ADHD – IMPROVING UNDERSTANDING AND INCLUSION

Description

Never before have so many children been labelled with ADHD – not just labelled but also given powerful amphetamines as a ‘treatment’. ADHD is described as impacting on school-aged children and resulting in restlessness, impulsive actions, and lack of focus impairing their ability to learn properly.

Course Category

Behaviour and Relationships
Meeting emotional needs
Autism and Communication

Description

Never before have so many children been labelled with ADHD – not just labelled but also given powerful amphetamines as a ‘treatment’.

ADHD is described as impacting on school-aged children and resulting in restlessness, impulsive actions, and lack of focus impairing their ability to learn properly.

It is the most commonly studied and diagnosed psychiatric disorder in children, affecting about 3 to 5 percent of children globally and diagnosed in about 2 to 16 percent of school-aged children.

30 to 50 percent of those individuals diagnosed in childhood continue to have symptoms into adulthood.

Adolescents and adults with ADHD tend to develop coping mechanisms to compensate for some or all of their impairments.

ADHD is diagnosed two to four times more frequently in boys than in girls.

ADHD management usually involves some combination of medications, Applied behaviour analysis (ABA, the new term for Behaviour modification), lifestyle changes, and counselling.

ADHD and its diagnosis and treatment have been considered controversial since the 1970s. The controversies have involved clinicians, teachers, policy-makers, parents and the media. Topics include ADHD’s causes, and the use of stimulant medications in its treatment.

So join us on a reflective, creative day where we look deeper at this whole area – seeing what we can learn from other areas that may help us in our understanding and inclusion of children and young people with this label

Learning Objectives

1. Increased confidence and understanding regarding ADHD labelled pupils and their inclusion in mainstream schools
2. Access to a wider range of practical strategies to impact on movement and behaviour issues
3. New skills and processes to strengthen the inclusion of young people with ADHD labels in all settings
4. Opportunity to reflect and understand more deeply what might be happening in situations for someone labelled ADHD

Who Is It For ?

Any professional, carer or parent concerned with the education and inclusion of children labelled ADHD

Course Content

We will explore what is known about:

• Movement differences and accommodations for these – starting, stopping, switching, continuing, combining and so on…
• Anxiety and its link to activity levels
• Emotional roots to activity – the Circle of Courage will guide us