ATTENTION DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD)

While ADHD is a separate condition, students with ADHD use some of the same accommodations and instructional strategies as those with learning disabilities. ADHD is a persistent pattern of inattention or hyperactivity/impulsivity manifested in academic, employment, or social situations. It is marked in school settings by careless mistakes and disorganized work. Students often have difficulty concentrating on and completing tasks, frequently shifting from one uncompleted activity to another. In social situations, inattention may be apparent by frequent shifts in conversation, poor listening comprehension, and not following the details or rules of games and other activities. Symptoms of hyperactivity may take the form of restlessness and difficulty with quiet activities. ADHD arises during childhood and is attributed neither to gross neurological, sensory, language, or motor impairment nor to mental retardation or severe emotional disturbance.

Instructional Strategies

The following strategies are suggested to enhance the accessibility of course instruction, materials, and activities. They are general strategies designed to support individualized reasonable accommodations (see "Determining Reasonable Accommodations,").

• Include a Disability Access Statement on the syllabus (see "Appendix,").
• Keep instructions brief and as uncomplicated as possible.
• Assist the student with finding an effective note-taker or lab assistant from the class (see "Academic Assistance,").
• Allow the student to tape-record lectures.
• Clearly define course requirements, the dates of exams, and when assignments are due; provide advance notice of any changes.
• Provide handouts and visual aids.
• When appropriate, team a reader with a non-reading student during in-class assignments.
• Use more than one way to demonstrate or explain information.
• Have copies of the syllabus ready three to five weeks prior to the beginning of classes so textbooks are available for taping.
• Break information into small steps when teaching many new tasks in one lesson (state objectives, review previous lesson, summarize periodically).
• Allow time for clarification of directions and essential information.
• Provide study guides or review sheets for exams.
• Provide alternative ways for the students to do tasks, such as dictations or oral presentations.
• Provide assistance with proofreading written work.
• Stress organization and ideas rather than mechanics when grading in-class writing assignments.
• Allow the use of spell-check and grammar-assistive devices.
• When in doubt about how to assist the student, ask him or her.
• Allow the student the same anonymity as other students (i.e., avoid pointing out the student or the alternative arrangements to the rest of the class).