SEAC October 2018 Sarah Hannah (greavies@gmail.com) (CADDAC member) ADHD Awareness SEAC October 2018 Sarah Hannah (greavies@gmail.com) (CADDAC member) Hello my name is Sarah, and I’m a parent in the TDSB. I am here to talk about ADHD, resources for parents and some different ways to raise ADHD Awareness at school. I should state up front that I do not claim to be an expert in ADHD. I have been learning about ADHD for almost 2 years, and I would like to share with you a brief summary of ADHD based on what I have learned, and some thoughts on ADHD awareness. I also wanted to let you know that I have paid a membership fee for CADDAC, so that I could access all of their webinar material for no additional charge, for my own personal use, and as such I am technically a member of CADDAC. However CADDAC has not asked me to come here today. I am simply sharing the best information I have.

What is ADHD? Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder The most common neurodevelopmental disorder in children, and most often is lifelong Statistically affects 1 to 3 children in every classroom Classic symptoms include inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity Can present differently from one child to the next One child may stare out the window quietly (often presents this way in girls), another may be very talkative and/or hyperactive Typically also includes impairments in executive function, working memory, self and emotional regulation ADHD is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, formerly known as ADD. It is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder in children, and it is most often lifelong, although sometimes symptoms may fade in adulthood, or people may develop different coping skills that make the symptoms less noticeable. Of those children who are diagnosed with ADHD, 60% will continue to have symptoms into adulthood. Statistically it affects about 5% of children, so on average there are 1 to 3 children in each classroom who are affected. The primary symptoms include: (1) inattention: The inattention isn’t exactly an inability to pay attention, it is an inability to control attention. If something is genuinely very interesting to these children, they can focus very well, and this is often referred to as hyperfocus. This is when they are so focused that they may not notice other things around them, such as someone right in front of them speaking to them. However if they are not genuinely interested, or if their attention is “turned off”, then they may be genuinely unable to pay attention, even if they want to. (2) hyperactivity: the child may be constantly fidgeting with their hands, wiggling around in their seat, or getting out of their seat when they are expected to remain seated. This is because their brain is constantly in an understimulated state, due to problems with the transmission of messages within their brains, so they move their bodies in order to provide their brain with the stimulation that it is lacking. (3) Impulsivity: the child may blurt out answers rather than raising their hand, or they may act out in anger if they are frustrated, because they are unable to resist their impulses. This is because they react so quickly to their impulses that their brain doesn’t really have time to stop and think about consequences before the action is done. ADHD can present itself differently from one child to the next. One child may be primarily inattentive, so that they stare out the window quietly rather than focusing on the teacher. This is often (though not always) the case for girls in particular. Another child may have the combined type of ADHD which includes both inattention and hyperactivity, and this may appear to be a very busy, talkative, energetic, hyperactive child. And within each subtype of ADHD there is a spectrum, some are mildly affected, some severely affected, and everything in between. ADHD often also includes impairments in: executive function, which is the ability to formulate and follow a plan to achieve a goal working memory, which for example would include the ability to hold and manipulate information in your mind (such as adding several numbers together) self regulation, which is the ability to keep your emotions from getting out of control

What is ADHD? (continued) Medication helps many children with some of their symptoms, however does not eliminate all symptoms/impairments (and comes along with side effects!) ADHD not only impairs learning at school, it also impairs self regulation and social skills, which in turn affects social relationships, family life at home, extra curricular activities There remains much misinformation, false judgement and unfair stigma about ADHD in the general public Medication for ADHD is often very effective. It helps many children with some of their ADHD symptoms. However it does not eliminate all of their symptoms and impairments, and it often comes along with unpleasant side effects. It also remains somewhat controversial, and those parents who do choose to medicate their child can sometimes be made to feel judged. ADHD not only makes learning at school challenging, it also extends beyond the classroom by impairing self regulation and social skills. It affects social relationships, family life at home, and extracurricular activities. There unfortunately is a great deal of misinformation, false judgement and unfair stigma about ADHD in the general public. Some people believe it is caused by food additives, sugar, or poor parenting. Others don’t believe that ADHD really exists, they think it is a made up excuse for poor behaviour in children, or they don’t take it seriously because they think it is overdiagnosed.

ADHD Resources There are many online resources for information on ADHD such as CHADD, ADDitude, CADDAC, and others CADDAC is the Centre for ADHD Awareness, Canada (caddac.ca) A national not-for-profit organization focused on awareness, education and advocacy for ADHD The CADDAC website includes information and webinars for parents and for teachers Detailed list of teaching strategies and suggested accommodations for a variety of challenges in the classroom The first page of this list is included on the following slide (link provided on a later slide) There are many different online resources for information on ADHD, such as CHADD, ADDitude, CADDAC, and many others. CADDAC stands for Centre for ADHD Awareness, Canada. It is a national not-for-profit organization which is focused on awareness, education and advocacy for ADHD. There is a lot of information on their website for parents and teachers, including webinars. There is information on facts and myths about ADHD, getting an accurate diagnosis, parenting strategies to use at home, how to advocate for your child at school, and treatment options. One resource in particular that would be valuable for teachers and parents is their information sheet on teaching strategies and classroom accommodations, organized according to a list of different challenges that may be observed in the classroom. The link is included later in the presentation, and the first page of the list is included on the next slide.

ADHD Resources (continued) This is the first page of the table of suggested accommodations, organized per type of classroom difficulty, from the CADDAC website. It’s quite a long table, with 28 different ADHD/EF impairments included. This list continues on… this is only the first page

Benefits of ADHD Awareness ADHD Awareness within schools would provide the following benefits: Provides an opportunity to educate students, teaching staff, parents about ADHD – allows students with ADHD to be better understood, as their peers with autism are understood Opportunity to dispel myths, eliminate misunderstandings and misinformation Allows students with ADHD to feel that they are not alone, and that their struggles are understood Allows students to better understand their peers who have ADHD Helps students to better understand differences between people, to have compassion, that some people are not “neuro typical” Helps to reduce stigma Here I have listed the benefits of ADHD awareness within schools. It would provide an excellent opportunity to educate students, teaching staff, and parents about ADHD. It would allow students with ADHD to be better understood, as their peers with autism are (hopefully) understood. It would provide an opportunity to dispel myths, eliminate misunderstandings, and misinformation. It would allow students with ADHD to feel that they are not alone, and that their struggles are understood. Children with ADHD may feel alone in their struggles, because people tend not to talk about it, due to stigma or negative feelings such as embarrassment or shame. It would allow students to better understand their peers who have ADHD. It would help students to better understand the differences between people, help them to have compassion, help them learn that some people are not “neuro typical”. That kids with ADHD are not “bad” kids, they are kids with extra challenges. And it would help to reduce stigma.

ADHD Awareness ADHD Awareness Month (October) was initiated by a group of 3 organizations within the United States: CHADD, ADDA, and ACO https://www.adhdawarenessmonth.org/ The goal is to raise awareness and to educate people about ADHD CADDAC has previously worked together with the Durham School Board to recognize ADHD Awareness Month within their schools for 2 years Posters were designed as part of this effort, suitable to post inside schools, and they are available for free on the CADDAC website Images of these posters are included on the following slides (link provided on a later slide) One way to raise awareness about ADHD is to acknowledge ADHD Awareness Month, which is October. ADHD Awareness Month was initiated by a group of 3 organizations within the United States: CHADD, ADDA and ACO. Their goal was to raise awareness and to educate people about ADHD. CADDAC has previously worked together with the Durham School Board to recognize ADHD Awareness Month within their schools, for 2 years. As part of this effort, CADDAC designed posters geared towards children which are suitable to be posted inside a school. These posters are available as free PDFs on their website, and I’ve included images of the posters on the following slides. The links are included later in the presentation.

Options for ADHD Awareness There are many ways, big and small, that this can be done within a school Examples: Put up posters in the school hallways (Can download free CADDAC posters) Mention it in a morning announcement Include a brief summary in a monthly assembly Schedule an information session for: Students during the day, including Q&A Teaching staff during the day or after school Parents in the evening (can offer a session to be shared between several schools) CADDAC can assist with any of these options, by visiting schools to give a talk about ADHD Quick and easy to do! There are many ways, big and small, to raise awareness about ADHD within a school. Some examples are listed here, roughly in order from smallest to biggest. One simple option is to put up some posters in the school hallways during ADHD Awareness Month. The school could print them, or a parent could bring in copies of them. Or ADHD awareness month could be mentioned in a morning announcement or monthly assembly, perhaps with a quick summary of what ADHD is. Another option for October or any other time of year would be to bring in an expert to give a talk at the school. This talk could be geared towards students during the school day, or geared towards teaching staff either during the day, on a PA day, or after school. Or it could be an evening talk that is geared towards parents. This parent talk could include parents from several different schools at once. CADDAC would be happy to visit schools to give any of these sorts of talks. As CADDAC is not for profit, the cost would be minimal, and the goal would be simply to educate and raise awareness.

Internet Links: Posters: https://caddac.ca/adhd/wp- content/uploads/2017/01/CADDAC-ADHD-Awareness- Poster-Child-22.pdf https://caddac.ca/adhd/wp- content/uploads/2017/01/CADDAC-ADHD-Awareness- Poster-Child-11.pdf List of suggested accommodations per classroom difficulty: https://caddac.ca/adhd/wp- content/uploads/2017/02/classroomaccommodations20 16.pdf

Thank you for your time! Questions?