A fellow teacher/"credential-program-er" wrote for an assignment that he feels ADD students who continually disrupt the class shouldn't be there in a regular classroom. I think I went overboard in my response--I tend to be long-winded--but it really did hit home with me. I wonder what the parents of the non-ADD kids think, though.
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As a teacher, I can totally see your point about how difficult it is for other students in a room when an ADD student simply can't focus or behave...as a mother of kids with ADD, I am eager to hear some clarification. Where do you think these students should be? In special ed? In the resource room? In a different special ed setup than we currently have? I'm curious as to where you'd put them, if not in the regular classroom.
My youngest just turned 5 and isn't officially diagnosed yet, though I know it's coming--she is a carbon copy of my oldest, except a bit more cheerful, thankfully. My middle child is in 2nd grade and after a downright horrible year last year, is now on Adderall and doing wonderfully. You'd never know he has ADD if you saw him in school--unless we forget his medication. I doubt he's the type of student you are talking about, because it's so beautifully controlled with medication.
But my oldest...yikes. He's in 3rd grade, and has been a behavioral mess since preschool. He was diagnosed with ADHD in kindergarten. Behavioral groups helped him for awhile but he is now on medication, which is only helping a little bit. I had him on Adderall, but that only helped him focus; it didn't control his impulsivity or activity level. We tried Vyvanse--it was as if we weren't giving him anything. So now he's back on Adderall but with a doubled dosage...this may not be "it" either though. When his school is closed, he comes to mine, and is in my classroom since he's in the grade I teach, so I get a nice close look at how he behaves at school. And he's my son, and I love him...but...he DRIVES. ME. INSANE. Out of his seat all day, can't raise his hand to save his life, talking nonstop, blurting out answers, and constantly yelling across the classroom for other people to be quiet so he can think. My job is definitely easier when his school is open, and I feel for his teacher. (We email back and forth regularly!) But would I want him placed in special ed? Quite honestly, I wouldn't. He is a straight-A student and probably ought to be in the GATE program, though I don't know what that program does at his school. At school today, my 3rd graders, who work out of 4th grade books, took a test on time and graphs--concepts he has not studied yet at his school, which works on grade level. He opted to take the test along with them, and got 100%--on material he hasn't even covered. He reads at a 7.5 grade level. Would a special ed classroom meet his academic needs? The way special ed stands currently, I don't think it would. He also wants SO badly to control himself...and tends to act in a manner similar to those around him. In a regular classroom, this means he strives to act like the other students. He may not be able to, but he tries, and he comes close most days. When he is around students with behavioral issues, he acts more like those students. If he were in a behavioral special ed class, I am certain he'd pick up habits he doesn't already have. At least in the regular classroom he has a good idea of how a third grader is expected to behave, and he works as hard as he can to achieve that.
Now, about the other students in the class: does it do them a disservice to spend their days in a room where they have to deal with him? I don't think it does. Sure, he interrupts students and calls out during class time. Is that annoying for some students? Probably. But can we just boot out every student who annoys someone, just because they're annoying? Obviously not...or our days would be so much calmer. ;) For Brian, part of his education is learning to function in the school setting. He'll have to function in the work world someday--he might as well learn how to refrain from interrupting now, since it'll likely be a very long process for him, lol. And other students are getting valuable lessons in working together to help each other. Today in class, he interrupted the instructions I was giving for an assignment to ask what he was supposed to color with, since he doesn't have his own set of markers and colored pencils in my room. Before I could respond or address his interruption, one of my students nudged him and whispered that he could borrow her colored pencils, and if he needed anything else, he could just ask. So he took them--and the next time he needed something, he whispered to her, rather than yelling to me from across the room. My student applied problem-solving "people" skills to the situation, and my son had a reminder that it's better to whisper than to yell during class--but in a friendly, peer-driven way.
I know I've rambled quite a bit, and I don't know if I'm making sense to those who don't deal with the situation daily like I do. But I don't see any value in removing ADHD students from the classroom. My favorite kids, actually, are the ADHD ones...I had a girl who couldn't keep her hands off the other kids in class--our solution was for her to come ask for hugs when she felt she needed to squeeze someone. I got about 20 hugs a day for awhile, and she left the other kids alone. I have a student this year who can't focus on his schoolwork to save his life...but when he does finally turn it in, it's the most well-written work I've seen out of a third grader. I have a second grader who can't sit through a two-minute book report presentation--but she is the first out of her seat to help a presenter pick up a paper he/she dropped and has the most infectious smile. She just lights up the whole room with it. I love these kids--they have a real "spark" and such personality. My room would be so boring without them, and I try to make sure the other students in the class see these good qualities, too. I don't think anyone feels they are being done a disservice, having to share a classroom with the ADHD kids.
Anyway, this long-winded post is my view on the matter. But I really am interested in hearing what else could be done with the ADHD students who are continually disruptive. I really do know just how much they can try a person's patience and delay lessons...I just don't see a solution with current non-regular-classroom options.
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