In this article the author starts off with a description of ADHD. The author describes ADHD as: “…A behavioral disorder characterized by inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. (American Psychological Association, APA, 2000). (Harlacher, J. E., Merrell, K. W., Roberts, N. E. p. 6). This is important because it gives students, educators, parents, and other readers the definition of what ADHD is. The article then goes on to mention that students with ADHD have behavioral and academic issues when they are in a classroom and also how common ADHD is. The author then brings up a point about school-based interventions, says it’s effective but not as effective as a classwide intervention. “Classwide interventions [i.e., interventions used with the entire classroom) that target students with ADHD may be a plausible alternative to the highly individualized interventions typically recommended for students with ADHD.
Such classwide interventions are more cost-effective and efficient than individualized interventions because a teacher may use the intervention to help one student perform better in the classroom, but its use may benefit the performance of all students in the class. Additionally, the whole-class application allows the individual student to remain anonymous in that no student in the classroom may ever know which student’s behavior prompted the use of the intervention.” (Harlacher, J. E., Merrell, K. W., Roberts, N. E. p. 6). This article was written to explain why classwide interventions are the better options and some examples of classwide interventions that are used in classrooms. There are two major categories for classwide interventions for ADHD: Behavioral and academic. Behavior intervention targets the behavior and academic targets academic performance.
The behavioral interventions are contingency management, therapy balls, self-monitoring, peer monitoring and Instructional choice. Contingency management is “the application of consequences contingent on specified behaviors [Wolery, Bailey, & Sugai, 1988). (Harlacher, J. E., Merrell, K. W., Roberts, N. E. p. 8). It means if a student does a desired behavior, they get something positive because of the desired behavior to hopefully increase the desired behavior. Therapy balls can be used in place of desks. “Participants in a fourth-grade classroom found that sitting on the balls during language arts increased legible word production and increased in-seat behavior.” (Harlacher, J. E., Merrell, K. W., Roberts, N. E. p. 6). Self-monitoring is: “Typically used as an individualized intervention, self-monitoring involves a student evaluating and recording his or her own behavior.” (sj (Alberto & Ti-outman. 2006). (Harlacher, J. E., Merrell, K. W., Roberts, N. E. p. 8).
This is important because the student can track their behaviors while a teacher is also tracking their behavior and if the student is demonstrating good behavior, they will get rewarded until they don’t need this technique. Peer monitoring is students monitoring one another’s behavior. Peers can have positive impacts on one another and that is why this method is effective. Instructional choice presents the student with two or more activities from a teacher-developed menu, and then the student is told to select the activity he or she would like to work on.” (Harlacher, J. E., Merrell, K. W., Roberts, N. E. p. 9). This gives the students options instead of just saying “this is what we’re going to do now.” Because the student has a choice of what they want to do and not what they’re told to do, negative behavior decreases.
The academic interventions are Classwide peer tutoring, instructional modification, and computer-assisted instruction. Classwide peer tutoring is when students are put in pairs and one student helps another student on what they are doing academically in the class. This is important because the students are receiving feedback from their peers and they are both learning something at the same time. Instructional modification is: “ a proactive strategy in which changes are made to the actual assignment in order to target a child’s academic needs.” (Harlacher, J. E., Merrell, K. W., Roberts, N. E. p.10). This means that if a student has trouble with executive functioning, the teacher will help break down an assignment into steps and if a child has trouble with math, the teacher may incorporate something that is of interest to the child in word problems such as video games, so that the student maintains interest while also learning.
The last intervention is computer-assisted instruction. Computer-assisted instruction is: “the use of computer-based software programs designed to supplement teacher instruction and provide additional exposure to the academic material.” (Harlacher, J. E., Merrell, K. W., Roberts, N. E. p. 10). “Use of CAI has resulted in improved math performance and substantial reductions in off-task behavior (Ota & DuPaul, 2002).” (Harlacher, J. E., Merrell, K. W., Roberts, N. E. p. 10). CIA is very useful for students because it gives them a specific task to focus on. It also helps increase independence because teacher doesn’t have to work with a student one-to-one unless the student has a question.
I really liked all of these ideas. I agree with the author that school based interventions are good, but not as effective as classroom interventions because the classroom is where you learn not just academics, but behavior as well. I have ADHD-I and I believe that a lot of these interventions would have helped me, especially the behavioral interventions like Instructional choice. I would have stayed on task much longer if I could decide what subject I wanted to study or work on rather than being told what to do next. I believe that this is a very helpful article for parents and educators to read so that they can understand ADHD a little better and for educators to recommend what instruction works best for the student and to put that in the student’s IEP. I will use this information in my future practice by incorporating some of the instruction in my teaching depending on student’s needs.
Works Cited
- Harlacher, J. E., Merrell, K. W., Roberts, N. E. (2006). Classwide Interventions for Students With ADHD: A Summary of Teacher Options Beneficial for the Whole Class. Teaching Exceptional Children, V. 39 (Is. 2), pp. 6-12.
