Post by Veronika on Nov 4, 2003 16:46:10 GMT -5
How Does ADD/ADHD Affect School Performance?
Children with ADD are usually identified in school only after they consistently demonstrate their failure to understand or follow rules or complete required tasks. The most common referrals to special education are those for children who frequently disrupt the class, show a lack of attention, and exhibit poor academic performance.
While ADD is not a learning disability, the difficulties students with ADD have in focusing their attention reduces the amount of work they can accomplish, even when they show strong academic ability. Studies demonstrate that the ability to concentrate and focus is a better predictor of academic success than other measures of academic ability. For example, if a student is distracted and does not finish a test, most teachers do not give credit for blank responses, even if the student knows the answers.
Other factors also interfere with the ability of children with ADD to learn. These children make careless errors and respond without thinking. They frequently have trouble judging the importance of different information, losing main ideas in a flood of trivia. Some children with ADD have difficulty with abstract ideas, including the concept of cause and effect. Other students frequently cannot manage several different tasks at once, are poorly organized, or lose objects needed to perform tasks.
On average, children identified as hyperactive are at least three times more likely to stay back a grade and be suspended from school than children without ADHD.
What Are The Legal Rights Of Children With ADD?
The Federal government has established several legal provisions that affect the education of children with ADD-the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Students with ADD, like students with any other disability, do not automatically qualify for special education and related services under the IDEA without meeting certain conditions.
If a child with ADD is found not to be eligible for services under Part B of the IDEA, the requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 may be applicable if he or she meets the Section 504 definition of disability, which is any person who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits a major life activity such as learning. Thus, depending on the severity of their condition, children with ADD may or may not fit the definition of either or both laws; not all children with ADD are covered.
Although ADD is not a separate disability category under the IDEA, children with ADD who require special education and related services can be eligible for services under the "other health impaired" category of Part B of the IDEA when "the ADD is a chronic or acute health problem that results in limited alertness, which adversely affects educational performance." Children with ADD may also be eligible for services under the "specific learning disability" or "seriously emotionally disturbed" categories of the IDEA when they have those conditions in addition to their ADD.
These laws require schools to make modifications or adaptations for students whose ADD results in significant educational impairment. Children with ADD must be placed in a regular classroom, to the maximum extent appropriate to their educational needs, with the use of supplementary aids and services if necessary. While children covered under the IDEA must have an Individual Education Plan (IEP), students covered under Section 504 need a less formal individualized assessment.
However, when important changes are made in the regular education classroom, about half the children with ADD succeed in that setting without special education. Such changes may include: curriculum adjustments, alternative classroom organization and management, specialized teaching techniques and study skills, use of behavior management, and increased parent/teacher collaboration. Of course, the needs of some children with ADD cannot be met solely within the confines of a regular classroom and they may need related aids or services provided in other settings.
Children with ADD are usually identified in school only after they consistently demonstrate their failure to understand or follow rules or complete required tasks. The most common referrals to special education are those for children who frequently disrupt the class, show a lack of attention, and exhibit poor academic performance.
While ADD is not a learning disability, the difficulties students with ADD have in focusing their attention reduces the amount of work they can accomplish, even when they show strong academic ability. Studies demonstrate that the ability to concentrate and focus is a better predictor of academic success than other measures of academic ability. For example, if a student is distracted and does not finish a test, most teachers do not give credit for blank responses, even if the student knows the answers.
Other factors also interfere with the ability of children with ADD to learn. These children make careless errors and respond without thinking. They frequently have trouble judging the importance of different information, losing main ideas in a flood of trivia. Some children with ADD have difficulty with abstract ideas, including the concept of cause and effect. Other students frequently cannot manage several different tasks at once, are poorly organized, or lose objects needed to perform tasks.
On average, children identified as hyperactive are at least three times more likely to stay back a grade and be suspended from school than children without ADHD.
What Are The Legal Rights Of Children With ADD?
The Federal government has established several legal provisions that affect the education of children with ADD-the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Students with ADD, like students with any other disability, do not automatically qualify for special education and related services under the IDEA without meeting certain conditions.
If a child with ADD is found not to be eligible for services under Part B of the IDEA, the requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 may be applicable if he or she meets the Section 504 definition of disability, which is any person who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits a major life activity such as learning. Thus, depending on the severity of their condition, children with ADD may or may not fit the definition of either or both laws; not all children with ADD are covered.
Although ADD is not a separate disability category under the IDEA, children with ADD who require special education and related services can be eligible for services under the "other health impaired" category of Part B of the IDEA when "the ADD is a chronic or acute health problem that results in limited alertness, which adversely affects educational performance." Children with ADD may also be eligible for services under the "specific learning disability" or "seriously emotionally disturbed" categories of the IDEA when they have those conditions in addition to their ADD.
These laws require schools to make modifications or adaptations for students whose ADD results in significant educational impairment. Children with ADD must be placed in a regular classroom, to the maximum extent appropriate to their educational needs, with the use of supplementary aids and services if necessary. While children covered under the IDEA must have an Individual Education Plan (IEP), students covered under Section 504 need a less formal individualized assessment.
However, when important changes are made in the regular education classroom, about half the children with ADD succeed in that setting without special education. Such changes may include: curriculum adjustments, alternative classroom organization and management, specialized teaching techniques and study skills, use of behavior management, and increased parent/teacher collaboration. Of course, the needs of some children with ADD cannot be met solely within the confines of a regular classroom and they may need related aids or services provided in other settings.