Attention Deficit Disorder: Practical Activities in School

A study has found that only 35 per cent of primary school teachers have had any training in understanding or managing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The research which was reported at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in Liverpool, showed that most teachers had little understanding of the genetic origins of ADHD, with only about 7 per cent agreeing that it was a genetic disorder.

This of course raises the issue of other genetic disorders - such as dyslexia and dyscalculia. The point being of course that with a genetic disorder one cannot speak of a "cure" but one can foster ways of overcoming the problem - through the use of medication for ADHD or through multi-sensory teaching approaches for dyscalculia and dyslexia.

The majority of teachers in the ADHD were surveyed at six Plymouth primary schools. They were also found to have limited understanding about the use of stimulant medication to treat the condition, and whether or not ADHD is being over-diagnosed.

This does not mean that there is a UK wide problem with understanding such issues, but my own observation is that information on these issues is sometimes not fully understood.

This book, ADD: Practical Activities in School, comes in photocopiable form so that you can share it with colleagues in the school, and goes from details of what ADD is and how it can be recognised, through daily work with ADD children and the specific issues that relate to ADD from impulsiveness to homework, from rewards to specific activities such as sport and the arts. 

Cat No: 978 1 86083 145 4