Specialized teaching brings success

By Hillary E. Kierspe  

JUNE 30, 2011 12:32 p.m. (1)

A stress ball, a core trainer and a textbook.

The items may not seem to have anything to do with each other, but in fact they are all tools to learning.

In a classroom of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, these items all serve to help the child focus attention and learn.

One of every 10 children in America suffers from ADHD.

Psychiatrist Stacey Paul says, “Children with ADHD tend to struggle in school due to their trouble handling distractions and impulses.  For example, a normal child may be able to pay attention to a teacher while the child behind him is tapping his foot and chewing on gum.  A child with ADHD will get very distracted by this.  Often, due to the lack of impulse control, the child will get up and walk out of the classroom, sometimes even pick fights with kids who are irritating them.  All of this tends to distract them even more.”

Because of their active personalities, they are often a source of aggravation or disruption in the classroom setting. Two year teacher, Marie Pitsenbarger, describes ADHD children as being creative, but also the ones who would blurt out thoughts at random times during class.

Paul said they often have low grades despite average or above average intelligence.

“If schools were able to teach in a way that ADHD children could learn in, then the performance results would be very different,” Paul said.

Camperdown Academy in Greenville specializes in teaching children who are diagnosed with dyslexia and or ADHD.

Dan Blanch, the principal, says the purpose of the school is not simply to cater to the learning needs of the children, but also to help them overcome the difficulties of living with ADHD.

Blanch says Camperdown uses being active or easily distracted to their advantage. The classes are 45 minutes, during which there are three types of teaching: lecture, activities, and recall. The children are given breaks between classes in addition to two structured recesses. They move to different classrooms for different subjects. By doing this, the children get to have a scheduled time to mentally and physically move from on subject to another.

Classroom teaching is structured in such a way that children are required to move around the classroom, allowing them to expend energy, and help those who are kinesthetic learners as well.

Children are also allowed to use core trainers, a hollow, disk-like plastic pad, as cushions for their chairs. Not only does this aid balance and correct posture, it also gives them something to focus their energy on during a class lecture.

Discipline is specialized, and the most common form of punishment is some sort of separation from the rest of the class.

Blanch says he advises parents to have their children sit at a cleared table and work in 15-minute segments. In between each homework segment, he encourages parents to allow a short break, such as a snack break.

About 75 percent of Camperdown’s students have ADHD.

Paul believes the increase in ADHD diagnosis is there is more awareness and a fast-paced society, video games, and the multiple stimuli/distractions, children who are already pre-disposed may be more likely to develop symptoms.  Paul also said there are theories that certain things common in foods such as preservatives and gluten may increase the risk of ADHD.

Blanch says limiting sugar is important in controlling ADHD.