Inclusivity of an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Student
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is an illness characterized by insufficient attention of a child, and the child tends to be more active than normal. The affected children cannot manage behaviors in a school environment; hence they can be disruptive in class. The disorder affects three to five percent of children worldwide, and parents and teachers must recognize the signs and symptoms of ADHD in children (Whitely et al., 2018). Twenty to thirty percent of the children affected by this disorder may face writing, spelling, reading, and arithmetic challenges (Pelham et al., 2020). The condition may cause difficulties for students who will find it hard to express their thoughts. A teacher may find it complicated to manage a class with an ADHD pupil.
This year, I have a 14-year-old student who has ADHD and seems to annoy other students. He is quite intelligent but has trouble studying due to his illness. He always has things in disorder, destroys objects in the class, and insults other students. Sulasmi & Akrim (2019) state that schools are supposed to educate pupils with disability among normal students to maximum capacity. There is a need for the teachers to be flexible and tailor activities and practices that meet each student’s needs in the classroom.
The first step needed to achieve inclusivity is to obtain additional background knowledge about the student to discover the adaptations that need to be provided for the effective learning. The information would help me comprehend how to interact with the student and provide him with the support he needs to succeed in his education (Vienneau, 2004). His condition of ADHD illness does not undergo regular follow-up, and the student has difficulties with dual-task. The analysis of the student’s lifestyle shows that he has a great need for attachment and recognition and has low self-esteem.
Inclusion and integration remain the cornerstones of successful intervention for ADHD students. The first concept is based on the fact that people, regardless of their limitations, must be able to obtain the education they seek (Sulasmi & Akrim, 2019). Integration is the idea that children with special needs should not be separated from regular classes due to detrimental effects on their development in the future (Sulasmi & Akrim, 2019). When combined, these two aspects provide a clear path for the ADHD student, in this case, toward gradual development of social and learning skills. This approach eliminates the self-perceived limitations that the student has from his disorder and makes positive changes to his behavior (Harris, 2018). The current situation requires teachers and peers to establish a connection with the ADHD student to make him feel included and improve his self-esteem through acceptance.
The disability creation framework requires focusing on changing perspectives of the involved sides on the student’s involvement in social and educational processes (Fougeyrollas, 2005). The reduction of situations where the student will perceive himself as at a disadvantage must be lowered through attention and understanding from all involved sides (Fougeyrollas, 2005). The desired process is a complete integration of the ADHD student into his peer community and the educational processes.
Strategies for Building an Inclusive Classroom
Setting up a structured environment is effective in establishing day-to-day schedules and routines that are helpful for the student. There is a need for clear written instructions on how exercises will be carried out in the classroom (Mainardi, 2017). There is also a need to formulate collaborative group work in the classroom to encourage peer acceptance of the student. Peer tutoring should also be involved during each lesson, which is characterized by pairing the ADHD student with a peer tutor. ADHD student becomes positively and actively engaged with their peers and enhances their social behavior. Additional classroom modifications might include the integration of physical activities through fidgets and introduction of simple behavior rules in written form. The teacher should also regularly remind the students of standard regulations and encourage positive behavior.
The student may be allowed to wear headphones during quiet activities. Other antecedent-based measures include building an executive function of support for the student, computer-assisted instruction, and tutoring (Gaastra et al., 2020). For large class projects, the student will be provided with step charts for tracking work phases and brainstorming to prepare resources they will use for work. Additionally, I will provide options for them for working environments and alternative sitting positions to meet the students’ preferences.
Teaching Pedagogy
Several principles are required for an inclusive teaching pedagogy. The principles include being equitable and ensuring consistency in class and accessibility for all students, including my ADHD student. Working collaboratively with the ADHD student and the whole class at large will effectively make a better learning environment for the student (Rousseau et al., 2014). I should embrace diversity and be ready to learn and develop an awareness of the ADHD condition. Another principle concerns personalization in the classroom and recognition that the personal differences of my students govern the success of learning.
Social-Oriented Environmental Changes
Consequently, it is crucial to encourage the social development of students with ADHD. The environmental modifications include changes in attitude, social networking, and collaborations. The teacher should encourage the social interaction of the ADHD student with peers. The research by van der Oord and Tripp (2020) demonstrates that reinforcement of socially adaptive behavior reduces the negative effect of ADHD in learning. I plan to focus on motivational processes to help students with ADHD get involved in groups with peers and create a healthy environment for social interaction. Moreover, collaboration with other classroom groups and peer teachers might be useful for students with ADHD to understand acceptable social behavior.
Furthermore, the teacher should implement active lessons where the students will be involved in activities that will prevent boredom in class, resulting in loss of attention for the ADHD student. During such assignments, the teacher might utilize role definition to establish the lesson structure and minimize distractions. As a result, the teacher should adhere to the learning philosophies that aim to make learning resources and experiences convivial and accessible to all learners regardless of their differences (CRISPESH, min 0:24-3:40). I intend to incorporate these strategies into my teaching process and help students with ADHD become a part of the social group.
Reflection on the Current System
The current system is relatively inflexible and does not allow students with ADHD to learn in customized classes. According to the research, most teachers report that working conditions and classroom situations are the two most notable barriers to inclusive teaching of students with ADHD (Gaastra et al., 2020). As a result, I have to manage the tensions between the students with ADHD and students with socially-accepted behaviors. This problem frequently leads to disruptions in the learning process, and additional measures are required to create an inclusive and welcoming environment. Evidently, the resources of the school are limited, but I believe that students with ADHD need further attention concerning individual action plans and opportunities for social interaction.
Context Analysis
Consequently, I intend to use a situation analysis tool to determine the aspects of learning that need to be improved. It is an effective instrument of teaching design that helps to understand the students’ needs and adjust the learning process (Cong & Yu, 2020). Furthermore, self-assessment of practices will be needed to ensure appropriate evaluation of the situation and analysis. Self-assessment will be effective in allowing the student to reflect on their work after implementing the strategy and evaluate their progress. I will let the student reflect on what strategies they feel are best for them and motivate them to continue with their practices. However, my role will involve overseeing the student’s behavior and encouraging the positive side of their reactions. I will appreciate every effort made by the student to motivate them and appreciate their participation.
Action Strategies
It is necessary to implement several strategies to improve the learning process. As mentioned briefly before, antecedent-based classroom management strategies (CMSs), such as seating, computer assistance, tutoring, and wearing headphones, might help reduce the negative effect of ADHD (Gaastra et al., 2020). However, it is necessary to implement consequence-based measures as well, including verbal praise, reward systems, behavior examples, and potentially reprimands to teach students about social rules (Gaastra et al., 2020). These actions support the environmental objective to make the classroom more inclusive and welcoming for students with ADHD while also teaching pupils about the importance of socially acceptable behavior. As a result, I would focus on antecedent-based and consequence-based CMSs as prioritized actions first because they do not require significant resource allocation from the school.
Individualized Strategies
Consequently, it might be beneficial to implement individualized classroom management strategies (CMSs) for students with ADHD. The recent research by Gaastra et al. (2020) demonstrates that most teachers do not use work-intensive techniques, such as daily report cards, reward systems, and behavioral modifications. Nevertheless, these methods are positive-oriented CMSs that might effectively include the student with ADHD in the social group and help him in the integration process. These methods might require additional funding from the school, but I believe that they will significantly help the students with ADHD or other limitations to experience the best learning process possible. Furthermore, they would allow to minimize class disruptions and make the learning process for other students more enjoyable as well. As a result, I would like to implement individualized CMSs with the help of the school resources.
Research Findings
In summary, the proposed action plan with the focus on antecedent-based and consequence-based CMSs might significantly improve the learning conditions in the class. This approach allows to mitigate the effect of ADHD on the learning process and adhere to the needs of the student. Moreover, it contributes to the academic progress of other students who are troubled by the disruptive actions of the pupil with ADHD. In the examined situation, I believe that collaboration between teachers and the school in the learning process is essential to help the students.
From these considerations, the change of paradigm from the problem of the student to the issue of the context is necessary. I believe that the school needs to allocate more resources to the problems of students with ADHD and other complications to make the learning process more inclusive and welcoming. Diverse treatment techniques are based on differing theoretical beliefs on ADHD psycho-behavioral functioning (Harris, 2018). The trend in ADHD intervention is anticipated to continue toward a multi-directional approach, away from a single-directional child-centered technique to a context problem. This concept implies that greater effort should be made to build acceptable assessment procedures for assessing novel constructs that evaluate interpersonal interactions within the environments of ADHD students.
References
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