Question

Discuss the nature and treatment of:

- Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

- Learning disabilities

- Autism.

Which treatment do you think is best and why?

Discuss some educational techniques that are helpful for children with special needs.

Answer 1

Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder - Three key feature define ADHD - inattention , Hyperactivity and impulsivity . Inattention is when a person is not able to focus , often forgetful and has difficulty in organising. Hyperactivity is excessive motor activity and impulsivity is recklessness or being impatient . The contribution of each of these features varies from patient to patient .it can impair functioning and quality of life in different ways . Type or treatment for ADHD include -

• Behaviour therapy including training for parents , and
• Medication

For children with ADHD younger than 6 years , The American Academy of Pediatric recommends parent training for behaviour management before the medication is tried . For children over 6 years of age AAP recommends medication along with the behaviour therapy including training for parents. Other than this, the recommendation also includes behavioural classroom interventions and school supports .

Learning disabilities- It is a neurodeveloomental disorder that begins in school age though may or may not be recognised early . It is basically having problem in three areas - reading , writing and foundational maths which are the foundation  to one's ability to learn . One third of people with learning disability are estimated to have ADHD.
Treatment -

• Occupational therapy - For improving motor skills for children who have writing problems.
• Individualised education program as public schools in US are mandate to have IEP for children who meet the certain criteria for learning disabilities.
• Medication

Note - for any kind of treatment , first it is important to identify which kind of learning can be reinforced in the child like visual , audio or kinaesthetic learning. The same can be used to help child learn .

Autism - Autism or Autism spectrum Disorder causes a person to establish repetitive behaviours and often impairs their social interactions with other people . The term specturm refers to wide variety of symptoms and severities that occur within the ASD. Doctors usually diagnose the symptoms in children before the age of 3 , according to American Autism Association. ASD may have a number of effects on a person's social interaction and communication like not maintaining the eye contact , not responding to the name , late Development of speech skills , unusual speech tone like a robot etc .

Treatment - there is no uniform treatment for autism but some therapies help to manage the health issues associated with it like sleep disorder , epilepsy depression, OCD etc . Some other interventions that can help the people with ASD :

• Applied Behaviour Analysis - It helps in improving communication, memory and focus .
• Occupational therapy to help them in being independent.
• Speech therapy
• Other interventions include relationship development interventions.
• Medication

Note -It is important to evaluate each persons's unique symptomatic characteristics using medical classification systems such as Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder - 5th edition etc .

There can't be any be any best treatment as the symptoms differs from patients to patients . All the therapies , interventions and medications work best when they are used appropriately , in combination to each other to help the patient and the family .

Some educational techniques that are useful for children with special needs are :

• Experiential learning - it uses visual , auditory and hands on experiences
• Scaffolding- it includes breaking concepts into structured steps that can be modelled .
• The latest addition is using of technology applications like calculators , note taking apps, screen reading programs , digital organisers to help students learn and grow .
• Using peers as wonderful role models .
• Having a organised classroom with less distractions help in facilitating a better learning.