‘It needs to be, “We’ve given every child with ADHD…every opportunity to succeed.”: A collaborative production of school ADHD resources: Bringing evidence and experience together.

Abstract

ADHD can significantly disrupt children’s education. Challenges in meeting classroom expectations, building successful peer and staff relationships, and possible learning barriers, can negatively affect the experience of children with ADHD in school. Children with ADHD can also bring many adaptive strengths to the classroom, such as creativity, enthusiasm, quick-thinking, and dynamic energy. School staff play a critical role in supporting and teaching children with ADHD, both in addressing difficulties and cultivating strengths, yet often feel ill-equipped to do so. A lack of suitable training opportunities has been identified. Issues of timing, contextualisation, and autonomy have been cited as key barriers in traditional training methods.
A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to synthesize the available evidence for the effects of ADHD teacher training interventions. Teacher ADHD knowledge, teacher behaviours towards children with ADHD, and pupil ADHD-type behaviours were investigated. Initial improvements in teacher ADHD knowledge deteriorated over time, but evidence was inconsistent for changes in teacher or pupil behaviour. This study identified the significant limitations of traditional ADHD training models. To better understand what is needed in ADHD training, a qualitative interview study was used to capture school staff views and perspectives. Reflexive thematic analysis resulted in five themes: equipped with ADHD knowledge, confidence, and strategies to provide for the individual needs of children with ADHD; a joined-up team approach which draws on the knowledge of others; creating the opportunity for every child to succeed; supporting all children in the classroom; and, training and support which meets the needs of all school staff. Based on these two studies, a working group of school staff and a researcher collaborated to co-construct an ADHD resource for school staff. A systemic framework was used for critical reflection of this alternative approach to understand how and why the collaboration led to the published resource.
Keywords: ADHD, school staff, training, teachers, co-construction

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Identifiers

ORCID for Rebecca Ward: orcid.org/0000-0001-7703-8670

ORCID for Jana Kreppner: orcid.org/0000-0003-3527-9083

ORCID for Hanna Kovshoff: orcid.org/0000-0001-6041-0376

ORCID for Samuele Cortese: orcid.org/0000-0001-5877-8075

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