPaul,

Eckert, and McGoey (1997). The researcher therefore, focuses on a variety of classroom

interventions that can have an effect on the characteristic impairments of students with ADHD.

Classroom Structure General Characteristics of ADHD are inattention, high distractibility

and impulsivity and hyperactivity. These traits make concentrating on school-work and lessons

are very difficult. To be successful academically, students with ADHD must be able to focus

their attention on the instructor and the lesson. Therefore, students with ADHD benefit greatly

from an orderly environment (Yehle & Wambold, 1998). For this reason, classroom structure is

one of the most salient areas of instructor influence in the classroom. The use of classroom

structure to alleviate the effects of ADHD in the classroom has received much value.

Peer Intervention When educators are attempting to modify the behavior of a student with

ADHD, enlisting the aid of classmates as a peer-mediated intervention offers many advantages

over those mediated by the classroom instructor (Barkley, 1998). Positive results of using peer

reinforcement systems include: being more efficient in delivering immediate and consistent

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feedback, promoting generalization across settings, and may consequently result in the improved

behavior and academic performance of the peer mediating the intervention. There are two

types of peer interventions. Peers can be used as a part of a contingency or as tutors. Using

peers as contingency groups, peers are given responsibility for general classroom behavior. This

can be as a whole class or as groups. Peers then are used as instruments for monitoring and

rewarding desirable social and academic behavior. Because of the need for ADHD students are

be accepted and the accessibility to immediate feedback, attention improves and impulsivity

decreases (Waschbush, & Hill, 2001). Peer tutoring is an instructional strategy where two

students work together on an academic activity with one student providing assistance, instruction

and feedback.

Productive Physical Movement Students with hyperactive symptoms may have difficulty

sitting still for prolonged periods of time. Planning for increased physical movement has been

shown to improve the on-task behavior of students with ADHD. It may be helpful to develop a

variety of physical activities such as stretch breaks, a trip to the office, a chance to sharpen a

pencil, taking a note to another teacher, watering the plants, feeding classroom pets, or simply

standing at a desk while completing class-work. Even the movement required by calculator use

has been shown to increase on-task behavior. Alternating seat- work activities with other

activities that allow for movement is essential. It is also important to keep in mind that on some

days it will be more difficult for the student to sit still than on others. Teachers need to be

flexible and modify instructional demands accordingly.

Token Economies According to DuPaul, Eckert, and McGoey (1997) other than stimulant

medication, the most widely evaluated treatment for ADHD has been the implementation of

token reinforcement and response cost systems in classroom settings. Classroom token

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economies involve the presentation (token reward) and or removal (response cost) or both of

tokens, points or other items. Initially, these items have no value until they are paired with

teacher praise and used to purchase back up items contingent upon specified desirable or

undesirable behaviors. First, discuss the problem with the student. In this portion, both

inappropriate and desired behaviors need to be discussed. Along with discussion, this may

include modeling of desired behavior and particular attention to the situations that these will

target. Token economies can be designed for individual students or for the entire class

(McLaughlin & Williams, 1988). Involving the entire class may be particularly effective when

peer contingencies are competing with instructor contingencies.

Self-Management Strategies Self-management procedures have emerged as an effective

approach for improving classroom behavior (Kern, Marder, Boyajian, Elliot, & McElhattan,

1997). Self- management strategies can be separated into measures based on the principles of

contingency management or cognitive control strategies. Interventions based on principles of

contingency management highlight the correlation between behavioral responses and their

consequences. In general, these measures require the student to evaluate his or her behavior and

apply the appropriate consequences after the behavior has occurred. Strategies such as self-

monitoring, self-reward and self-recording are examples of self management.

In concluding, the researcher is now well equipped to deal with students who are suffering

from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder after conducting such meaningful research. As

such great emphasis is placed on these students in order for them to perform academically. Since

education plays a major role in an individual life.

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References

1. American Psychiatric Association. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. In: Diagnostic and

Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, American Psychiatric Association, and
Arlington, VA 2013. p.59.

2. Birnbaum HG, Kessler RC, Lowe SW, Secnik K, Greenberg PE, Leong SA, et al. Costs of
attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the US: excess costs of persons with ADHD
and their family members in 2000. Current medical research and opinion 2005;21(2):195-206

3. McLaughlin, T. F., & Williams, R. L. (1988). The token economy in the classroom. In J. C.

Witt, S. W. Elliott, & F. M. Gresham (Eds.). Handbook of behavior therapy in education (pp.

469-487). New York, Plenum..

4, http://www.chiro.org/pediatrics/ABSTRACTS/ADD_Rationale.shtml

5. http://www.ldonline.org/article/8797/

6. Alberta Education. (2006). focusing on Success: Teaching Students with Attention

Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, grades 1-12. Retrieved May 3, 2010 from

http://education.alberta.ca/admin/special/resources/adhd.aspx

7. Bloom, B. & Cohen R. (2007). Summary health statistics Alberta Education. (2006).

Focusing on Success: Teaching Students with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, grades

1-12. Retrieved May 3, 2010 from http://education.alberta.ca/admin/special/resources/adhd.aspx

8. Alberta Education. (2006). Focusing on Success: Teaching Students with Attention

Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, grades 1-12. Retrieved May 3, 2010 from
http://education.alberta.ca/admin/special/resources/adhd.aspx

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9. Beckman, P. (2002). Strategy instruction. ERIC digest (Digest number E638). Arlington, VA:
ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education, Council for Exceptional Children.
(ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED474302).

10 .Bloom, B. & Cohen R. (2007). Summary health statistics for U.S. children: National health
interview survey, 2006. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Statistics, 10(234), 5.
Retreived May 3, 2010 from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_234.

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