Monograph: Enough! The Teacher and the Education of Students with ADHD

We have all met children who, at first glance, seem ill-mannered, as if their parents could not manage parenting them, or did not pay attention to them at all. Children who are always on the move even when they should be seated, children who interrupt adults when speaking, and those who “constantly” cry. ADHD manifests itself this way. Parents and teachers know that raising these children is a difficult nut to crack.

The book is intended mainly for teachers, but all parents of hyperactive children and children with attention-deficit disorder will find valuable information in it.

What will you learn from this book? • How to handle a student’s aggressive behavior? • Which approaches to take with hyperactive students? • How to support a student with ADHD? • How to organize the classroom? • How to teach in a class where students have attention deficits? • How to deal with negative criticism from parents? • How to create effective cooperation with parents? • How not to discourage a student through criticism?

Introduction

We have all met children who, at first glance, seem ill-mannered, as if their parents could not manage parenting them, or did not pay attention to them at all. Children who are always on the move even when they should be seated, children who interrupt adults in speech, and those who “constantly” cry. ADHD manifests itself this way. Parents and teachers know that raising these children is a difficult nut to crack.

Given the common occurrence of this disorder, in this monograph we want to point to its manifestations in children of primary school age and to the importance of a positive attitude by teachers toward these children. We focus on the educational environment of the school. We emphasize the importance of praising and rewarding during instruction, as well as the need to provide pedagogical support to students. If we are to eliminate undesirable manifestations of ADHD in children, parents, teachers, and several professionals must work together.

The aim of the monograph is to offer teachers effective methods of educating students with ADHD. In the empirical part, the goal is to verify the symptoms of this syndrome based on teachers’ statements and to propose recommendations aimed at educating these children.

A contribution of the monograph is interviews with experts, a survey among students on the impact of negative teacher evaluations on their self-confidence, but above all a qualitative study conducted through interviews with teachers. The questionnaire for teachers can help in recognizing ADHD in a student and then in setting an individual plan in the school environment.

The recipients are primarily teachers, caregivers, teaching assistants, coaches, as well as professionals who come into contact with children with attention and hyperactivity disorders (school psychologist, speech therapist, special educator, assistant, social pedagogue).

1 ADHD DISORDER 1.1 DEFINITION OF THE CONCEPT ADHD 1.2 PREVALENCE OF ADHD 1.3 MANIFESTATIONS OF ADHD 1.4 SUMMARY

2 SCHOOL 2.1 STUDENT WITH ADHD 2.1.1 How ADHD Affects Learning in Primary School 2.1.2 Survey of Students 2.1.3 Case Study 2.2 TEACHER 2.2.1 Teacher’s Personality 2.2.2 Impact of Teachers’ Attitudes on a Student with ADHD 2.2.3 Pathway to Success – Cooperation 2.2.4 Educating Students with ADHD 2.2.5 Programs in Schools 2.3 TOOLS FOR TEACHERS 2.3.1 Impulsive Conflicts in Class 2.3.2 Praise, Positive Encouragement and Rewarding 2.3.3 Providing Support and Pedagogical Help to Students 2.3.4 Classroom Lesson Flow Focused on Students with ADHD 2.3.5 Recommendations for Teachers of Students with ADHD 2.4 SUMMARY

3 RESEARCH PROCESS 3.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH Research Method 3.2 DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES AND DATA PROCESSING

4 EDUCATION OF STUDENTS WITH ADHD 4.1 STUDENT WITH ADHD IN THE TEACHING PROCESS 4.1.1 Characterization of the Problems of a Student with ADHD 4.1.2 Characterization of Relationships in the Classroom 4.2 TEACHER OF A STUDENT WITH ADHD 4.2.1 Characterization of the Teacher’s Situation 4.2.2 Major Problems of the Teacher in the Teaching Process 4.2.3 Teachers’ Attitudes 4.2.4 Recommendations for Managing the Manifestations of a Student with ADHD 4.3 MUTUAL COOPERATION 4.3.1 Cooperation with Parents 4.3.2 Cooperation with Specialists 4.4 CHANGES AFTER INTRODUCTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL PLAN 4.4.1 Change in Teachers’ Attitudes Toward a Student with ADHD 4.4.2 Change in the Behavior of a Student with ADHD 4.4.3 Changes in Classmates 4.5 SUMMARY

5 DISCUSSION 5.1 INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS 5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Conclusion

The purpose of the presented monograph was to analyze ADHD and possible ways of mitigating the manifestations of this disorder in students through cooperation among teachers, parents, and professionals. Through the research, our aim was also to document whether in practice cooperation between teachers and parents and mutual communication also with specialists in the area of ADHD works.

The openness and trust that all participants—teachers—provided during the interviews were considered extremely valuable attributes. They allowed us to understand teachers’ efforts to help students with ADHD and to create a suitable environment during teaching, and also showed that teachers are exposed to considerable pressure when working with these students.

An additional contribution is the survey conducted among students, which points to the impact of negative teacher behavior on their self-confidence, as well as a case study in which the personal experience of a man with ADHD in contact with teachers is described.

The interviews carried out with the principal of a primary school, a child psychologist and a special educator, concerning experiences with ADHD, point to the effort to help students with this disorder as effectively as possible.

Access to foreign specialist literature allowed us to compare the situation in Poland, in Russia, in America, in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia.

The significance of the monograph lies in pointing to the importance of mutual cooperation between teachers and parents and specialists, as well as in recommendations on how to work with students with ADHD.

In 2018, a book for parents of children with ADHD was also published (“Ja sa z teba zbláznim! Rodičia a výchova detí s ADHD”). For the correct understanding of the demanding task of raising children with ADHD—for parents, but also for teachers—we recommend reading both monographs. Each provides research in the form of interviews. Our aim is to create a willingness for cooperation and understanding that parents and teachers are on the same boat. After all, it is about the good of the children for whom ADHD greatly complicates life.

The publication can be beneficial not only for teachers, assistants and caregivers, but also for students in pedagogical fields.

Title: ENOUGH! The Teacher and the Education of Students with ADHD Author: PaedDr. Soňa Vancáková, PhD.

Reviewers: ks. prof. dr hab. Piotr Miorciniec Doc. PaedDr. Zuzana Chanasová, PhD.

Text typesetting: Monika Hrušková Cover design: Diana Matláková Publisher: EQUILIBRIA, s.r.o., www.equilibria.sk, www.IQknihy.sk Printing: EQUILIBRIA, s.r.o., 040 01 Košice ISBN 978-80-8143-237-8