For Immediate Release From CHADD!
CHADD's National Resource Center on ADHD is constantly working to bring you the latest evidence-based information. Check out our newest infographics (available in English and Spanish) on IEPs and 504s.
About ADHD
AN OVERVIEW GUIDE OF ADHD
Everybody can have difficulty sitting still, paying attention or controlling impulsive behavior once in a while. For some people, however, the problems are so pervasive and persistent that they interfere with every aspect of their life: home, academic, social and work. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 11 percent of school-age children. Symptoms continue into adulthood in more than three-quarters of cases. ADHD is characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity.
Everybody can have difficulty sitting still, paying attention or controlling impulsive behavior once in a while. For some people, however, the problems are so pervasive and persistent that they interfere with every aspect of their life: home, academic, social and work.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 11 percent of school-age children. Symptoms continue into adulthood in more than three-quarters of cases. ADHD is characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity.
Individuals with ADHD can be very successful in life. However, without identification and proper treatment, ADHD may have serious consequences, including school failure, family stress and disruption, depression, problems with relationships, substance abuse, delinquency, accidental injuries and job failure. Early identification and treatment are extremely important.
Medical science first documented children exhibiting inattentiveness, impulsivity and hyperactivity in 1902. Since that time, the disorder has been given numerous names, including minimal brain dysfunction, hyperkinetic reaction of childhood, and attention-deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity. With the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) classification system, the disorder has been renamed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or ADHD. The current name reflects the importance of the inattention aspect of the disorder as well as the other characteristics of the disorder such as hyperactivity and impulsivity.
Symptoms
Typically, ADHD symptoms arise in early childhood. According to the DSM-5, several symptoms are required to be present before the age of 12. Many parents report excessive motor activity during the toddler years, but ADHD symptoms can be hard to distinguish from the impulsivity, inattentiveness and active behavior that is typical for kids under the age of four. In making the diagnosis, children should have six or more symptoms of the disorder present; adolescents 17 and older and adults should have at least five of the symptoms present. The DSM-5 lists three presentations of ADHD—Predominantly Inattentive, Hyperactive-Impulsive and Combined. The symptoms for each are adapted and summarized below.
ADHD predominantly inattentive presentation
Fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes
Has difficulty sustaining attention
Does not appear to listen
Struggles to follow through with instructions
Has difficulty with organization
Avoids or dislikes tasks requiring sustained mental effort
Loses things
Is easily distracted
Is forgetful in daily activities
ADHD predominantly hyperactive-impulsive presentation
Read the full Overview HERE!:
https://chadd.org/about-adhd/overview/ ****
Parent to Parent
Providing ADHD Training and Support for Parents
Do you feel lost when it comes to ADHD and its related issues and concerns?
Parenting a child with ADHD brings both joy and challenges. CHADD’s ADHD online courses include both short video lessons about ADHD and downloadable resources that you can read at your convenience.
Throughout CHADD’s self-paced online courses, you will receive support from other parents, gain a comprehensive understanding of ADHD, and learn strategies to improve life at home and school.
Start with the Introduction to ADHD. This is a free ADHD course that includes 8 lessons for parents. Family members will learn what ADHD is and how ADHD is diagnosed. Upon completion of this course, learn more about ADHD throughout the other courses in the training series. Learn more about each course by clicking the link below.
Parent to Parent Family Training on ADHD Course Objectives:
https://chadd.org/parent-to-parent/ ****
This infographic provides information on the similarities between an individual education plan (IEP) and a Section 504 plan, including tips for selecting between the two.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the federal law that provides special education and needed related services for an eligible child with a disability to benefit from the child’s education. Services received under IDEA are often referred to as “special education.” An Individualized Education Program (IEP; sometimes called an Individualized Education Plan) is designed specifically for each eligible child with disabilities to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE).
Who is Eligible?
A child is eligible for services under IDEA if he or she is identified with a qualified disability and, “by reason thereof,” needs special education and related services. A child with ADHD may qualify if the ADHD seriously impacts the child’s learning and/or behavior at school. Some children with ADHD will qualify for services under IDEA while others may not; this depends on the degree of impairment.
To qualify for IDEA, a child must meet the criteria in at least one of 13 disability categories. Often children with ADHD will qualify under the Other Health Impairment (OHI) category. They may also qualify under Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) or Severe Emotional Disturbance (SED). Eligibility for IDEA must be determined by a qualified team that is made up of many different professionals including the child’s teacher(s), school psychologist(s), principal, parents and other appropriate school personnel. This team should use information from several different sources including input and ideas from parents, notes from doctors if available, notes and progress reports from teachers, the child’s past academic and behavior records, test results (such as IQ and/or other formalized testing assessments), as well as anything else that might be important. IDEA says that children with disabilities must be taught in the regular classroom as much as possible with appropriate related aids and services. Removal from the regular education environment should only occur when the severity of the disability is such that even with aids and services, the child or other students cannot learn. This is called the least restrictive environment (LRE) clause. Therefore, not all children who receive services under IDEA are placed in special education classrooms. Many stay in their regular classroom with appropriate modifications and/or related services.
What Does IDEA Provide?
When a child with ADHD qualifies under IDEA, the child receives an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The IEP is a written document that includes specific goals for the child based on the child’s current level of performance. The IEP should state the educational placement, and it should specify which services will be granted
Read the full Education Rights HERE!:
https://chadd.org/for-parents/individuals-... ********
Section 504
Section 504 is a federal civil rights statute that says schools cannot discriminate against children with disabilities. It says that schools that receive federal dollars must provide eligible children with disabilities with an equal opportunity to participate in all academic and non-academic services the school offers. The school must also provide appropriate accommodations based on their individual needs.
These accommodations are often simple changes that can help the child with the disability. Sometimes these accommodations include special services such as using a tape recorder for note taking, giving the student a quiet place to work, or access to a computer in school for written work. Students who are eligible to receive services under Section 504 receive instruction through the regular education curriculum and at the same level as their peers without disabilities. Students under Section 504 must also participate in state required assessments.
Who is Eligible?
A student is eligible for Section 504 if the child has a physical or mental condition that substantially limits a “major life activity.” Major life activities for a child in school include learning and/or activities in addition to walking, talking, breathing, caring for oneself, etc. Additional major life activities added by the 2008 reauthorization of the Americans with Disabilities Act (and now called the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act [ADAAA]) include such things as reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating with others, and major bodily functions.
To qualify under Section 504, a child’s disability must be serious enough, or “substantially limiting,” that the child needs specialized services or accommodations. All determinations of substantial limitation must be made without regard to the “ameliorative effects of mitigating measures.” This means that the question of whether or not a child has a “substantial limitation” in a particular area is answered before, and not after, any intervention for that limitation is implemented. “Mitigating measures” includes such things as medication, assistive technology, learned behavioral modifications, psychotherapy, and/or reasonable accommodations. Children covered under Section 504 are usually children with less serious disabilities, or children who do not otherwise qualify for services under IDEA but still have a disability that is substantially limiting in the educational setting.
What Does Section 504 Provide?
If a child is determined to be eligible under Section 504, the school must develop a Section 504 Plan. The plan must include appropriate accommodations, evidence-based interventions, and/or related services that are also scientifically or research-based. The plan must provide the eligible child with an equal opportunity to succeed based on the child’s individual needs when compared to same age, non-disabled peers. This is defined as a “free appropriate public education” (FAPE) under Section 504. (Although similar to FAPE through the IDEA, FAPE through Section 504 is an equal opportunity standard, whereas it is an educational benefit standard under IDEA.) Many mistakenly think that a Section 504 Plan is a standard checklist or form used for all eligible children. It isn’t. While a form or checklist may be a helpful starting point, a good Section 504 Plan is developed to meet the child’s specific, individual needs and not merely some template that the school district may have available.
Accommodations should be documented in the written Section 504 Plan (sometimes referred to as an Individual Accommodation Plan, or IAP, and not to be confused with an Individualized Education Program, or IEP). Here are several examples of appropriate accommodations that might be included in a Section 504 Plan for a child with ADHD:
Reducing the number of homework problems without reducing the level or content of what is being taught.
Giving the student a quiet place to work, free from distractions.
Read the full Section 504 HERE!: Section 504
Section 504 is a federal civil rights statute that says schools cannot discriminate against children with disabilities. It says that schools that receive federal dollars must provide eligible children with disabilities with an equal opportunity to participate in all academic and non-academic services the school offers. The school must also provide appropriate accommodations based on their individual needs.
These accommodations are often simple changes that can help the child with the disability. Sometimes these accommodations include special services such as using a tape recorder for note taking, giving the student a quiet place to work, or access to a computer in school for written work. Students who are eligible to receive services under Section 504 receive instruction through the regular education curriculum and at the same level as their peers without disabilities. Students under Section 504 must also participate in state required assessments.
Who is Eligible?
A student is eligible for Section 504 if the child has a physical or mental condition that substantially limits a “major life activity.” Major life activities for a child in school include learning and/or activities in addition to walking, talking, breathing, caring for oneself, etc. Additional major life activities added by the 2008 reauthorization of the Americans with Disabilities Act (and now called the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act [ADAAA]) include such things as reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating with others, and major bodily functions.
To qualify under Section 504, a child’s disability must be serious enough, or “substantially limiting,” that the child needs specialized services or accommodations. All determinations of substantial limitation must be made without regard to the “ameliorative effects of mitigating measures.” This means that the question of whether or not a child has a “substantial limitation” in a particular area is answered before, and not after, any intervention for that limitation is implemented. “Mitigating measures” includes such things as medication, assistive technology, learned behavioral modifications, psychotherapy, and/or reasonable accommodations. Children covered under Section 504 are usually children with less serious disabilities, or children who do not otherwise qualify for services under IDEA but still have a disability that is substantially limiting in the educational setting.
What Does Section 504 Provide?
If a child is determined to be eligible under Section 504, the school must develop a Section 504 Plan. The plan must include appropriate accommodations, evidence-based interventions, and/or related services that are also scientifically or research-based. The plan must provide the eligible child with an equal opportunity to succeed based on the child’s individual needs when compared to same age, non-disabled peers. This is defined as a “free appropriate public education” (FAPE) under Section 504. (Although similar to FAPE through the IDEA, FAPE through Section 504 is an equal opportunity standard, whereas it is an educational benefit standard under IDEA.) Many mistakenly think that a Section 504 Plan is a standard checklist or form used for all eligible children. It isn’t. While a form or checklist may be a helpful starting point, a good Section 504 Plan is developed to meet the child’s specific, individual needs and not merely some template that the school district may have available.
Accommodations should be documented in the written Section 504 Plan (sometimes referred to as an Individual Accommodation Plan, or IAP, and not to be confused with an Individualized Education Program, or IEP). Here are several examples of appropriate accommodations that might be included in a Section 504 Plan for a child with ADHD:
Reducing the number of homework problems without reducing the level or content of what is being taught.
Giving the student a quiet place to work, free from distractions.
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Posted By: agnes levine
Friday, November 22nd 2024 at 3:30PM
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