Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD) 

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a condition that becomes apparent in some children in the preschool and early school years. It is hard for these children to control their behavior and/or pay attention. It is estimated that between 3 and 5 percent of children have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or approximately 2 million children in the United States. This means that in a classroom of 24 to 30 children, it is likely that at least one will have ADHD.

ADHD is not considered to be a learning disability. It can be determined to be a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), making a student eligible to receive special education services. However, ADHD falls under the category “Other Health Impaired” and not under “Specific Learning Disabilities.” Many children with ADHD – approximately 20 to 30 percent – also have a specific learning disability.

The principle characteristics of ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. There are three subtypes of ADHD recognized by professionals. These are the predominantly hyperactive/impulsive type (that does not show significant inattention); The predominantly inattentive type (that does not show significant hyperactive-impulsive behavior) sometimes called ADD; and the combined type (that displays both inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms). 

Other disorders that sometimes accompany ADHD are Tourette Syndrome (affecting a very small proportion of people with ADHD); oppositional defiant disorder (affecting as many as one-third to one-half of all children with ADHD); conduct disorder (about 20 to 40% of ADHD children); anxiety and depression; and bipolar disorder. 

*National Institute of Mental Health, 2003

Signs and Symptoms

• Fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes 
• May have poorly formed letters or words or messy writing 
• Has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities 
• Does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork or chores 
• Avoids or strongly dislikes tasks (such as schoolwork) that require sustained mental effort 
• Forgetful in daily activities 
• Has difficulty organizing tasks and activities 
• Loses things necessary for tasks or activities (pencils, assignments, tools) 
• Shows difficulty engaging in leisure activities quietly 
• Acts as if “driven by a motor” and cannot remain still 
• Blurts out answers to questions before the questions have been completed, often interrupts others 

Strategies

• Allow a child to change work sites frequently while completing homework or studying 
• Assign tasks involving movement such as passing out papers, running errands, watering plants 
• Use music as a tool for transitioning, song = task 
• Vary tone of voice: loud, soft, whisper 
• Stage assignments and divide work into smaller chunks with frequent breaks 
• Teach students to verbalize a plan before solving problems or undertaking a task 
• Permit a child to do something with hands while engaged in sustained listening: stress ball, worry stone, paper folding, clay 
• Use inconspicuous methods such as a physical cue to signal a child when she or he tunes out 
• Provide opportunities for student to show divergent, creative, imaginary thinking and get peer recognition for originality 
• Employ multi-sensory strategies when directions are given and lessons presented 

Excerpted from the LDA of California and UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute “Q.U.I.L.T.S.” Calendar 2001-2002
http://www.ldanatl.org/aboutld/teachers/understanding/adhd.asp


For Teachers

With 4 to 6 percent of all students classified as having specific learning disabilities (SLD) in our nation’s public schools, every teacher can expect to find students with learning disabilities in the classroom. Success for these students requires a focus on individual achievement, individual progress, and individual learning. Despite obstacles, recent research tells us that we can teach these students how to learn. We can put them into a position to compete!

Specific strategies apply to specific learning disabilities, and many are outlined here. You will also find tips for working with children who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Understanding Learning Disabilities and ADHD

Learning Disabilities: Signs, Symptoms and Strategies: The term “Learning Disabilities is a “umbrella” term describing a number of other, more specific learning disabilities. This article offers the signs and symptoms of each plus strategies to use at school and at home. Full article

Types of Learning Disabilities: A thorough review of the specific types of processing problems that result in learning disabilities.  Full article

Symptoms of Learning Disabilities: An overview of the diverse set of characteristics which affect development and achievement in people with learning disabilities.  Full article

ADHD: Signs, Symptoms and Strategies: While not considered to be a learning disability, many children with ADHD – approximately 20 to 30 percent – also have a specific learning disability (SLD). Full article

Accommodations, Techniques and Aids For Learning: Suggested ways to aid students with specific learning disabilities so they learn more effectively at home or at school.  Full article

Successful Strategies for Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities: A review of what the research tells us works for students with learning disabilities.  Full article

What is a SOP?: IDEA 04 now reguires a Summary of Performance (SOP) when exiting high school, instead of an evaluation. Families, teachers and students need to become familiar with the SOP used in their own high school. Full article

Teaching Reading 

Teacher to Teacher Workshops from the U.S. Department of Education:Some of the nation's best teachers and researchers will share their strategies for raising student achievement and informing teachers of the latest, successful research-based practices. Workshops are held during the summer months at various locations.More

Homework:Successful homework strategies for teachers. Full article

Why Reading Is Not a Natural Process: An overview of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) research in reading. Full article

Reading Instruction: Tips for Teachers: Instruction in both phonics and literature is essential to helping young children read. This list of tips provides a wealth of information on the fundamentals of teaching reading. Full article

Reading Methods and Learning Disabilities: An overview of the critical components of reading and tips on selecting appropriate reading methods.  Full article

Phonology: This Fact Sheet provides an overview of phonological processing and its critical role in teaching reading. Full article


Social/Emotional Aspects of Learning Disabilities

A Handicap With No Name: Poignant and instructive memories from childhood school days as a student with undiagnosed and untreated learning disabilities. By Dale S. Brown. Full article

Learning Despite Learning Disabilities: Facing the challenges of college academics and social situations isn't easy, especially if you have learning disabilities that haven't been identified. Author Dale S. Brown reflects upon lessons learned, for the benefit of students with learning disabilities going to college, and their teachers. Full article

A Letter to Grandma: Reflections of an adult on being a child with learning disabilities in a regular classroom without accommodations, diagnosis or treatment. By Dale S. Brown. Full article

Counseling Students with Learning Disabilities: Students with learning disabilities are in culture shock in their own culture. Their perceptual problems have made it difficult for them to pick up the hidden rules that others know instinctively. These tips will help you help them learn these rules. Full article

Social Acceptance of Students with Learning Disabilities: In spite of the enormous efforts put forth by families, the skilled special educators, and mental health professionals, the individual with a learning disability has one final challenge to meet in life: Social Acceptance. Full article

Social Adjustment Problems: An overview of the social consequences of learning disabilities. Full article

Learning the Language of Relationships: Tips for teaching non-verbal language skills. Full article 


Successful Strategies for Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities

Recent research confirms that we can teach students with learning disabilities how to learn. We can put them into a position to compete! Here are the strategies that work:

Lee Swanson (1999) and his colleagues found two major intervention practices that produced large outcomes. One is direct instruction. The other is learning strategy instruction. 

Teachers who were applying those kinds of intervention:
a. broke learning into small steps; 
b. administered probes; 
c. supplied regular quality feedback; 
d. used diagrams, graphics and pictures to augment what they were saying in words; 
e. provided ample independent, well-designed, intensive practice; 
f. modeled instructional practices that they wanted students to follow; 
g. provided prompts of strategies to use; and 
h. engaged students in process type questions like “How is that strategy working? Where else might you apply it?” 

Something else that seems to make a real difference is the practice of scaffolding. Start out with heavily teacher-mediated instruction -- explicit instruction – then as students begin to acquire the skill, moving down the continuum to more student-mediated instruction. 

Whether the student is learning in a general education classroom or pulled out into a special education resource setting, be sure that activities are focused on assessing individual students to monitor their progress through the curriculum. Concerns for the individual must take precedence over concerns for the group, and over concerns about the organization and management of the general education classroom. Success for the student with learning disabilities requires a focus on individual achievement, individual progress, and individual learning. This requires specific, directed, individualized, intensive remedial instruction of students who are struggling. 

Learning Disabilities Association of America
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