By: Healthline
If you frequently battle about screen time with your kids (don’t we all!) but want to learn how to enforce healthy boundaries, you’re certainly not alone.
Most parents are concerned about their child’s screen time. But parents and caregivers seem to have an extra challenge in helping kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) manage screen time.
“Electronic usage is part of daily life and is not inherently problematic, and as with many other issues, it is an issue of moderation,” says Mary Jane Weiss, PhD, BCBA-D, LABA, of Endicott College.
While screen time is associated with some benefits and some adverse side effects, it’s important for parents to examine their child’s screen use, the impact it’s having on the child, and the child’s overall behavior and well-being.
One positive effect of screen time for children with ADHD, says Weiss, is a high level of engagement in a preferred activity.
“Many children enjoy screen time, and it can be used as a reward for other less preferred tasks (such as homework completion), and depending on the activity, screen time can also be instructive,” she says.
For visual learners, Weiss says that engaging in academic tasks in virtual format may be more appealing and may even be more effective. It’s also a social outlet for many kids with ADHD, which can be beneficial when used appropriately.
However, one area that can be negatively impacted by screen time is sleep, says Khadijah Booth Watkins, MD, MPH, associate director of the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital. And for many kids with ADHD, sleep is already a challenge.
“This is particularly important for kids with ADHD as impaired sleep can worsen symptoms such as attention, concentration, and frustration tolerance,” she explains.
Not getting enough sleep can impact us all, and it’s important to make sure that our kids are getting enough sleep.
Screen time can also exacerbate concentration issues and mood disruptions for children with developmental disorders, as well as those prone to having anxiety issues, says Teodora Pavkovic, a nationally recognized psychologist and digital wellness expert at the K-12 EdTech company Linewize.
One reason, says Pavkovic, is that so much screen-based content is incredibly overstimulating for a child’s nervous system. Plus, children can find it very difficult to disengage from technology once they have become engaged.
Screen time has its place in a child’s life. However, how you go about enforcing healthy boundaries and approaching balance can increase cooperation and reduce arguments that often occur when kids are told to put a device down.
“We want to make sure our kids are striking a good and healthy balance between screen time and doing the other tasks that are developmentally appropriate and necessary such as extracurricular activities, spending time with friends, completing homework, family time, and so on,” says Booth Watkins.
With that in mind, here are 10 tips for helping kids with ADHD manage screen time.
Getting buy-in from everyone in the family is an essential first step when teaching kids how to manage screen time.
One way to get off on the right foot is to create a family media plan together. This includes conversations, brainstorming sessions, and considering ideas from each family member.
Don’t be afraid to be creative and think of ways to motivate and incentives to use to get your kids excited about the plan.
If you need help getting started, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has an excellent guide and interactive tool for creating a family media plan. They also have a media time calculator you can use once the plan is developed and implemented.
Screen time guidelines and boundaries should be age-appropriate. There are several recommendations online to help parents and guardians determine limits based on the types of content being consumed.
According to the AAP, there should be no screen time at all for children until 18 to 24 months, except for video chatting.
Kids ages 2 to 5 should be allowed less than 1 hour a day.
When it comes to older kids, the AAP recommends that parents and guardians negotiate limits and boundaries with their kids around screens. This is where the family media plan comes in handy.
Boundaries and consistency are crucial for children with ADHD. To help with this, Pavkovic recommends setting up a consistent screen schedule (in collaboration with your child, if they’re old enough) and minimizing their ability to move between too many different games or platforms during this time.
“Children with ADHD tend to find it hard enough to fight off distractions, so families are encouraged to really help them succeed with that as much as possible,” she says.
Just before screen time starts coming to an end, Pavkovic suggests providing some time prompts in a calm way and avoid ending screen time abruptly.
Some children do find time-based limitations too difficult to adhere to, though, so in those cases, she recommends developing an achievement-based strategy like “when you win x-number of gold coins in the game, you can stop.”
But of course, families will want to make sure that this remains within reasonable time limits.
For older kids, you can give a warning several minutes before screen time ends, with the goal of teaching the child to self-monitor with a timer, then go in and ask 5 minutes before the end of screen time, “How much time is left?” This will help the child learn to self-monitor, which is part of learning self-control.
“Children with ADHD appear to benefit from shorter periods of screen-based activities more frequently,” says Pavkovic.
For example, 40 minutes per day, 5 days a week, instead of 2 hours per day, twice a week. However, she says families are encouraged to tweak screen time to find a solution that shows the best behavioral outcome for their own child and then stick to this consistently.
Blocking apps, timers, and other tools are a parent’s best friend. Not only do they eliminate the verbal back and forth between adults and kids when it’s time to power off, but they also help parents keep tabs on what their kids are watching, doing, and viewing online.
Blocking apps and tools allow parents to turn off the internet connection to designated devices or block certain websites at specified times. Some internet providers and systems have their own programs you can use. Otherwise, there are a ton of free and subscription-based options such as:
Teaching kids healthy behaviors about screen time can also translate to healthy behaviors in life. That’s why Pavkovic recommends pairing up a screen time activity with some kind of physical activity so that the physical activity follows the tech-based one.
For example, after screen time is up, your child can choose from a list of physical activities like playing outside, bike riding, shooting baskets, dancing, or riding a scooter.
Pavkovic says to be very careful about cutting out or reducing screen time that is beneficial to your child.
“If your child is able to socialize through technology or enjoys being physically active by playing online games or following exercise tutorials, find other screen time activities that could be curbed instead,” she says.
This is also a great opportunity to encourage using screens for creativity, not just for consuming media.
When not in use, put all screens away. This applies to parents, too.
“Our kids take their cues from us, and we need to be deliberate in modeling healthy screen time and limits,” says Booth Watkins.
She points out that setting screen-free time and electronic-free zones that the entire family will adhere to can also be a good way to manage screen time in a way that doesn’t feel punitive. The kid won’t feel as targeted if the rule applies to the household.
For instance, no phones at the table for meals, or designate certain days and times as screen-free.
With that said, Booth Watkins says that parents may need to help kids think of other ways to spend their time.
“I often suggest, in advance, create a menu of activities that your child can choose to engage in, such as read a book, arts and crafts, play outside, play a board game, or other agreed-upon activities,” she explains.
Additionally, removing all devices from bedrooms at least 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime is critical for sleep. Plus, too much time spent on devices at night can negatively impact your child at school the next day.
Finally, consider storing all screens in a location that only parents or guardians are aware of. This reduces the chance that your child will get up in the middle of the night to look for their device.
Rather than think of this as screen time management, Booth Watkins says that we should think of this as helping our kids to develop healthy habits and healthy relationships with screen time.
“Kids with ADHD may need more support in helping them to internalize the new schedules and structure, especially since they may struggle in a greater way when it comes to tolerating delayed gratification,” she explains.
Investing time in a plan for screen time, fostering conversations about tech use, and working with your child to establish healthy habits can reduce conflict and encourage positive outcomes.
Technology use is a part of daily life, and helping kids to learn responsible tech use is an important skill.
When my husband and I were planning our family, I would have visions of the type of parent I wanted to be and what our family would look and be like. I thought about my hopes and wishes for my children and even had in mind how I wanted to instill in them a love of learning and the value of education.
Once our children came onto the scene life was harder to balance than I had envisioned. I struggled to work full-time with two children in daycare and find the balance I was looking for. That being said because my kids were not receiving homework I felt the status quo was still the way to go.
The first hint that something was amiss was when my daughter was at the end of pre-school. Her educators came to me with the news that she struggled with her numbers, she could not learn past the number 5. Because she was so young the conclusion was that she would likely catch up in elementary school. In kindergarten, I was relieved to hear that she was average compared to her peers. That relief did not last long, because in the fall of the following year I learned from her grade 1 teacher that she was struggling in all subjects but reading was her biggest struggle. Since I wanted to be on top of things and get her the help she needed, I had her assessed. I had known ahead of time that she was too young for a diagnosis, so I was simply looking to learn where she was and how to best support her. Post assessment, she was put on an IEP and hired a tutor specializing in learning disabilities. Despite these two interventions, she continued to struggle academically, so in grade 3 we had her re-assessed and even considered switching her school. The assessment concluded by stating that she had a generalized learning disability and continued to require an IEP. At this point in her academic career, I was primarily looking to her psychologist, tutor, teachers, and school administrators for guidance on how to best support her. I would do research and come up with creative solutions at home but I was not self-directed or confident in my ability to know how to help her best. My daughter hated the idea of changing schools so we kept her where she wanted to be. I felt I was just doing what we needed to do to get her through elementary school. I expected that once we found a high school more tailored to her needs, her academic experience would change.
In the fall of grade 6, as we were applying to high schools (in Quebec high school starts in grade 7) we learned she needed a new assessment. This time the results were different. This time we learned that our daughter had ADHD inattentive type, 3 learning disabilities, and anxiety. I was thrown. I had expected to hear she would have a learning disability. I had not expected 3 and I certainly did not expect ADHD. I was frozen, I knew close to nothing about ADHD aside from the stigma that it was either inattention or hyperactivity and I felt overwhelmed by the 3 learning disabilities. The psychologist who assessed her told me that the best thing I could do for her would be to work on her executive functioning as her skills in this area were weak. I asked her if she knew anyone who could help us and at the time she did not. So I left her office knowing what I had to look for but not knowing where to turn and how to tackle the 3 learning disabilities. I mistakenly thought her learning disabilities were her biggest problem and did not pay much attention to the fact that she also had ADHD. Because I did not know anything about it other than society’s stigma I chose to keep the diagnosis a secret and focus on what I understood better. So I focused on her learning disabilities, specifically math and writing because her tutor was working diligently on her reading abilities. Also, I found a coach to assist my daughter with her executive function weakness and a psychologist to help her with her anxiety. This is where my life would be changed forever.
I became fascinated by what her coach was doing with her. She was teaching her things, at a more advanced level than I, of what I had been doing with my kids at home. When I questioned her about where she learned all these things she pointed me in the direction of the Smart But Scattered series of books. I quickly devoured one of the books and learned that unconsciously I had been doing basic executive function support at home. I became hooked and was obsessed with learning more. Along with learning about executive functions, I started learning more about ADHD and quickly realized that her ADHD was her biggest problem. This led me to more books, seminars, courses, and getting coached myself.
What I learned revealed to me that my parenting skills were not as effective as I had thought, especially for my neurodiverse daughter. The coaching I received helped me be accountable in implementing the learning I was doing and the changes I wanted to make so that I was better able to support my children. The blinders I had been living with were lifted. I started to see clearly how our education system is not built for the neurodiverse. I started to see ADHD differently, and how our world is not built for the ADHD/neurodiverse brain. I started seeing that all children benefited from executive function skills learning, not just neurodiverse children. This shift in mentality had a major consequence. I no longer looked to or depended on the teachers, school administrators, and other experts to guide me. I became the leader, identifying things that were missing or ways to do it better. I started leading the conversation with her teachers and resource support staff.
While my parenting and the way I was able to advocate for my daughter changed for the better, I was still not satisfied with the amount of yelling I was doing and the level of frustration we were experiencing. I knew enough about executive functions and ADHD to know that self and emotion-regulation were real issues. Around the same time, I discovered Shanker Self-Reg. I read the book which further changed my and my family’s life. I learned that as a parent I was dysregulated and a dysregulated parent cannot help regulate an equally dysregulated child. I learned how to regulate myself and once I was more regulated, I was in a better position to help my daughter regulate and surprisingly help my neurotypical child better regulate as well.
My parenting continued to change in positive ways as I became more regulated and I was able to continue supporting them in more productive and empathetic ways. As time went on, I started noticing changes in my kids. Most notably in my daughter. I learned how to stay calm amid her meltdowns, I learned how to detect patterns in her behaviour to know when she needed my regulation support. I learned how to teach Shanker Self-Reg to my kids without explicitly teaching it. Today, it is still a work in progress but the change in our family has been enormous.
Since my daughter’s ADHD diagnosis, I’ve learned that any change in her had to start with me. I had to work on my self-regulation, parenting skills, and knowledge about ADHD and executive functioning skills. This process also helped me become a much better advocate for my daughter. Today my daughter gets tutored and coached and is at a school better suited to her personality and neurodiversity. Despite this, I remain the leader of her team ensuring she has the best supports to help her in reaching her goals. Is life picture perfect? No, we still have challenges, but life is not nearly as difficult as it used to be and her performance in school is also significantly better. Her teachers inform me that she pays attention in class and is also an amazing self-advocate.
So, I ask you, are you parenting the way you want to parent? What is one thing about the way you are parenting that you would like to, and could, change that would make a difference for your ADHD child?
I believe all parents are resourceful, resilient, and not alone!
Joy Gandell, MScA, ACC is a self-employed executive function, parenting, and learning coach. The name of her coaching practice is SETA Coaching & Training. She is also the host of the Being With Joy: A Quest To Crack The Parenting Code podcast which can be found on all the major podcast platforms. She lives in a suburb of Montreal, Quebec, and resides with her husband, 2 teenage children, and dog Molson.
I recently presented at CADDAC’s online conference how ADHD was key to my success as an entrepreneur and how my undiagnosed ADHD sabotaged success. There were many unanswered questions, and I would like to answer one right now! The unanswered question was, "What is your coping mechanism for restlessness brackets (mind and body)?”
STILL DIFFICULT
It is still difficult for me, even though I am aware that it is physically and neurologically impossible to relax. In the past, my coping mechanism for restlessness was always constantly on the go, go, go, go, run, run, go, go.
SAMPLE DAY
For example, I wake up at 5 am, drive two hours to a construction site, then go to two, three or four other site meetings the same day. Then I would drive back to the office to catch up on emails, reports, update the team and review work. Then go home for dinner (late, of course), and put the kids to bed. After the kids are in bed, I would pull out the laptop and work late until bedtime. Then I would start a similar cycle again the next morning. That was 18 years. It was exhausting just to write about it.
WHY SUCH A TIGHT SCHEDULE?
By maintaining too tight of a schedule, everything became urgent! Rush to site, rush to each tightly scheduled meeting, get to the office late, and rush emails, reviews, etc. My brain was on fire, and I was pulling off magnificent feats of work completion. But this came at a cost.
COST OF SELF-IMPOSED URGENCY
I didn't allow enough travel time between meetings, and I had many close calls on the road and upset clients for being late many times. I spent too much time out of the office, and working on projects was delayed until the deadline was too close, and then I would burn the midnight candle at both ends to get it done. All things accumulated into constant fatigue and aggravated my emotional dysregulation, and it strained many relationships at work with staff, clients, and worse, with my wife and girls.
SEARCH FOR CALM
Now, I search for calm. I realized this one day on a personal retreat at the top of a mountain in Quebec early one fall morning. I wrote about it on my blog called “Searching For The Wrong Thing.” In short, I stopped trying to find ways to relax. I now find ways to be calm. Calm has helped me with coping with restlessness.
MY DAYS ARE SCHEDULED FOR CALM
My day is now structured to no longer be rushed, and I plan not to work at home in the evenings. Calm for me includes changing out of my work clothes into my "comfy clothes" as it helps me shed off work-related stress or anxiety. A mental shift to say I am at home and it is now safe. Calm includes sitting and catching up with my family at dinner. Calm includes reading after dinner.
MINDFULNESS MEDITATION
My most crucial calm technique has been mindfulness-guided meditation every night before bed. I am currently at 500 straight days as it calms my mind so I can fall asleep quicker. It was not easy sticking to the routine at first, but after many attempts, I got this streak. Mindfulness meditation has also helped me be more mindful during the day. The biggest win has been the reduction of my emotional dysregulation at work and home. My meditation "sessions" range from three to 20 minutes. It is now part of my bedtime routine.
HOW I COPE AT WORK
At the office, I do more creative work that uses up my restless mental energy. I move around more at the office and talk to the staff about their projects. I have become a mobile project problem solver, a perfect role for me. I have shed a great many tasks that I don't enjoy, and I no longer do. I purchased a stand-up desk that can go up and down when I want to.
YOU DON’T BELIEVE ME – TRY IT
It is still unbelievable how finding calm has been an excellent way to cope with my physical and mental (primarily mental) restlessness. Sounds counterintuitive? But to me, it is the truth! It took almost a year for me to SEE this realization after committing myself to work on finding calm. I had to accept the results will take time to surface and to be patient. Besides my marriage, this has been the most important commitment that I made for myself.
André Brisson has a personal blog at andreb.ca and a professional blog at tacticalbts.com.
Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who has sent an e-mail or tweet to their elected official through CADDAC’s online advocacy campaign. To-date, 178 e-mails have been sent through our Ontario campaign and 289 through our national campaign as well as countless tweets. More are being added every day. A special thanks to those of you who have taken the extra time to share your personal thoughts and stories in the e-mails to your elected officials. It is these personalized e-mails that touch politicians the most.
I would also like to encourage those of you who have not yet contacted your elected official and Minister of Education through this quick and easy tool, to please do so. Since CADDAC has a newsletter following of over six thousand, we sincerely hope to see many more e-mails sent.
I would also like to encourage all of you to share this information with your contact lists. Please access E-mail text to share, which will provide you with an e-mail to send to your friends, family and colleagues. Until those in a decision-making position, understand that their constituents actually do care about students with ADHD, things will remain the same.
At the launch of this campaign CADDAC reached out to every Ministry of Education across Canada except for Quebec. CADDAC is in the process of hiring a bilingual employee and is searching for Quebec partners to assist us in advocacy efforts in that province.
To-date six of the twelve ministries contacted have replied to our e-mail, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, North West Territories, Yukon, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. Of these all six have agreed to meet. We have already met with representatives of the Ministry of Nova Scotia and have meetings booked with the Ministries of North West Territories, Manitoba, Saskatchewan. We are waiting for the meeting times to be set for Ontario and Yukon.
During our calls we expect to discuss ways in which Ministries can improve teacher training in ADHD, ensure that students with ADHD are receiving the resources they require and increase ADHD information on ministry web sites and other platforms to ensure that ADHD is recognized as a serious learning risk. In addition, during these calls we are gathering information on the unique process each province uses to flag students with special needs, when and how they develop individual learning plans for these students and how students with ADHD fare in their process. We are also asking about the role of parents in developing individual education plans.
Due to a media release sent out on January the 21st four media interviews occurred. Interviews with Global News Radio 900 CHML Hamilton, CBC Vancouver, CHEK News Victoria, and a free lance journalist in Alberta resulted in news stories and a live news radio interview.
When our Ministry meetings are completed CADDAC will send out another media release summarizing the meetings and comparing provincial supports for students with ADHD.
CADDAC has also sent out a request to ADHD medical professionals and ADHD support groups across Canada asking that they share the ADHD Right to Learn campaign information far and wide.
Please take a few minutes to help us advocate for students with ADHD across Canada by sending an e-mail or tweet to your elected official and passing on the ADHD Right to Learn campaign information.
Warm regards,
Heidi Bernhardt
CADDAC Founder and Director or Education and Advocacy
During CADDAC’s recent online conference I presented on school advocacy. At the end of the presentation many of the questions were let unanswered or briefly answered. Since many of these questions are common questions that CADDAC receives, I will be sharing the answers to these questions in several blog posts over the next few months.
Written by Heidi Bernhardt R.N.
Question 1
If one wants to consider a private school or another public school can you suggest any specific school types (Montessori, outdoor, etc.) that have a great history with ADHD kids?
This is a question that we receive frequently and unfortunately there is no easy answer. Yes, there are some individual schools (as well as some public schools) that demonstrate expertise in teaching neurodiverse kids, but they don’t fit into any one category or type of school. My advice to parents when looking at private schools, or considering changing public schools is to first learn as much as you can about how ADHD impairs learning, executive functioning and self and emotional regulation. Then build a profile for your individual child, outline their strengths and needs, and define where they are struggling. After that, research appropriate teaching strategies and classroom accommodations to assist with these impairments. Use CADDAC webinars, classroom accommodation charts and Teach ADHD Charts to do so.
Once you are informed, visit the schools you are considering in person and assess the environment. Is it somewhere your child would feel welcome and comfortable? Then, sit down with the administration for an in-depth conversation. Have them explain their understanding of ADHD. Do they develop IEPs? Ask them how they educate their staff about all neurodevelopmental disorders, their impact on learning and the appropriate teaching strategies and classroom accommodations. How do they evaluate their teachers’ knowledge and understanding of this information and their success in applying these skills?
At the end of these questions I would suggest you describe some specific scenarios that your child has experienced at school. Ask how they would react and solve these situations? How would they deal with a child that is not handing in assignments or a child that is reluctant to try new things? How about a situation were a child has reacted badly when triggered? This will allow you to get a good understanding about their knowledge level of ADHD and how they might handle situations that commonly occur with your child.
Unfortunately, I have spoken to many parents who have reported that although their private school spoke about understanding self-regulation issues during the interview, in practice, they were far better at working with children’s academic difficulties than dealing with what they saw as behavioural outbursts. They were often reactive rather than proactive during these situations and handled them much the same as the public system.
Written by Heidi Bernhardt R.N.
During this year’s ADHD Awareness Month’s Campaign CADDAC shared ADHD facts from peer reviewed research. Our media release and bus shelter posters stated that ADHD is a serious mental health disorder that can significantly impact one’s mental health as well as physical health. Consequently, a few followers shared that they found the messages too negative. They would have preferred more positive messaging, fun facts about ADHD and more comments on individuality and neurodiversity. As a mother, grandmother and spouse of someone with ADHD I can certainly understand these feelings. We want others to recognize the individuality, strengths and other wonderful traits of our kids and family members with ADHD and not just the down side.
One of our Facebook contributors suggested that it would be beneficial for CADDAC to let people know why we think people should know these facts and what CADDAC’s next steps are after this campaign and bus shelter advertisement. I though these were very insightful questions that should have been addressed earlier, so here goes.
Unfortunately, medical research data by its very nature always removes individuality. It looks for commonality, raw data and percentages that can be used to draw conclusions. I remember when I first found out that ADHD was a part of our family, about thirty years ago, I read medical texts written for clinicians because little else was available. Even with a background in psychiatric nursing I found these extremely depressing. Most of the research data made it sound like my child was heading for a life of failure, unfortunately that has not changed much. After working closely with ADHD experts through CADDRA while building CADDAC I quickly realized that ADHD information, even if basically the same, should most often be nuanced according to the audience.
But here’s the rub. If we don’t share the negative facts about ADHD openly and bluntly, ADHD will never be recognized as something that requires society’s attention. We still lack resources for assessment and treatment nation wide. Access to multimodal treatments, even when strongly backed by research, are costly and difficult to access. Many students with ADHD across Canada are still unable to access the supports they deserve in order to reach their potential. Employers still do not understand that ADHD is actually a medical disability and similar to depression should allow the right to accommodations.
We at CADDAC also find it hugely concerning that: large mental health organizations still offer very little information about ADHD; many mental health centres still do not treat ADHD; many medical professionals still know little about ADHD and those that do often charge over provincial coverage to diagnose it; and large mental health awareness campaigns still do not include ADHD in their messaging.
Almost on a daily basis CADDAC is reminded that our decision makers and elected officials do not understand the serious consequences of ignoring ADHD. They really don’t think about ADHD at all because they believe that ADHD is of no interest to their constituents. You see, their constituents do not speak to them about ADHD unlike parents of children with Autism.
So, this year CADDAC chose to put out some hard facts about ADHD. Through our ADHD Speaks campaign this October, ADHD Awareness Month, we are asking that people share those hard facts with their elected officials or others that needed to be educated on ADHD.
We ask you, our followers, to stay tuned as we further expand our online advocacy campaigns this fall and into 2021. We plan to highlight specific advocacy asks in each campaign and will be requesting those personally or professionally impacted by ADHD to help us inform our elected officials that their constituents actually do care about ADHD.
Warm Regards,
Heidi Bernhardt
Written by Heidi Bernhardt R.N.
Click here to download the blog in PDF format.
What exactly is this new “quadmester” system?
Instead of two semesters there will be four semesters in this 2020/2021 school year in Ontario. Two subjects will be taken per semester with each semester lasting approximately ten weeks. Students may choose in school learning or remote learning before each quadmester. If students choose in- class learning versus complete remote learning, they will be in school for approximately 2.5 hours per day, two days out of five one week and three out of five the next week. After their in-class sessions they will be expected to complete their day learning online. The days of the week that they are not in school will be spent in online learning.
How might these changes impact our students with ADHD?
There may be a slight benefit for students with ADHD in this quadmester system because they will only need to focus on two courses at a time, rather than four. This means less juggling of multiple assignments, which is a challenge for many students with ADHD and executive functioning impairments. A more concentrated learning schedule will require a faster moving curriculum which depending on the student may be a benefit or drawback. Some students will find it difficult to keep pace requiring additional time to process and integrate new concepts. Others with ADHD who find classes too slow and boring may actually do better when classes move at a quicker pace. However, this faster pace will mean that if a student misses a day or two due to illness, they will most likely become overwhelmed fearing that they will never be able to catch up.
For most students with ADHD the expectation that they sit and listen to lecture style teaching for extended periods of time with minimal breaks will cause a problem. In addition, many of our students need to move frequently which will undoubtedly be even more restricted than usual. This will further reduce their attentional capabilities and may lead to more shifting of position, tapping, squirming etc., causing them to be unintentionally more disruptive. Also, the new schedule of moving from in-class learning to online learning at the end of the day and through the week will be difficult for students with ADHD. Consistency of routine is a necessity for those with ADHD.
Tips for students with ADHD and their parents on navigating this new quadmester system.
Autism disorder commonly coexists with ADHD with 20-50% of children with ADHD meeting the diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder, (ASD). Even when symptom levels do not meet the criteria for a diagnosis of Autism, we often see common symptoms of Autism present in children with ADHD. ADHD on the other hand is the most common coexisting disorder in children with Autism, 30-80% of ASD children meet the criteria for ADHD.
Research on this significant co-existence led the American Academy of Psychiatrists to revise their guidelines. Prior to 2013 physicians were not allowed to diagnose both disorders in the same child, however the new DSM 5 guidelines now allow for the dual diagnose ADHD and Autism.
More Facts:
Some researchers have been pondering whether these two disorders might possibly be the same disorder with different presentations, but research to-date has been inconclusive. Genetic studies show some similarities, but brain imaging indicates both differences and similarities. Researchers are also questioning whether similar appearing impairments seen in the two disorders, such as attention dysregulation, may actually be caused for two different reasons.
At the same time, other researchers are pondering if we should be looking at a different way to think about mental and neurological disorders altogether. Rather then looking at the disorders through their diagnostic labels, we should be conducting joint studies looking at ways to categorize under common traits. An example is a study by the POND Network in Ontario, which looked at the inability of study participants with Autism, ADHD and OCD to read other people’s emotions by looking at their eyes. This has generally been thought to be an Autism trait, but researchers found the same inability in participants with ADHD. Therefore, children with ADHD would also struggle with impaired social functioning. Knowing this would greatly assist in initiating appropriate supports.
One of the most important things we need to understand as parents of children with ADHD is our child’s unique profile. When we understand their individual set of strengths and impairments, rather than just a generalized list of ADHD symptoms, we can put appropriate supports and accommodations in place and make knowledgeable decisions about appropriate treatments. With the overlap of these two disorders many children with ADHD will also present with traits seen in Autism, even when they do not meet diagnostic criteria. Only after my grandson was diagnosed with dual ADHD and Autism, did I delve into the world of Autism literature more deeply. I was surprised how much this also assisted me in understanding some of those “more unique” traits of two of my three sons with ADHD.
Another reason to understand the interplay of these two disorders is for the purpose of school advocacy. Although many of the learning and self-regulation impairments that students with ADHD experience are very similar to those of students with Autism, ADHD is not included in the categories of exceptionality in Ontario, British Columbia or Quebec. Ministries of Education use these categories to define students with special learning needs and approve additional resources. Therefore, students with ADHD although also impaired do not qualify due to their specific diagnosis. In a past blog post CADDAC summarized a recent Ontario Human Right Commission’s paper addressing this issue.
The situation has become so bad that physicians report parents coming to them asking for a diagnosis of Autism rather than ADHD because they know that this will get their child access to learning resources that these kids desperately need. Of course, this is not a discretionary choice on a physician’s part, but how sad that it has come to this.
Perhaps we all need to do a better job of educating our elected officials and Ministries of Education on the research and how greatly these two disorders actually overlap.
For more information please access these resources
The Centre for ADHD Awareness Canada, CADDAC has developed a set of questions aimed at parties and their candidates addressing some of the issues that families and individuals impacted by ADHD have expressed are of concern to them.
The purpose of this set of questions aimed at parties and candidates is to:
CADDAC is requesting that families and individuals impacted by ADHD ask one or more of these questions of their local candidates. During the campaign, candidates will canvass their constituents door-to-door, on the telephone, and at candidates’ meetings and debates. Any connection with a candidate is an opportunity to ask one or more of these questions to build relationships, and determine commitments for action.
Background
Access to timely assessment and diagnosis of any mental health condition is essential for the successful treatment of that condition. When left undiagnosed, ADHD frequently leads to increased health care costs, academic failure, increased mental health disorders and substance abuse, more unemployment, more involvement with the justice system and increased socioeconomic costs. Wait lists for assessments and treatment are long. Access to multimodal, recommended treatment, is difficult and expensive. In many provinces ADHD is still not recognized as the risk to learning that research tells us that it is. Educators are not trained adequately in ADHD teaching strategies and many still wrongly think that these children are just behaviour problems.
Dear Mister MacLeod,
I am reaching out to you through this e-mail on behalf of the Centre for ADHD Awareness, Canada, or CADDAC. We represent countless Ontario families that we hear from daily, who struggle with the lack of recognition of ADHD and therefore services for this disability in Ontario. We applaud your Ministry for allowing families of children with other disabilities to also be heard.
Did you know that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, was clinically observed more than 100 years ago, is a lifelong disorder and a significant risk to health, learning and employment. ADHD is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder occurring in children, with incident rates exceeding Autism and learning disabilities. But, children with ADHD who receive the proper treatment and support can grow into success contributing members of our Ontario society.
Untreated, or inadequately supported, ADHD leads to increased school dropout, increased unemployment and social services, increased physical and mental health issues including addiction and substance abuse and increased involvement with the justice system. ADHD incident rates in our correction systems are 5 fold for adults with ADHD and 10 fold for youth with ADHD. One third of Canadian inmates have ADHD despite the fact that we know that treating the disorder greatly reduces recidivism.
Although multimodal treatment for ADHD is recommended, all types of treatment, other than medication, including cognitive behaviour therapy and childhood behaviour therapy, are not covered by Ontario provincial health care.
Although
many of the learning and self-regulation impairments that students with ADHD
experience are very similar to those of students with Autism, ADHD is not
included in any of the Ontario special education categories of exceptionality.
This has resulted in many school boards using this as an excuse to not IPRC
students with ADHD leading to inadequate resources for students with ADHD. One
of our major asks of the Ontario government's Ministry of Education is that
ADHD be included in the categories of exceptionality. Since learning
disabilities, Austism and ADHD are all neurodevelopmental disorders that impair
learning, so it would only make sense to group these disorders together in one
category.
Similar to students with Autism many students with ADHD are also being excluded
from a full day of education in our Ontario school boards.
We very much want to be included in any stakeholder consultation on this issue
that is being initiated by your government.
We would very much like to meet with you to discuss these issues and the continued inequity of access of education and health resources faced by children and adults with ADHD in Ontario.
I look forward to hearing from you regarding possible meeting dates.
Sincerely,
Heidi Bernhardt
President / Executive Director CADDAC
