Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder & Autism in the Classroom

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder & Autism in the Classroom

When teaching it must be expected that there will be students that have behavioral disorders. These disorders must be taken into consideration when giving these students the best education possible. Teachers must accommodate to these children and incorporate them into the daily classroom. Every teacher has their own methods of doing this and can use their creativity to come up with these strategies for teaching. Some strategies may not work, so instructors must put much thought into how they are going to accommodate to these particular students.

A very common disorder in children is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD. These students have a difficult time holding attention due to the lack of the ability to concentrate. These students tend to act impulsively, have attention deficits, and sometimes exude hyperactive behaviors. Children that have ADHD do not qualify for special education unless they also have another disability. Approximately 7.8 percent of children from the ages of 4 to 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD, research also shows that males are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD over women. These ratios vary from 4:1 to 9:1. These students with ADHD can be impulsive, which means they act before they think or before considering the situation that they are currently in. They also have a hard time concentrating and find it difficult to sit still. There are medications for ADHD, and they are prescribed often, there are also a variety of drugs that have been proven to make a child with ADHD more attentive and improve their academic performance. Unfortunately, these drugs have side effects such as weight loss, blood pressure chan...

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...ed or wanted. I would also encourage parents to enroll their child in to sensory therapy such as occupational therapy, sensory integration, and developmental optometry therapy to help with possible vision issues. Medication wise I would encourage parents to prescribe their child to Prozac to assist in lowering anxiety, I would encourage this in older aged students.

Both ADHD and autism are disorders that all teachers must be educated in before going into this profession. It is important to know the different strategies that can be used to be the most helpful instructor to these students. It is also very important to incorporate these students into the classroom and encourage good social skills with peers. By paying close attention to these students instructors are able to come up with the best strategy to provide the best education to these individuals.