ISEC 2005 Glasgow

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ISEC 2005 Glasgow

• ADHD a growing challenge to educational
  inclusion
• Joan Stead and Gwynedd Lloyd
• University of Edinburgh
• joan.stead_at_ed.ac.uk

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This paper

• The advent of ADHD what is it? where has it come
  from?
• Some data from Scotland
• Issues for schools
• Issues for thinking about inclusion

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ADHD what is it?

• A medical condition?
• Medicalising of naughtiness?
• A psychiatric disorder?
• A label of forgiveness?
• It depends who answers the question

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What is it?

• ADHD is a medically diagnosed condition
• It is a term which has only recently been used
• Previously the term used was hyperkinetic
  disorder
• It comes from the diagnostic and statistical
  manual of the American Psychiatric Association
  (DSM-iv)
• The diagnosis is still controversial

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ADHD does not

• Have clear physical signs that can be seen in an
  x-ray or laboratory test.
• It can only be diagnosed by looking for certain
  characteristics of behaviour
• (NICE Guidelines England)

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Why?

• Educational reasons
• Social reasons
• Family reasons
• Information reasons
• Funding reasons
• Marketing reasons
• Professional preferences/judgements

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A pilot study Mapping the issue

• Numbers of pupils identified with ADHD and those
  on medication in primary schools in Scotland
• Explore whether
• school staff involved in diagnostic process
• they meet with medical staff
• They feel adequately prepared for supporting
  pupils with ADHD in classroom

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Methods

• One page easy to complete questionnaire
• Only one councils completed at present
• Large city council
• Half of the primary schools
• Random sample
• Return rate - 32 of 51 schools

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Early findings from pilot study

• 54 children were diagnosed with ADHD
• 40 children were on medication
• 22 schools had provided evidence for medical
  diagnosis-12 had not
• In 11 schools there had been meetings with
  medical staff, in 15 schools there had been no
  such meetings
• 14 schools said they felt adequately prepared in
  supporting pupils, 14 schools did not.

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? Difficulties withadministration of medication

• Not had enough time to assess this. Pupil has
  been excluded already.
• Staff taken away from other duties. We have had
  to buy secure storage units.
• Getting the child to swallow them.

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?Staff feel adequately prepared

• We are relatively new at having children
  diagnosed with ADHD and feel we need more info on
  this.
• Yes partly. Staff have researched ADHD on the
  internet, attended courses and read books.

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Data from 5 special schools

• A primary mainly boys 18 pupils - 9
  diagnosed/medicated
• B primary mainly boys 52 pupils - 3 waiting
  diagnosis 11 diagnosed
• C secondary mainly boys 60 pupils - 7 diagnosed
• D secondary girls 10 pupils - 1 diagnosed
• E secondary boys 50 pupils - 3 diagnosed

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Further Scottish data

• Disability Living Allowance for claimants under
  16 with Behavioural Disorder
• 31/8/00 3.6 (thousands)
• 31/8/01 4.0
• 31/8/02 4.8
• 31/8/03 5.4
• 31/8/04 6.0
• (Source DWP, Information Directorate, 5 samples)

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A growing challenge to inclusion

• Medical not educational solutions
• Teachers not confident that they can address this
• If confident, often because of psycho-medically
  based training/information

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Labels and inclusion

• Educational inclusion depends on schools seeing
  pupils as whole human beings?
• Expectations reduced/altered as consequence of
  labels?
• Labels refer to individual disorder not to
  educational practice

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Author details

• Dr Joan Stead and Dr Gwynedd Lloyd
• Moray House School of Education
• Holyrood Rd Edinburgh EH8 8AQ
• 0044 1316516221 (Joan)
• 00441316516445 (Gwynedd)
• Joan.Stead_at_ed.ac.uk
• Gwynedd.Lloyd_at_ed.ac.uk