By Gavin Mackintosh-
ADHD Students are a problem for teachers, according to research.
Teachers are fed up of children who misbehave and blame ADHD for their behavior. However, these teachers say their contract forbids them to go on record with their views on ADHD children.
Children with ADHD or bipolar often use their diagnosis as a reason or excuse for their wrong behavior. Other times it’s someone else providing this as an explanation for their unsociable conduct.
ADHD children face many personal and genetic challenges, but too many children are being hidden in that bracket. Not all troublesome children suffer from ADHD or bipolar.
Some children labelled with ADHD are simply badly behaved children.
The high proclivity for displaying agitation or aggression in class poses serious concerns for teachers. ADHD and bipolar children appear to be a big burden on teachers.
COPE
Parents expect teachers to cope with the disruption caused by ADHD children. Their condition is not their fault, the argument goes. The conclusion being that classes should tolerate the inevitable disturbance of ADHD children.
Teachers feel that their judgement on what disciplinary actions should accompany rebellious behaviour should not be challenged.
Yet ADHD children are most resistant to disciplinary measures and their parents support them against teachers.
Their compulsion to be obstructive and sometimes violent is often thrown up as a validating excuse for their behaviour.
One teacher who didn’t want to be named told the eye of media.com ” there is no where to put these children . They behave as they like and their parents just say they can’t help it because they are ADHD. But they hold the class back, and there isn’t much we can do.”
” We can’t kick them out because there is no where to put them. No school will take them when most of the special needs school are full”.
PSYCHOLOGICAL
There is also the theory that children labelled with ADHD are merely children with psychological issues who are badly behaved. The problem with this view is that it is seen to undermine medical diagnosis.
PROBLEM
Neither the teachers we spoke to or their press department , want the name of their school publicly associated with the idea of a problem school.
Public disclosure of information relating to ADHD children is a bad advert for any school. However, there must be an answer to this