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ADD - WHAT PARENTS SHOULD
KNOW
Published By
Division of
Innovation and Development
Office of Special Education Programs
Office
of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
U.S. Department of
Education
If you believe your child shows signs of Attention
Deficit Disorder–short attention span, impulsive behavior, and
hyperactivity–there are several steps you can take. Since most
children occasionally show some of these signs, ask yourself if the
behavior you are concerned about is persistent and if your child
consistently exhibits such behavior in most settings.
If so, you should first consult with others who know
the child well, such as relatives and family friends. Talk to them about
the ADD behaviors and have them indicate the ones they see your child
regularly exhibit. You also may want to keep notes on your child’s
behavior.
Next, speak to your child’s teachers, as many
behaviors characteristic of ADD are most visible in the classroom. Your
child’s teachers may want to complete a checklist on ADD signs or use
their own experience with other children with ADD to help you reach some
conclusions of your own. In many cases, teachers may be the first to
suspect a child has ADD and notify the parent(s). Keep in mind that some
children show behaviors similar to children with ADD when they have
learning problems stemming from other causes.
In addition, you should consult with a physician or
other health care provider. A doctor will know the medical signs of ADD
and can recommend local sources of information or a psychologist for your
child to see. The physician should give your child a general medical exam
and perhaps recommend a neurological evaluation if he believes it
necessary.
There are two primary federal laws applying to the
education of children with ADD, the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
These laws are discussed in “Attention Deficit Disorder: Adding Up
the Facts,” which is also in this information kit.
If you believe that your child has a disability
whether resulting from ADD or any other impairment and the school district
believes that your child may need special education or related services,
the school district must evaluate your child. If the school district does
not evaluate a child, it must notify the parents of their due process
rights. According to federal law, a school is responsible for providing an
educational diagnosis of a child. To determine a child’s level of
disability and best treatment, a multi- disciplinary team is formed that
includes teachers, parents, and someone with training in child
psychopathology (usually the school psychologist or school social worker).
At the meeting with these professionals, you should
have your notes on your child’s behaviors with you, and you also
should bring report cards and any comments about your child made by
teachers. Later, you may have the opportunity to fill out a standardized
rating scale that compares your child’s behaviors to those of
children already diagnosed with ADD. Ideally, the team should follow a
two-tiered approach to first determine the presence of ADD symptoms and
then to determine its adverse effect on academic performance.
Once your child is evaluated and determined to have
ADD, the school and the teacher may design modifications in your child’s
classroom and schoolwork based on his or her needs and abilities. The
school may provide assistance and training in study skills, classroom
management, and organization. A student should have access to a continuum
of services, from pull-out programs that give the student individualized
attention in a resource room to related aids and services provided in the
classroom. Teachers have found that in order to help children with ADD
they frequently need to make modifications in the lesson, its
presentation, and its organization as well as specialized behavioral
management.
Parents and teachers should work together and
communicate frequently with one another to form a complete picture of a
child to note changes in his or her behavior. If your child is taking
medication, you should request notes on his or her progress and notify the
school of any changes in medication. Since children with ADD have
difficulty obeying two different sets of rules, parents and teachers
should agree on the same rules and the same management system. If your
child’s teachers do not have much knowledge about ADD, you should
meet with them, explain your child’s problems, and give them copies
of this information sheet and other sources of information on ADD.
Medication of children with ADD remains
controversial. Medication is not a cure and should not be used as the only
treatment strategy for ADD. While doctors, psychiatrists, and other health
care professionals should be consulted for advice, ultimately you must
make the final decision about whether or not to medicate your child.
The short-term benefits of medication include a
decrease in impulsive behavior, in hyperactivity, in aggressive behavior,
and in inappropriate social interaction and an increase in concentration,
in academic productivity, and in effort directed toward a goal.
However, studies show that the long-term benefits of
medication on social adjustment, thinking skills, and academic achievement
are very limited. If you do choose to use medication, you should observe
your child for possible side effects. Some children lose weight, lose
their appetite, or have problems falling asleep. Less common side effects
include slowed growth, a tic disorder, and problems with thinking or with
social interaction. These effects usually can be eliminated by reducing
the dosage or changing to a different medication.
Children with ADD can learn to control some aspects
of their behavior and to succeed in school and at home. When parents
establish and enforce a few rules and maintain a system of rewards,
children incorporate such rules into their daily routine. Remember that
every child, with or without ADD, has individual strengths and weaknesses.
Once you identify your child’s strengths, you can use them to build
your child’s self-esteem and help to provide the confidence your
child needs to tackle whatever he or she finds difficult.
- Discipline can best be maintained by
establishing a few consistent rules with immediate consequences whenever
each rule is broken. Rules should be phrased positively in terms of what
your child should do. Praise your child and reward him or her for good
behavior.
- Children with ADD respond well to a structured
system of rewards for good behavior. This system encourages the child to
work in order to earn privileges or rewards he or she wants by
accumulating points for desired behaviors and removing points for
undesirable behaviors. You can make charts or use tokens or stickers to
show your child the consequences of good behavior. You should only work
on a few behaviors at one time and add additional behaviors as others
are learned.
- Make a written agreement (a contract) with your
child in which the child agrees to do his or her homework every night or
to demonstrate other desired behavior in return for a privilege he or
she selects, such as the right to watch a certain television show. If
your child does not fulfill the contract, remove the promised privilege.
- Another effective strategy is to provide a
specified time-out location for your child to go when he or she is out
of control. This should not be seen as a place of punishment, but as a
place the child uses to calm down. Younger children may need to be told
to go to the time-out location, but older children should learn to sense
when they need to calm down and go on their own.
- Set up a study area away from distractions and
establish a specific time each day for the child to do homework. Do not
allow your child to do homework near the television set or the radio.
- Devise a calendar of long-term assignments and
other tasks. Keep this on the refrigerator door or other visible place
where it can remind your child of what he or she needs to do.
- Have the teacher make a checklist of homework to
be completed and items to be brought to school the next day. Before your
child goes to bed, check the list to make sure everything has been
completed.
- In general, punishing the child is not as
effective as using praise and rewards. Rather than focusing on
weaknesses, you should assist your child in developing personal
strengths.
- Avoid emotional reactions such as anger,
sarcasm, and ridicule. Remember your child has problems with control,
and it only makes him or her feel worse to be told a task is easy or
anyone can do it. However, short, mild reprimands can remind children to
focus their attention.
Children with ADD may require additional help in
managing the transition to independent adulthood. They may need help
learning how to structure their time and how to prioritize what they have
to do. As children grow older, you can give them more responsibility so
they can learn from their own decisions.
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