“ On at least one North Carolina Campus, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the number of LD and ADHD students seeking eligibility for accommodations has almost doubled since 2002 and has grown eightfold since the 1980s. What’s more, the rate of growth is still accelerating.” (Vickers, 2010). The need for accommodations for LD and ADHD college students remains controversial due to the diagnoses being perceived by some as not legitimate. Today, the academic challenges faced by college students with LD and ADHD are improving due to support provided by coaching and positive phycology approach (Costello & Stone, 2012). Even though the two disabilities are categorized in different groups they share methods that can be integrated such as having counselors, peer tutors, and other services that will meet the student’s individual needs and future achievement. Colleges are looking for ways to better attend the rapidly growing population of students who have learning disabilities and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and figuring out the best ways to facilitate their student’s success. With technology advancing everyday, college students have to know how to use a variety of advanced learning technologies to advance in their education. Students who are struggling with LD and ADHD can stumble across obstacles to equal access to these devices and successful learning in this new technological society.
“Seligman (1998) noted positive psychology’s focus is to make the lives of all people rewarding and to build positive experiences”(Costello & Stone, 2012). His concern and main focus was to train and support staff, faculty, and administrators of positive psychology approaches and overall, helping their students grow as learn...
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...egitimate. If a student wants to receive accommodations they must apply for disability services at the college they are enrolled in. For a student with LD and ADHD an accommodation may sound like “ overcome limitations that keep him or her from meeting the demands of college or university life”(Vickers, 2010). Accommodations can include peer note takers, audio recording of lectures and texts, extended time of exams, and different forms of tests. In order for a student to receive such services, the must show the office of disability services proof of the disability and how it limits the individual in school. A process is then done where school and medical professionals look at the results and indicate if accommodations would be beneficial to the student or not. LD and ADHD are equally inclined for receiving services compared to all other disabled students on campus.
Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, otherwise known as ADHD, is the most common psychiatric condition effecting 9.5% of school-aged children in the United States (intuniv, 2013). If the disorder goes untreated, it will cause more long-term side effects and difficulties for the individual as an adult. Adults who have this condition face several adversities in every day life, such as impulsive behavior, low self-esteem and poor work performance. People are not aware of the complications that come with ADHD in adults. Not knowing the symptoms of the disease can cause people to not be sympathetic when they are interacting with someone with disorder.
As much as ADHD is a medical impediment for the patient, it can almost be considered a privilege for a certain group of people, because they are allowed to assert that a certain set of behaviors belong to their “nature". To cope with the disorder, schools often offer students suffering from ADHD a host of accommodations, including special classes and teaching assistants to help them absorb the material at the level of their peers. Legal provisions exist that allow students with ADHD to be excused from standardized testing [1] and to be given additional leniency and resources in the classroom. The individual students themselves start to pick up that they are naturally distinguished or special in some way, because they have been stigmatized from a very formative age. This kind of thinking, while warranted in some scope, does not allow the children themselves to reflect and think critically about how outcomes in their school and life can be changed. Furthermore, the idea that their behavior is an immutable characteristic of nature can have devastating effects on their self-esteem and ability to succeed later in
To understand positive psychology and trauma, one must first understand what each term means. First, positive psychology is the study and focus on the best in human behavior. It is a fairly new perspective being observed and used by psychologists from all over the world. The goal of positive psychology is to study and promote conditions that can help people achieve happy, healthy, and productive lifestyles. It is derived from research and theories from many areas of psychology and tying them together while focusing on the positive aspects of human behavior.
...Video Game 'Addiction' More Likely With Autism, ADHD Study cites poor peer relationships as one reason these kids embrace gaming Health Day News, by Serena Gordon HealthDay Reporter Monday, July 29, 2013 http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/07/29/video-game-addiction-more-likely-with-autism-adhd
As a college student, the amount of students on powerful meds for ADHD and ADD is shocking. It is a topic seen in every classroom and heard in many dialogues. Conversations can be overheard frequently about how easy meds are to get and how effortless it is to receive a diagnosis. However, while I know that a vast number of students are taking prescription drugs for ADHD, I don’t think that I ever realized the full extent to which this disorder was effecting America’s youth. It wasn’t until I spent my time volunteering as a paraprofessional in a fourth grade classroom that I felt I truly understood the weight that the number of ADHD diagnosis’s were having on our nation’s children. The supervising teacher I was working with told me that in her classroom of 22 children, six of them were on some sort of prescription medication for ADHD, and many parents that I spoke to tended to blow off the risk factors involved, remarking that the drugs improved their school performance. I was shocked at this figure, especially because after working with the children, even on the days that they forgot to take their medicine, I found that by using different methods of instruction, many of the children didn’t seem to have much less trouble focusing than the children who did not have ADHD. So when we were assigned this paper, I set out to disprove the myth that children who act out in school have must ADHD and need to be put on prescription drugs in order to do well in school.
When I first heard about ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder), I thought, “C’mon. This psycho-babble has gone too far.” I saw psychologists, researchers, lawyers, teachers, parents, all talking seriously about this claimed disorder. But what I didn’t think about was where this information was coming from. Many talk shows have featured ADHD, where self-righteous citizens cheer, boo, and hiss like a jury at some medieval witch trial. A writer for the reputable publication New York magazine wrote: “[ADHD] is certainly a fitting disorder for the Nintendo and MTV generations—children who seem more at home playing computer games than having a quiet dinner conversation with their parents,” which sounds like it was written by a disgruntled “parent” rather than an unbiased reporter (Blau 45). And an article in Time ran quotes from erudite psychologists like Robert Reid, who said that ADHD is just an ego-preserving excuse, merely “a label of forgiveness” (Wallis 42). Newspapers ran these argumentative headlines: “Some Skeptical of Surge in Attention-Deficit Diagnoses” and “Overreacting to Attention Deficit Disorder” (Perkins A1, Vatz 82). And before I began learning about ADHD, I too was a media-driven skeptic. But, as with most things, knowledge begets understanding.
Over the past couple of years there has been a vast increase in the number of Americans suffering from ADHD. ADHD has become a hot topic of discussion for the public resulting in rising attention and concern. The way health professionals go about treating and making sure they properly treat patients suffering from ADHD is by thoroughly assessing the patient. As this disorder became more known, it resulted in more parents becoming more aware and realizing that their student’s poor performance in school or behavioral problems might not be intentional.
Students with high-incidence disabilities or HID are the most common in schools. The group of high incidence disabilities include students with emotional, behavioral or mild intellectual disabilities as well as those with autism, speech or language impairments and attention deficit disorder (Gage et al., 2012). Students with HID are usually taught within the general education classroom. There are either co-teachers or a resource teacher that takes the students out of the general education classroom for short periods of time to work in a more individual, structured environment (Personal Improvement Center, n.d.).... ...
Today’s classroom looks vastly different than classrooms even a decade ago. Teachers today need to be aware of different impairments and the impact it has on the tools they will be using to aid all of their students ability to reach their full potential. Students with cognitive impairments bring with them a unique set of challenges for the student and teacher to both overcome. Cognitive impairments encompass a vast array of qualifiers which makes accommodating for the student seem more problematic than is the reality. So what qualifies as a cognitive impairment? Dove (2012) highlights “attention, memory, self-regulation, navigation, emotion recognition and management, planning, and sequencing activity” as some cognitive processes that provide hurdles for students with cognition deficiencies. However, as Katsioloudis and Jones (2013) note, other cognitive disabilities include traumatic brain injuries, autism, and learning disabilities among others.
Students with learning disabilities in the regular classroom may have challenges that require special attention. If the teacher is able to identify the disabilities and the features associated with them then the teacher can tailor the lessons to meet the needs of the students. These may include differentiated instruction and facilitating an inclusive classroom which will see inclusive strategies employed that will cater to the needs of students with learning disabilities. These inclusive strategies can range from individualized learning programs to team and co-teaching. In some cases, the teacher can arrange for a special education teacher or arrange for a pull out program to assist students who have learning disabilities. Strategies that will also cater to learning disabilities may also include the use of technology. According to Ford 2013 ‘In some situations it may be best for students with LD to be taught in separate pull out classrooms with a teacher who can provide targeted skill instruction in areas where a student is struggling.’ ‘When provided appropriate support within this setting, many of these students can achieve academically and develop positive self-esteem and social skills. (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 1991). They also recommend that schools should ‘require in-service programs for all school personnel to give them the knowledge and skills necessary to provide education for students with learning disabilities in the regular education classroom.’ Schools should include activities to help participants learn strategies to meet individual needs of students, foster attitudes conductive to educating students with learning disabilities in the regular education classroom, and promote
Wong, P. T. (2011). Positive psychology 2.0: Towards a balanced interactive model of the good life. What to do about the negative?, 52(2), 69-70.
The use of Smartboard technology assists in a variety of learning instruction for diverse learners. Students with ADHD need physical movement in the classroom. This provides them with the physical movement, kinesthetic learning and a visual reinforcement of the content. Integrating computer games through the use of technology offers a better chance for ADHD learners to succeed (Zemliansky, 2010). While this type of activity provides students with ADHD to have some physical movement, it also keeps the lesson
Three corresponding research areas for the brain are: perception, cognition, and action. Perception relates to the senses such as sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch. Cognition refers to how the brain processes information, and connects an emotional response to a certain problem or situation. Action is the outcome of what is observed from perception and understood from cognition. Any issue in these areas can lead to brain disorders. For instance, Autism is a disorder relating to cognition whereas Parkinson’s Disease relates to movement disabilities (Desimone 2007). Likwise, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, more commonly referred to as ADHD, is a disorder, which causes a person to easily loose focus and/or be hyperactive. It is a common disorder that affects around 6.4 million American children (Holland and Riley 2014).
In the United States 20% of the adult population report that they are living a flourishing life (Keyes, 2002). However, a high percentage reports feeling as if they are ‘‘stuck’’ or ‘‘want more’’ and are yet not diagnosable with a mental disorder (Fredrickson, 2008). Because happiness has been found to be the source of many desirable life outcomes e.g. career success, marriage, and health, it is of importance to understand, how languishing individuals can reach this ideal state: How can well-being be enhanced and misery reduced (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005). Over the past decade, research in the field of positive psychology has emerged to provide evidence-based methods to increase an individual’s psychological well-being, through so called positive psychology interventions (PPI’s). PPI’s are treatment methods or intentional activities used to promote positive feelings or behaviour. PPI’s vary from writing gratitude letters, practicing optimistic thinking and replaying positive experiences. A meta-analysis of 51 independent PPI studies demonstrated significant results in the effectiveness of PPI’s increasing well-being (49 studies; r = .29) (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009).
Accommodations will help students achieve these academic goals, which can be instructional or environmental changes that help students to successfully understand and respond to the regular curriculum. These kinds of accommodations may be a change of seating in the classroom, sitting up front during story time or allowing more time on an exam. For example, a child who may have dyslexia needs to have an additional 20 minutes on exams, or have test questions and answers read to them aloud. These are accommodations made in order for the student to have the best chance of success. A student, who does not have a learning disability, doesn’t need those accommodations and would not necessarily benefit if they were given to