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The counselor's role in
enhancing the academic performance of students with
ADD or ADHD often involves consultation with
teachers around classroom interventions, as well as
providing support and education to parents. In
addition to basic behavioral interventions, coping
skills, social skills, and self-monitoring skills
are important tools that can be reviewed through
various modalities, including individual
counseling, group sessions, or classroom guidance
modules. Providing workshops in the evening with
separate sessions for parents and children can be a
resource welcomed by parents. Such efforts may be
jointly offered with community support groups.
Parents often need
information about appropriate expectations for
behavior and school work, positive parenting
techniques, and support groups at the school or in
the community, such as CHADD (a support group for
children and adults with attention deficit
disorder). For example, a counseling newsletter to
parents can provide descriptions of ADD, such as
the fact that disruptive behaviors observed at
school may not be observed at home, or that
behavior can be inconsistent - at times under the
child's control, and impulsive at others.
Information and support can help parents in making
the decision to seek an evaluation.
Typical challenges for
students with ADD or ADHD include: 1)
organizational problems; 2) problems with
transitions; 3) acting as if rules don't apply to
them; 4) adopting a negative attitude out of
frustration in academic tasks, social interactions,
or as a defense against low self esteem; 5)
experiencing isolation or exclusion from peers; 6)
poor grades as a result of rushing through
assignments, incomplete work, or distractibility in
class; 7) impulsive behavior; 8) difficulty
sustaining attention; 9) different learning styles;
or 10) disruption of sleep or appetite, as a result
of ADD or medication. These students often describe
feeling bored at school, and may appear
oppositional (APA, 2000). Motivation around
academic tasks or conforming to rules can be a
challenge for these students.
A simple intervention that
has proven successful includes "chunking" or
organizing assignments into smaller sections. This
makes successful completion a more likely outcome,
and if applied to in-class assignments, allows the
student a legitimate reason to get up and walk to
the teacher's desk. Even such a small amount of
movement can help discharge energy that is so
critical for these students. It is for this reason
that a common consequence for not completing
homework (i.e., losing recess) is actually
counter-productive with overactive children.
It is also important to
remember the lack of self-monitoring ability as
being central for many of these individuals.
Teachers and parents can help children and
adolescents develop this skill. Mechanisms to
increase self-awareness include external monitoring
systems such as checklists in the classroom.
Additionally, the teacher can provide verbal cues
such as asking the class to, "Stop and check -
where is your mind?" Or the teacher can use
physical monitoring cues for particular students,
e.g., a simple tap on the shoulder to help them
self-monitor. These cues are general enough to
ensure that students don't feel ostracized by their
use.
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There is an
emerging research base on CBIs.
Cognitive-behavioral strategies have ameliorated
social deficits, including aggression and
disruption (cf. Etscheidt, 1991; Smith, Siegel,
O'Connor, & Thomas, 1994). More recent studies
of the characteristics of aggressive children and
the effects of CBIs indicate that teaching students
cognitive strategies can decrease
hyperactivity/impulsivity and disruption/aggression
and strengthen pro-social behavior (see Conduct
Problems Prevention Research Group (CPPRG),1999;
Robinson, Smith, Miller, & Brownell, 1999).
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American Psychiatric
Association (APA), 2000. Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.), Text
Revision. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric
Association.
Burns, G.L. & Walsh, J.A.
(2002). The influence of
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development of oppositional defiant disorder
symptoms in a 2-year longitudinal study. Journal of
Abnormal Child Psychology, 30(3), 245-257.
Chi, T.C. & Hinshaw, S.P.
(2002). Mother-child relationships of children with
ADHD: the role of maternal depressive symptoms and
depression-related distortions. Journal of Abnormal
Child Psychology, 30(4), 387-401.
Combs, J.T. (2002). Lack of
right ear advantage in patients with
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Klorman, R.; Hazel-Fernandez,
L.A.; Shaywitz, S.E.; Fletcher, J.M.; Marchione,
K.E.; Holahan, J.M.; Stuebing, K.K.; &
Shaywitz, B.A. (1999). Executive functioning
deficits in attention-deficit/hyperactivity
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1148-1156.
Lloyd, J.W.; Hallahan, D.P.;
Kauffman, J.M.; & Keller, C.E. (1998). Academic
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Mick, E.; Biederman, J.;
Faroane, S.V.; Sayer, J.; & Kleinman, S.
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of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent
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Shapiro, E.S.; DuPaul, G.J.;
& Bradley-Klug, K.I. (1998). Self-management as
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Shatin, D. & Drinkard,
C.R. (2002). Use of drugs to treat ADHD and
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Blank, S.; Dagan, Y.; Barak, Y.; & Gumpel, T.P.
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