For Immediate Release: Oct. 15, 1998
Jane Jacobs, 507-284-2387 (days), 507-284-2511 (evenings)
[email protected]
Teachers, Mayo Clinic Doctors Work Together to Help Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
ROCHESTER, MINN. ó A recent Mayo Clinic study found that when teachers and physicians work together to provide teachers with the tools and support to deal with students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the classroom situation improves for the teachers, the students with ADHD, and the other students. The study was authored by William J. Barbaresi, M.D., and Richard D. Olsen, M.D., Mayo Clinic pediatric and adolescent medicine specialists, and was published in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. The study found that inadequate training concerning ADHD and inadequate support from physicians treating students with ADHD caused significant stress for classroom teachers.
"Input from teachers who monitor a childÃs behavior in the classroom is a major factor in determining whether or not a child is affected by ADHD," says Dr. Barbaresi. "When knowledge about how to help these children isnÃt shared with teachers, itÃs unreasonable to expect teachers to deal with these children effectively."
In the study, a teacher-training program developed by the national organization Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit Disorder (CHADD) was presented during a teacher in-service. Prior to the beginning of the program, teachers completed a survey that included an ADHD knowledge test and questions concerning experiences with ADHD students. The teachers also completed the Index of Teaching Stress which measures teaching stress related to a "problem student."
One month after the in-service presentation, the teachers completed a post-program questionnaire identical to the one completed before the training. The results showed that teacher knowledge about ADHD improved significantly and stress levels among teachers decreased significantly.
"This in-service program is one of the best models I can imagine," says Nancy Johnson, assistant principal of Ben Franklin Elementary School in Rochester. "It is most helpful when the physician comes to school and explains to teachers why children with ADHD behave the way they do. It brings us together and we are able to work as a team."
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