The school experience of children with ADHD was found to vary greatly depending on the educators’ knowledge and understanding of the condition. (CBC)

ADHD support in schools is lacking: survey

In a Canadian survey, 45 per cent of parents of children with ADHD said their children were not getting support for their disability in their schools. The main characteristics of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. These make it hard for children to control their behaviour and/or pay attention in school particularly if they don’t understand why.

‘They don’t know why they’re getting in trouble’

“They don’t know why they’re misbehaving. They don’t know why they’re getting in trouble all the time. They’re honestly trying to participate in most cases,” says Paul McKenna, father of a child with ADHD who has it himself.

“Sometimes…they’re choosing not to participate by moving sideways or backwards. Again, that’s a defence mechanism for them to be somewhat secure in the environment. So, they find different ways to compensate for it, be it with their humour or impulsivity that they justify it and they end up being the class clown.”

Actor and father Paul McKenna says students with ADHD can have very negative experiences in school and suffer from low self-esteem.

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Educators knowledge affects students’ experience

The survey conducted for the advocacy group, CADDAC,  found that at least half of the parent respondents felt their children’s educators didn’t know enough about ADHD and strategies they could have used to help. Of the parents, 60 per cent felt this had damaged their child’s self-esteem, 56 per cent felt the child’s school experience was negative and lead to poor academic outcomes, and half felt it had negative consequences on their child’s mental health.

A stunning 80 per cent of parents said their child’s academic experience fluctuated from year to year, directly coinciding with the teacher and principal’s knowledge of ADHD. Parents also reported that 60 per cent of children with ADHD had been punished for behaviour stemming from their ADHD.

Sitting still and writing can be difficult for children with ADHD.

Students considered not ‘impaired enough’

In Canada, education is run by provincial and territorial governments. So, there is great variation in the policies school boards have to manage ADHD. CADDAC is concerned that the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia, many parents have been told their children could not receive support because ADHD did not qualify a student to receive special education resources that are available in those provinces. Parents reported that schools often refused to even discuss possible accommodations because the child with ADHD was considered not “impaired enough.”

The results of this survey have prompted CADDAC to organize education advocacy campaigns in these two provinces and as well as a national campaign targeting the whole country.

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