Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD - Case Study Example

 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Introduction Learning is a complex task which depends on so many parameters like the physical and mental health of the student, the teaching abilities of the teacher and the environment in which the learning takes place. Mental health of the student is the most important one in a learning process since a person with distorted mind will never be able to focus on the topic. Specific learning strategies are required for teaching students with learning difficulties or disabilities. Moreover the teacher also must have special training for teaching students of specific learning difficulties. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a severe mental problem seen among young children in many countries which may continue throughout the adulthood, if not treated or cared properly. ADHD is a behavioral and developmental disorder which causes inattention or hyperactivity among the affected children which may retard the learning process if not taught in a specific way. The learning activities needed for the ADHD affected children may be different from that of the normal people. This paper briefly analyses the case of an 8 year old child, Steve, from Texas with ADHD problem and the psychological methods taken by the teacher to raise the learning abilities of Steve. Case study of Steve with ADHD syndrome Steve has been admitted to three different Montessori schools and all the teachers who were in charge of Steve recommended that he needs special education because of the suspected problems of ADHD. So the parents of Steve decided to give him special education using the assistance of an experienced home tutor. Judy, the specially trained teacher has taken the charge of Steve and she has observed and analysed the responses of Steve to various stimuli at home. The responses of Steve to television programs, computers, food items etc have been thoroughly analysed. Moreover, Judy has studied Steve’s social activity skills and other areas of interests. Judy has realized that Steve has some problems of ADHD and she has identified that it was difficult for Steve to stay focussed on certain things for longer periods. Moreover, Steve never liked others who tried to insist control on his actions. It was difficult for him to stay focussed on one thing and he tried to do many things at a time and not completed any of them. But all these problems Steve exhibited only in the presence of others and when he was allowed to stay alone, surprisingly, he has not had such social problems. The initial task of the teacher, Judy was to teach Steve how to do things in an orderly manner. Steve has had lot of toys with him and he never tried to play with a single toy, instead he has thrown away most of them after playing with them for a while. Judy has initially taken away all the objects and toys which were used by Steve and guided him to stay focus on one toy or activity at a time. Initially, Steve has shown some signs of unhappiness over the teacher’s actions, but the unavailability of other objects/ toys forced him to satisfy with only one toy at a time. This guidance forced him to stay focus on one toy and he started to spend more time with the only toy available to him. Thus his mind has started to function in an orderly manner. Steve has spent majority of his early childhood periods in front of the television. Even at home or day care centres, Steve was forced to stay with television. The day care staff and Steve’s parents thought that since he remains calm in front of the television it is better to allow him to stick with that habit. But they never realised that a machine cannot foster good habits in the minds of a human who have emotions and feelings unlike the machine. Steve never got enough opportunities to interact with natural things, books and peers. In order to develop a fair attitude towards natural things, Judy has used 2 hours daily to take Steve to the nearest park. Initially, Steve has not responded positively because of the conditioned habits. In order to de-condition such stubborn habits, and to keep him in the park for a longer period, she has taken some of Steve’s favourite toys also along with them. Steve, at the beginning has not shown any intentions to notice the beautiful things around him, but stay focussed on playing with his favourite toys. But Judy has taken the toys away from Steve, unknowingly which forced him to look around. The teacher has shown him various things around and shown him other playing items in the park. Gradually, Steve has started to look around and also he has identified certain things around him as interesting. Judy has guided him to many other things in the park and also she tried to improve his social skills by deliberately put him in the company of other small children of similar age group. Steve has improved a lot after around 2 weeks of regular visits to the park. Moreover, the teacher was successful in reducing the frequency of TV watching in Steve’s life by providing him different activities attractive to him and helped him to give more attention to other activities. Another problem associated with Steve’s behaviour was his inconsistency in dealing with others. At times, he talked nonstop and also interfered into the private matters of others without having any purpose or choice. Judy has asked him the reason for his peculiar behaviour. Though he has not cited any reasons for his behaviour, Judy told him that his activities may be a nuisance to others. She explained various ways of nuisance his unpredictable behaviour can cause to others and ask him to stay away from such behaviour. Whenever he started to engage in such behaviour Judy has responded with an oral notification or gesture to prevent that and slowly Steve started to identify the seriousness of social behaviour. Judy has adopted the lessons of conversation therapy in order to make Steve aware of his peculiar behavioural problems. “Conversation therapy refers to the component of aural rehabilitation focused on improving conversational skills of hard of hearing persons and their conversation partners so that they can have more satisfying conversations. Therapy includes understanding the causes of conversational breakdowns and developing skill with a variety of conversational strategies as well as when and how they might be used” (Lamb) Steve was unpredictable when he faces unexpected situations or things. For example, it is difficult to predict Steve’s behaviour when watching the animals in a Zoo. He may not show much interest if he meet an elephant but can be overjoyed if he meet a rabbit or a parrot. He would make huge noises without having any consciousness about the situation or circumstances in which he was at that time. The prime reason for this behaviour was to attract the attention of others. As we have discussed earlier, he had spend many of his early childhood periods in front of television and the parents and the day care staffs failed to give enough attention to him. He has been denied the opportunity of getting the all important love and affection during his infancy period which forced him to develop bad habits in order to attract the attention of others. The feeling of being unnoticed or unrecognized is irritating for children and they will engage in all possible activities in order to bring the attention of others to his activities. Judy has identified this behavioural problem of Steve and asked the parents to spend more time with Steve. The conscious efforts from the part of the parents and the other beloved ones in the home along with Judy’s wonderful approach using cognitive behaviour therapy has worked wonderfully well for Steve. “Cognitive behaviour therapy is a way of talking about; How you think about yourself, the world and other people; How what you do affects your thoughts and feelings” (The Royal College of Psychiatrists) Conclusions ADHD syndrome is a serious mental disorder which can continue throughout adulthood of not treated or cared properly. The identification of ADHD is slightly difficult as even normal students may sometimes exhibit the symptoms of an ADHD student. Students with ADHD needs special teaching methods and learning tasks in order to catch their attention long enough to learn the subject properly. Behaviour therapy, conversation therapy like psychological approaches often needed for the children with ADHD problems. All the children with ADHD may not exhibit same symptoms and characteristics. The reason for their problem may also vary. So customized teaching methods quiet often required for teaching such children effectively. The teacher who teaches students with ADHD should have adequate patience and creativity to teach such students effectively. Works Cited 1. Lamb, Noelle. 2006. “Conversation Therapy: Help for Clients in Difficult Listening Situations”. 20 July 2009. 2. The Royal College of Psychiatrists. 2009. “Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)”. 20 July 2009. Read More