ARE WE LISTENING TO CHILDREN WITH ADHD?

Paula FlynnSchool of Education

Trinity College Dublin

ARE WE LISTENING TO CHILDREN WITH ADHD?

Paula FlynnSchool of Education

Trinity College Dublin

ADHD AWARENESS WEEKHADD Information Evening 20th September

2011

I’m going to lose my temper in a minute.I would rather have ADHD than be normal.

Pig head.I’m hoping that the positive side of their ADHD is going to take them forward.I wouldn’t want to um not have it, cause it’s just the way I am.

I wouldn’t be me

I’M MEInclusive

Methods inMainstream

Education

OVERVIEW• The importance of listening authentically

to the voice of the child with ADHD • Contextual framework of study• Interventions that were generated from

a small scale pupil voice project • Emergent themes from preliminary

analysis• Implications

PUPIL VOICE• UNCRC 1989 (Article 12)• NATIONAL CHILDREN’S STRATEGY 2000

– Aims– Three national goals

• Pupil Voice Research: Consultation, Participation, Authentic Listening, Transformation (Rudduck and McIntyre, 2007)

• Those who shout the loudest....(Tangen 2009)

CONTEXT• Inclusion• Challenging Behaviour,

Disaffection, Social Exclusion• Social, Emotional and/or

Behavioural Difficulties

WHAT ARE SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND/OR

BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES?SEBD, BESD, ESBD or EBDStudents with EBD may have conditions

such as ◦ Neurosis, ◦ childhood psychosis, ◦ ADD, ADHD, ◦ Oppositional Defiant Disorder ◦ Conduct Disorder

(Special Education Support Services)

STUDENTS WITH SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND/OR

BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES

A student with such difficulties will present with varying degrees of behaviours that impinge on their learning and/or social development. At times their behaviour may also impact on the learning of others in the classroom.

Guidelines from DFEE (UK) May 2008

Characteristics of BESD

being withdrawn isolated disruptive disturbing being hyperactive lacking concentration having immature social

skills presenting challenging

behaviours arising from other complex special needs

Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties (BESD)

emotional disorders conduct disorders hyperkinetic disorders

◦ attention deficit disorder ADD ◦ attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

[ADHD] Children and young people whose

behavioural difficulties may be less obvious, for example:◦ those with anxiety ◦ who self-harm ◦ have school phobia ◦ depression ◦ those whose behaviour or emotional

wellbeing are seen to be deteriorating

IMME or I’m Me...

• small-scale participatory research project • 35 pupil participants• 4 Irish mainstream educational settings;

two primary and two post-primary• From 2008 to 2011• Research enquiry: determine the impact

on the pupils and their school community when participants were given the opportunity to become ‘active agents’ in positively transforming their experience of school.

Objectives of I’m Me

• To give voice to a group of children within mainstream education who often find themselves at risk of exclusion from school

• To provide opportunities for them to become ‘active agents’ in the pursuit of appropriate, beneficial and realistic methods to facilitate genuine inclusion for them in mainstream schools

• To determine the impact on the pupils and their school community when participants were given the opportunity to positively transform their experience of school

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS

• 17 (48%) with assessment of ADHD (5 primary, 12 post primary)

• 1 co-existent Conduct Disorder• 6 co-existent Oppositional Defiant Disorder• 8 co-existent Learning Difficulties • 15 on medication • 2 children with full time SNA support

STRUCTURE OF I’m Me • First contact and preliminary

interviews with students 2008 – 2009• Consent forms from students • Conclusion of programme in schools

2010 – 2011• Focus group meetings with students

to conduct preliminary analysis and validate findings from January to June 2011

STRUCTURE OF I’m Me • Weekly, fortnightly or monthly meetings

with students as appropriate• Meetings with Care Teams in Post

Primary Schools including: Principal, SGC, SENCO, Home School Liaison Officer Half Term/Term Meetings

• Group interviews that included student, parent(s)/guardian, NEPS Psychologist, SENCO and/or tutor

• Creative Workshops: drama, music/rap, art, sculpture (post-primary)

INTERVENTIONS FROM STUDENTS

• Egg-timer (primary school)• Positive Behaviour Acknowledgement

My PAD (all schools) (1)• ‘Cool Card’ (primary school)• Mentoring Programme ‘Buddy Timeout’

Teacher/Student mentoring (post-primary)• Peer Support Groups – weekly meetings

and activities (post-primary)• Whole Class Workshops

EMERGENT THEMES

• Significance of:– Praise– Acknowledgement– Positive Relationships (Davies

2005,Sellman 2009)– Attachment and Belonging

(Cooper 2008, Smith 2006)– Leadership (Shevlin and Flynn

2010)

SOME REASONS FOR CHALLENGING

BEHAVIOUR• Encountering obstacles to learning or feeling

‘different’ can lead to frustration, low self esteem, resentment and even anger........any one of these emotions can manifest itself in either episodes of or recurring challenging behaviour.

• Some students would rather get into trouble for bad behaviour than feel ashamed or embarrassed in front of their peers if they can’t contribute to or engage in learning that is taking place (Distractionary tactics)

(IMME Programme, Flynn)

IMPLICATIONS • The importance of ‘listening’ to

children and acknowledging that they are ‘experts’ on their own experiences

• The necessity for a ‘bottom up’ approach to problem solving or eliciting views from students requires a ‘top down’ response’

• Consulting pupils does not equate to relinquishing ‘power’ and control in the classroom – but a change in ‘power dynamics’

USEFUL RESOURCES

• www.hadd.ie

• www.adhdandyou.ie

REFERENCES• Cooper, P. 2008 Nurturing Attachment to School:

Contemporary Perspectives on Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. Pastoral Care in Education, 28.

• Davies, J. 2005 ‘Voices from the Margins: Perceptions of Pupils with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties about their Educational Experience’ in Clough, P. et al (eds) Handbook of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, London: Sage

• Flynn, P. Shevlin, M. Lodge, A. 2011 ‘Are you listening? I’m Me. Reach Vol 25, Issue 1

• National Behaviour Support Service, 2010 Behaviour Support Classrooms: A Research Study of 36 Behaviour Support Classrooms Dublin: NBSS.

• National Children’s Strategy, 2000 Our Children - Their Lives Dublin: Stationery Office.

• National Educational Psychological Service, 2010 Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties: A Continuum of Support Dublin: Stationary Office.

• Robinson, C. & Taylor, C. 2007.Theorizing Student Voice: Values and Perspectives. Improving Schools, 10.

• Rudduck, J. & McIntyre, D. 2007.Improving Learning through Consulting Pupils, London: Routledge.

• Sellman, E. 2009 Lessons Learned: Student Voice at a School for Pupils Experiencing Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 14.

• Shevlin, M. & Flynn, P. 2011 ‘Leadership for Special Educational Needs’ In O'Sullivan, H. & West-Burnham, J. (eds) Leading and Managing Schools. London: Sage.

• Smith, D. J. 2006 School Experience and Delinquency at ages 13 to 16, Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh, Centre for Law and Society.

• Tangen, R. 2009 Conceptualising Quality of School Life from Pupils' Perspective: A Four Dimensional Model. International Journal of Inclusive Education.

• United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, New York: UN.