NEW COURSE

 

School Success for ADHD & LD Students

 

   In 1.5, 3.0 or 4.5 continuing education units

 

Course Description:

Have you ever had a student say that they hated school? There is a tremendous amount of pressure on students to succeed in school. When students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or Learning Disabilities are not able to keep up with their peers, not only do their grades suffer, but so do their peer relationships and sense of self worth. As their grades and self-esteem suffer, these students may become disruptive in class, further alienating themselves from peers and adults. The latest research has shown that this constant state of stress impacts brain function and further decreases academic potential. The solution is to teach students that they are in control, not their disability. In this course, regular and special education teachers will learn how to identify and decrease student stressors, create interventions to identify student learning styles and strengths and use these strengths in the classroom to improve academic achievement and emotional well being. Educators will learn how to build supportive learning and social environments, reduce risk of academic failure and sense of shame and be able to provide abundant opportunities for their students with ADHD and LD to demonstrate their successes in school. As a result, teachers will see behavior problems and disruptions in class decrease, while academic achievements and friendships increase.

 

Goals and Objectives:

As a result of this participation in this course, students should:

1.Analyze and understand the student's learning profile and determine how LD and ADHD impact the student's academic, social, emotional and behavioral performance.

2.Use the student's learning styles and strengths to teach them techniques and interventions to maximize success and decrease frustration and failure.

3. Help students to anticipate problems that may occur and encourage them to identify their assets, as well as additional supports they may need from other professionals in order to be successful.

4.Create learning environments that reduce, remove and neutralize the social and academic risks that students with LD and ADHD meet.

5. Provide opportunities throughout the school day for students to display mastery of lessons and experience success.

6. Analyze the latest research findings on the relationship between stress and learning to help students identify their stressors and use techniques such as visualization, self-talk and physical activity to reduce stress.

 

Texts/Readings

The required text is:

 Schultz, J. (2011). Nowhere to Hide: Why Kids With ADHD and LD Hate School and What We Can Do About It. San Francisco, CA: