Giving An ADD In-Service For School Staff: You Can Do It!

by Linda Halperin, Ed.S.

In 31 years as an educator, I would like to think I made a positive difference in the lives of children and their parents. When I evaluate my long career in education as a regular and special education teacher, learning disability teacher/consultant, and finally a school psychologist, I realized that one of most important things I accomplished, was to teach an In-Service course to school staff . The course was designed to educate them about ADD and related disorders. The need for this evolved when I often heard school staff "bad mouth" kids with ADD and their parents. You see, I was one of those parents and I knew people did not understand this disorder and misjudged my son and me.

Teaching this course became a mission for me and a younger colleague who shared the same problems with her child. This appeared to be a daunting task, but we were pleased that our district was most cooperative and appreciative. We knew that teaching to our peers could be difficult, and that they are often more attentive to "outsiders", but we persevered. We wrote a simple proposal, outlining what we wanted to accomplish. We insisted on including administrators, and administrative assistants, nurses, and teacher's aides. We eventually gave the course to bus drivers who are often the first and last people to see our children each day.

To begin the process, we asked the administrators if we could provide this course as part of the staff development program in our school system. The course was designed to help staff understand the characteristics of ADD as well as acquaint them with some of the treatments currently used. We also intended to help our staff create a structured and predictable environment with specific behavior and classroom management strategies.

We were overwhelmed with the response when the course quickly reached the maximum number of 25 applicants. Participants ranged from pre-school special education teachers to high school chemistry teachers. We met immediately after school for two hours each week over a period of five weeks, for a total of ten hours. We repeated the course in the Spring and Fall. The school district gave the attending staff members an additional incentive of one credit on the salary guide toward an advanced degree; however, many chose this course purely for professional development.

We began our first session by asking each participant why they registered for the course and what they hoped to learn. We knew course credit was a factor, but we wanted to understand our members' specific needs. We were taken back when one middle school participant stated that she wanted us to prove that "these kids were not just BRATS." Aware that this would not be an easy task, we doubled our resolve and carefully developed the following strategies to help make the course pleasant, meaningful, and at the same time, to prove to our doubting colleague that "these kids were not just brats!"

Utilizing dramatic, personal stories that ADD children had shared with us, we attempted to heighten awareness of the pain that they experienced each day in the classroom. We emphasized how just one special teacher can make the critical difference. To convey the magnitude of these everyday experiences for our children, we even asked the participants to try to recall and share their worse humiliation in school. It was fascinating to observe how quickly they remembered the painful and embarrassing experiences, even though many of these occurred over 50 years ago.

During our first session, we explained our personal involvement with ADHD. My son is in his 30's, so we were pioneers. I shared several personal experience that were both comical and powerful. I dramatically stressed the importance of identification and intervention before it was too late. I explained that ADD behavior could be a life threatening disorder because of the impulsivity, the need for instant gratification, and the subsequent depression derived from repeated failure. I emphasized the staggering number of ADD adults in jail and explained that time and money expended proactively was money well spent for prevention. The need to harness the high level of creativity and energy ADD often exhibit was emphasized.

My colleague, who had a much younger child with ADD, discussed the misunderstanding surrounding this disorder, especially when a child does not exhibit signs of hyperactivity or behavior problems. She shared her current experiences as a parent who must advocate and negotiate with her child's school district.

We both explained how and why we agreed to use medication for our children and how it worked for them. Because we had credibility in the district, it helped people to understand that even good parents, with professional credentials, could experience these problems.

An essay included in our resource book, "Welcome to Holland," by Emily Kingley was read aloud to sensitize participants. The essay relates a story of the anticipation of a trip to Italy that mistakenly becomes a journey through Holland. It describes the positive features of Holland and poignantly helps one understand that the disappointment and feelings of loss can lead to the ability to experience and enjoy very special things about the unexpected.

Additionally, we did the following:

1. We held the course in a comfortable setting (the well lit, carpeted media center).
2. We provided coffee and food. Eventually, the class members provided their own food and became quite creative. Participants were often exhausted after their working day and appreciated the lift that the refreshments and coffee provided.
3. We used a resource book of articles we compiled and worksheets where permission to copy was granted. Currently, here are several good books that could be used for this purpose.
4. In our book, we included characteristics, core symptoms, learning style preferences, an action plan for teachers, specific strategies for managing ADD in the classroom, the ideal teacher and classroom for ADD children, education issues, types of medication and recommended dosages, organizational strategies including forms for teacher use, and names and addresses of organizations and publications that would be helpful to teachers and parents.
5. We stressed the genetic, neurobiological component of this disorder. We worked hard to remove the guilt from parents and kids. We emphasized that it is not caused by bad parents, but that bad parenting could make it worse and that understanding and educated parents might help improve it. We tried to emphasize that the kids were not lazy or spoiled brats, but that discouragement and frustration were secondary characteristics, and kids often used maladaptive coping strategies such as clowning, which was usually misunderstood.
6. During our two-hour sessions, a significant amount of humor was interjected. We laughed at ourselves and our foibles while raising our children and we occasionally told jokes to keep everyone alert.
7. We used multimedia materials, including overhead transparencies, video tapes by several professionals, and slides. We attempted to keep our members awake by shifting gears, allowing them to participate, changing our vocal tone and limiting the amount of lecture time. We stressed that this is important with all children, especially those with ADD.
8. Our later course included material on Tourettes Syndrome, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the Autistic spectrum.

In order to prevent staff members from becoming overzealous in identifying ADD, we encouraged them to confer with a child study-team member or counseling psychologist before discussing their concerns with parents. We emphasized that it was most important to describe characteristics rather than label a child ADD.

To determine if we were successfully meeting our goals and objectives, we asked for an evaluation at the end of the five sessions. Rather than a traditional evaluation, we asked the members to write what they liked about the course and what they thought they would add or delete to make it better. The responses were most positive and the suggestions were excellent.

We believed that staff members gleaned significant information and enhanced their sensitivity about ADD. After hearing and sharing success stories, they were less threatened by the students and had more compassion for them and their parents. They promised to conduct their parent conferences in a positive manner, always remembering that they were talking about a child, one who is special and loved by the parent.

We continue to receive feedback from the participants, including one who identified a disorganized child who did not demonstrate hyperactivity. This teacher felt empowered to look for help rather than blame the child. This was our goal!

We consider the energy and effort required to organize and teach this course well worth it, especially after listening to teachers and nurses provide positive feedback regarding their heightened understanding of ADD children. And no less important to us was the feedback from the teacher who thought the kids "were just BRATS." Happily, she has become one of our strongest advocates.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Linda Halperin, Ed.S. is a school psychologist and learning disabilities consultant. She also performs psychological assessments for Suburban Learning Center, South Orange, New Jersey. She presents workshops and lectures on ADD for parents and teachers, and has written articles for Challenge, Communique, and CHADDer Box. Linda serves as Secretary on the National A.D.D.A. board of directors.

(c) 1997 Linda Halperin, Ed.S.