Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder as a Disability Category: A Critique

1993 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 198-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Reid ◽  
John W. Maag ◽  
Stanley F. Vasa
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Special Education Services ◽  
Academic Difficulties ◽  
Education Services ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Students With Adhd ◽  
Social And Cultural Factors

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has generated a great deal of interest recently among the special education profession. Various groups have advocated making ADHD a separate disability category under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. As a result, children with this disorder would be eligible for special education services. Proponents argue that at least 50% of students with ADHD currently are not receiving special education services they require under existing categories. The argument for considering ADHD as a disability category rests on the assumption that it is a valid psychiatric disorder and is characterized by academic difficulties. We challenge the validity of these assumptions and examine social and cultural factors we believe fuel the perceived need for ADHD as a new disability category.

scholarly journals Heavy Drinking in University Students With and Without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Contributions of Drinking Motives and Protective Behavioral Strategies

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 117822181772331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea L Howard ◽  
Tyler R Pritchard
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Heavy Drinking ◽  
Alcohol Problems ◽  
Drinking Motives ◽  
Behavioral Strategies ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Protective Behavioral Strategies ◽  
Protective Strategies ◽  
Students With Adhd

This study examined rates of heavy drinking and alcohol problems in relation to drinking motives and protective behavioral strategies in university students with a documented current diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; n = 31) compared with students with no history of ADHD (n = 146). Participants completed a Web-based questionnaire, and logistic regression models tested interactions between ADHD/comparison group membership and motives and protective strategies. Group differences in rates of heavy drinking and alcohol problems were not statistically significant, but medium-sized risk ratios showed that students without ADHD reported heavy drinking at a rate 1.44 times higher than students with ADHD and met screening criteria for problematic alcohol use at a rate of 1.54 times higher than students with ADHD. Other key findings were, first, that drinking to enhance positive affect (e.g., drinking because it is exciting), but not to cope with negative affect (e.g., drinking to forget your worries), predicted both heavy drinking and alcohol problems. Second, only protective behavioral strategies that emphasize alcohol avoidance predicted both heavy drinking and alcohol problems. Contrary to expectations, we found no ADHD-related moderation of effects of motives or protective strategies on our alcohol outcomes. Results of this study are limited by the small sample of students with ADHD but highlight tentative similarities and differences in effects of motives and strategies on drinking behaviors and alcohol problems reported by students with and without ADHD.

Research on the Educational Implications of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

1993 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sydney S. Zentall
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cognitive Disability ◽  
Academic Problems ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Educational Implications ◽  
Students With Adhd

This article summarizes the major academic problems of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and addresses the extent to which these problems are secondary to ADHD, rather than a part of a co-occurring learning or cognitive disability. The article delineates the academic problems of students with ADHD in relation to their primary characteristics—how one influences the nature of the other. Treatment implications are discussed to indicate how educators might modify classroom settings to enhance the academic achievement of students with ADHD.

Perceptual-visual-motor measures, reading and properties of eye movements of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

2021 ◽  
pp. 252-270
Author(s):  
Simone Aparecida Capellini ◽  
Isabela Pires Metzner ◽  
Noemi Del Bianco ◽  
Ilaria D’Angelo ◽  
Aldo Caldarelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Motor Deficit ◽  
Reading Processes ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Group I ◽  
Visual Motor ◽  
Students With Adhd

This study is aimed to compare and relate the performance of students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and with good academic performance in the perceptual-visual-motor and reading processes, and to verify the eye movements' pattern of students with ADHD during reading. Twenty students from primary school, both male and female, and aged between eight and twelve years old, participated in this study. They were divided into two groups: Group I (GI): composed of 20 students with an interdisciplinary diagnosis of ADHD, and Group II (GII): composed of 20 students with an equal good academic performance according to gender, age group and education with GI. All students were submitted to the Reading Processes Assessment protocol (PROLEC), Developmental Test of Visual Perception 3 (DTVP 3). PROLEC text reading test was administered to the students, also through the computer support. During this activity, the Gazepoint GP3 Eye Tracker equipment was used, which records the eye movements and analyses their properties by using the Gazepoint Analysis UX Edition Software for capturing eye movement during reading. These procedures were applied individually with students from both groups. The results were statistically analyzed, and revealed that the difficulties of students with ADHD in the reading processes could be justified by the perceptual-visual-motor deficit, and the shorter fixing time for capturing the information of each word read. This compromises the ability to identify and decode words, leading to difficulty in accessing meaning at the level of words and texts.

Parents as Partners in the Special Education Process

2016 ◽  
pp. 263-276
Author(s):  
Cynthia Sistek-Chandler
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Individual Education Plan ◽  
Special Education Services ◽  
Education Services ◽  
Education Experience ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Special Education Process ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Individual Education

The purpose of this chapter is to provide Pre-K through college educators, parents, and administrators who are involved with special education, insight into the processes and procedures from the perspective of a parent. The parent's perspective and involvement with their special needs child is critical in shaping the lifelong, special education experience. The literature and research shows a strong correlation to student success when parents are actively involved in this process. Rooted in the federal and state guidelines from the 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), all students are entitled to education services from birth through age 21. Recommendations for the Individual Education Plan process as well as strategies for navigating special education services are revealed in this narrative.

Intensifying Reading Instruction for Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Practices to Support Classroom Instruction and Family–School Collaboration

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-51
Author(s):  
Garrett J. Roberts ◽  
Gloria E. Miller ◽  
Gavin W. Watts ◽  
Dina K. Malala ◽  
Brigette E. Amidon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Reading Instruction ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Behavioral Outcomes ◽  
Reading Deficits ◽  
Reading Deficiencies ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
School Collaboration ◽  
Students With Adhd ◽  
Research Based Practices

Many students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also have reading deficits. These reading deficiencies in students with ADHD are likely to be more severe than those of students with only reading difficulties. To intensify reading instruction to improve reading and behavioral outcomes for students with ADHD, this article describes research-based practices which can be integrated into the classroom reading instruction as well as foster family–school collaboration.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Functional Approach to Assessment and Treatment

1994 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Maag ◽  
Robert Reid
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Functional Approach ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Assessment And Treatment ◽  
Treatment Research ◽  
Alternative Conceptualization ◽  
Social And Cultural Factors ◽  
Psychopharmacological Agents ◽  
Selection Of

Although numerous terms have been used to describe Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) during the past several decades, it has continued to be conceptualized from a biological or neurological perspective. Consequently, much research has accumulated investigating possible biological and neurological causes, developing better diagnostic criteria, and accumulating medication protocols. Despite voluminous amounts of research, little consensus has been reached as to the best way to define and diagnose ADHD. Consequently, it becomes difficult to generate and test hypotheses related to the etiology, characteristics, and treatment of this disorder. One problem relates to how ADHD is conceptualized. In approaching ADHD as a psychiatric condition, assessment usually focuses on improving diagnostic precision. Similarly, most treatment research has dealt with the use of psychopharmacological agents, such as Ritalin. Yet, there are many ways to conceptualize “disorders.” We begin this article by suggesting that ADHD has become reified as a result of social and cultural factors. We present an alternative conceptualization based on a functional approach to the assessment and treatment of ADHD. Based on this functional approach, we present a model for classifying performance problems that can be used to guide the selection of appropriate intervention techniques.

scholarly journals Urinary Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Metabolites and Attention/Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Learning Disability, and Special Education in U.S. Children Aged 6 to 15

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaynah Abid ◽  
Ananya Roy ◽  
Julie B. Herbstman ◽  
Adrienne S. Ettinger
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Learning Disability ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Developmental Disorders ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Pah Metabolites ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
Pah Exposure ◽  
The Relationship

Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) adversely affects child neurodevelopment, but little is known about the relationship between PAHs and clinically significant developmental disorders. We examined the relationship between childhood measures of PAH exposure and prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disability (LD), and special education (SE) in a nationally representative sample of 1,257 U.S. children 6–15 years of age. Data were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001–2004. PAH exposure was measured by urinary metabolite concentrations. Outcomes were defined by parental report of (1) ever doctor-diagnosed ADHD, (2) ever doctor- or school representative-identified LD, and (3) receipt of SE or early intervention services. Multivariate logistic regression accounting for survey sampling was used to determine the associations between PAH metabolites and ADHD, LD, and SE. Children exposed to higher levels of fluorine metabolites had a 2-fold increased odds (95% C.I. 1.1, 3.8) of SE, and this association was more apparent in males (OR 2.3; 95% C.I. 1.2, 4.1) than in females (OR 1.8; 95% C.I. 0.6, 5.4). No other consistent pattern of developmental disorders was associated with urinary PAH metabolites. However, concurrent exposure to PAH fluorine metabolites may increase use of special education services among U.S. children.

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