Attention
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
-
Kathie F Nunley
A
student diagnosed as ADD has a neurological disability. It affects
about 5% of the general population. Males outnumber females
4 to 1. There is a genetic component to ADD as it tends to run
in families. However, many prenatal and postnatal factors have
also been linked to ADD. All humans have an area in their brain
that serves as a sensory 'filter'. This area helps filter out
the important information from the unimportant so that we can
focus our attention.
If
you pause for a moment and concentrate on all the sensory stimuli
you are receiving, you will be overwhelmed. Listen with your
ears, what all can you hear? Feel with all your skin, what all
can you feel? Look with your eyes, what all can you see? Imagine
if all this information came into your brain with the same intensity
of importance. In other words, you could not filter out the
important from unimportant.
This
is the ADD/HD person. The area of their brain that filters material
has a chemical imbalance which limits blood flow and functioning.
Many students with ADD go unrecognized in high schools because
the hyperactivity component which frequently accompanies ADD
in childhood, often disappears as they leave elementary school
age. A hyperactive person is much easier to spot than a student
with an attention deficit.
Helpful
tips to include students with ADD:
*Be
clear on assignments. Provide written instructions to back-up
oral instructions.
*Provide
clear expectations and as much routine to the class as possible.
*Use the student's name BEFORE asking a question or giving directions.
*Student-centered, or active learning is preferable to teacher-centered
learning.
*Allow
extra time to process information.
*Color code assignment sheets and material.
*Provide
a place in the classroom for the student to leave their work
and materials between classes
Kathie
F. Nunley is an educational psychologist, author, researcher
and speaker living in southern New Hampshire. Developer of the
Layered Curriculum® method of instruction, Dr. Nunley has
authored several books and articles on teaching in mixed-ability
classrooms and other problems facing today's teachers. Full
references and additional teaching and parental tips are available
at: http://Help4Teachers.com Email her:
Kathie (at) brains.org
Dr Kathie Nunley