ADD Case Study

Introduction Fernando has a condition called Attention Deficit Disorder. It is a real medical condition which doctors define as impairment to the executive functions (cognitive management system) in his brain.

He is seven years old; he is a second grade student at American School. He lives with both of his parents, a little sister but spend most of his time with his grandparents and 80 year old nanny.

He has difficulty concentrating, unrelated thoughts, has problems focusing and sustaining attention, appears not to be listening; has difficulty organizing, and completing tasks on time, has problems learning new things.

He also demonstrates poor self-regulation of behavior to fit different situations and settings.

Differences and Similarities: He is the same size as all boys his age; He is, however, a bit thinner than the rest of his classmates. He doesn't like to eat at school; he uses his free time to play and his lunchbox returns home intact at the end of the day. Like his classmates, he loves to watch cartoons, he loves bakugans and similar toys, but when you enter his neat room, you'd be astonished by the experiments and amount of dinosaurs, puzzle and collection airplanes he poses. He loves creating things, and even though he's quiet and observant, you know he's trying to decipher how these things function by the way he stares at them. He loves the Discovery Channel, National Geographics and watching fascinating documentaries. Despite the dark circles under his eyes, his thin body and the fact he speaks in a baby voice, he is one of the most knowledgeable students in his class. He lives with both of his parents and his little sister, but spends most of his time with his grandparents, who are his neighbors and his older nanny. Fernando is very easily distracted. He cannot sit still for long periods of time and has difficulty staying on task. He has difficulty with long instructions and is constantly asking "is this okay?" to feel secure that his work is done right. Fernando has a very positive attitude towards school and his curiosity is his drive. He is very respectful to his peers and teachers, and does not complain about his work. He knows when to work and when to play, which is what has helped him cope with his disorder.

Learning Communities: Fernando is a part of different learning communities. The first one is his home. He lives with his parents, little sister and the nanny. Across the street from his home are his grandfather and grandmother. He doesn't spend much time with his parents because they both work and return home really late. He spends most of the time with his nanny that is really old, and cant control them. After school Fernando gets picked up by his mother at school, is taken home and tries to work on his homework with the help of his nanny in Spanish homework and his tutor, twice a week on all other subjects. Since he does not eat during school, he takes many breaks and eats during work time. While he works, his little sister and cousin with Down syndrome are playing and running around him, being a major distraction. He has a really hard time trying to concentrate with all this going on. After his work is done he spends time with his grandparents across the street. They are a really big influence on him. When you hear him speak its like if you are listening to a grown person, except for the fact it's with a baby voice. After the visit to his grandparents Fernando goes home to spend some time watching television. He enjoys educational shows and cartoons. The rest of the day he spends it in school. School is a fun place for him. He enjoys going. He plays with his two friends Daniel and Eduardo. They don't like soccer or getting dirty. They prefer playing pretend, or chasing each other. They also enjoy sneaking toys into school and playing with them. They love playing on the bleachers, crawling around like lions and tigers.

Activities: After a long period of time of getting inconsistent grades from Fernando and not receiving any help at all from home (parents have not yet accepted he needs medication and possibly a tutor) His teacher, Mr. Mathis and assistant Miss C. had no choice but to take matters into their own hands. Whole group instructions are not his strong point. Students here are sitting on the rug in a circle, and are given a worksheet to read aloud together as a class and discuss what is to be done step by step.

This is a time to pay attention, stay on task and sit for extended periods of time. Students return to their seat to work on their assignment and usually Miss C has to sit with Fernando to give him individualized instructions. She usually has him do one part of the assignment with her first, gives him a break and then returns to it later. They go over the instructions together and she makes sure he understands what to do. Fernando needs constant reassurance that he is doing his work right, he needs stickers and other methods of positive reinforcement to motivate him to stay on task. This works best for him than when the Spanish teacher yells at him and sends him outside to work by himself, where he of course, gets nothing done. Small group instructions are easier for Fernando; he and his reading level group sit with Mr. M (Fernando sits closest to the teacher) and they read an interesting book or piece at their comprehension level.

The teacher gradually increases book difficulty once the students are ready for the next level. This seems to work for him to build up his vocabulary and reading comprehension. Strategies that result in significant learning are: breaking up the instructions in smaller bits Giving timed tests in 2 parts and giving him extra time so time is not something that affects his performance Each student having their own books and having Fernando follow with his finger, Sit him far from the windows, doors, and his friends Not allowing him to have any distractors near him. (students are to keep their boxes by the window) When he learns a concept, ex: in math (three digit addition) and is applying it, every once in a while hell forget a step and forget the concept all together. Therefor the teacher has to reteach it to him. Allowing Fernando to not write in his journal in cursive is a big help because he feels he is not ready for it.

Evaluation: School creates multiple challenges for ADD kids like Fernando, but with patience and an effective plan, he can succeed in the classroom. Parents and teacher must work together to implement practical strategies for learning both inside and out of the classroom. With consistent support, these strategies can help Fernando meet learning challengesand experience success at school. The classroom environment can be a challenging place for Fernando. The very tasks these students find the most difficultsitting still, listening quietly, and concentratingare the ones they are required to do all day long. Perhaps most frustrating of all is that most these children want to be able to learn and behave like their unaffected peers. Neurological deficits, not unwillingness, keep kids with attention deficit disorder from learning in traditional ways. Parents can help Fernando cope with these deficits and meet the challenges school creates. Teachers can provide the most effective support: equipping Fernando with learning strategies for the classroom and communicating with other teachers or experts with ADD kids about the best strategies they use to help them learn. With support at home and teaching strategies at the classroom, there is no reason why Fernando cant flourish in school.

Recommendations: What teachers can do to help?

Make the student your partner by saying, Lets figure out ways together to help you get your work done.

Assure the student that youll be looking for good behavior and quality work, and when you see it, reinforce it with immediate and sincere praise.

Create a quiet area free of distractions for test-taking and quiet study. Create worksheets and tests with fewer items; give frequent short quizzes rather than long tests. Reduce the number of timed tests. Test Fernando in the way he does best, such as orally or filling in blanks. Show him how to use a pointer or bookmark to track written words on a page.

Divide long-term projects into segments and assign a completion goal for each segment. Let Fernando do as much work as possible on computer. Accept late work and give partial credit for partial work. Finally, look for ways to motivate a student with ADD by offering rewards on a point or token system.

The most effective tool, however, for Mr. Mathis in helping Fernando a student with ADD is a positive attitude. Here are some techniques he can implement in his classroom: Starting a lesson: List the activities of the lesson on the board. In opening the lesson, tell students what theyre going to learn and what your

expectations are. Tell students exactly what materials theyll need. Establish eye contact with Fernando a student who has ADD.

Conducting the lesson: Keep instructions simple and structured. Use props, charts, and other visual aids. Allow Fernando frequent breaks. Try not to ask Fernando perform a task or answer a question publicly that might be too difficult.

Ending the lesson

Summarize key points. If you give an assignment, have three different students repeat it, then have the class say it in unanimity, and put it on the board.

Be specific about what to take home References: Rory Stern, PsyD, therapist and ADD coach who specializes in working with ADD children and their families, explains that there are three major types of learning styles (although these are by no means the only learning styles).

Visual: Visual learners learn visually, by seeing, explains Dr. Stern. In school, your child will do best from seeing examples and having an opportunity to watch. These children respond well to colorful pictures and illustrations of the learning material, written lessons on the board or overhead projector, outlines, diagrams, charts, maps and educational videos all things they can see to absorb the information. They also tend to cue in well to a teachers facial expressions.

Auditory: These children learn and retain information when they have an opportunity to hear it, says Dr. Stern. Auditory learners cue in to voice tone, speed, volume and inflection, as well as body language and learn best by hearing class lectures and participating and listening to class discussions.

Kinesthetic: These children are often the ones labeled as ADD, says Dr. Stern. Why? A kinesthetic learner is very active and will appear to be fidgety and sometimes highly active.

These students love to be wholly physically absorbed in the learning activity, actively exploring and moving around. They may have trouble sitting for long periods of time, becoming bored and distracted when they are not doing. Hands-on, tactile teaching approaches in which a child is allowed movement work best for kinesthetic learners. Science labs and experiments, involved unit studies, field trips, crafts, skits, model building all help a kinesthetic learner absorb new information. Determining learning style can make a big difference in Fernandos school success. The trick is getting a handle on what learning style or combination of learning styles work best for him. A simple way to understand these different learning styles is to consider what senses your child relies on most when learning, notes Dr. Stern. Once parents and teachers understand the way a child learns, teaching methods can be better geared to maximize the learning experience.

Bibliography:

http://add.about.com/od/childrenandteens/a/learningstyles.htm http://www.latitudes.org/articles/learn01.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX0teReijUk