By Kaleb Schuppner and Sam Bower, Reporters
Junior Josh Lewis is having trouble focusing in class again. He logs into Konnect, sees a zero in his geometry class and realizes he forgot to turn in another assignment.
That assignment?
He did it. It’s in his bag right now. He just didn’t remember to turn it in.
Lewis has ADHD. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It makes it hard for him to stay on task in his classes at Kaneland High School, turn in homework on time and not procrastinate.
It’s affected more than just his grades. It’s affected his social life.
“I’ve been made fun of because of it,” Lewis said. “People think that people who have ADHD are slow.”
That’s one of the most common misconceptions about students with ADHD, or its cousin ADD, but it’s completely false, Amy Kancler, KHS special education teacher, said.
“Students with attention disorders are often smarter than the average student,” Kancler said.
Kancler would know; she’s been diagnosed ADD herself.
The misconception arises because the symptoms can include fidgeting, squirming, non-stop talking, impatience and disorganization, said KHS special education teacher Sandra Faletto, the tendencies lead other students to think a student with an attention disorder just isn’t trying.
Faletto said that students with attention disorders are not only intelligent, they are often much more creative than their peers.
Combined, the two disorders are the most common challenge students face, both at Kaneland and nationwide. The two conditions are similar, but they aren’t identical.
For example, Kancler, who has ADD, may have a tough time paying attention, but she won’t be hyperactive.
That means that students with ADD are less likely to act out and get into trouble, but they still have a hard time paying attention and staying on track.
Lewis has all the same problems with inattentiveness as Kancler, but the hyperactivity component means he also can be restless and overly talkative in class.
RISING NUMBERS, NO APPARENT CAUSE
The number of Americans diagnosed with an attention disorder has been skyrocketing, with a 22 percent increase in cases reported since 2003. And diagnosis is happening later–children aged 12 to 17 are now more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than children aged 6 to 11.
“It is hard to breakdown an accurate number of how many students have ADD, ADHD, allergies or even asthma. It’s not a 100 percent accurate because sometimes a nurse is not informed a student has a condition, because parents want to keep it private,” KHS school nurse Barb Giese said.
And while just about everything from video games to higher rates of detection has been blamed for that increase, scientists still do not know what causes these disorders.
The current theory is that genetics play a large role, since children with parents who have an attention disorder are more than three times as likely to have one themselves, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Researchers are also looking at possible environmental factors. One study in the American Journal of Pediatrics found that children who watched television before age three, when the brain is still rapidly forming, were more likely to develop attention difficulties.
Another found that artificial food dyes, such as those used in brightly colored candies, caused hyperactivity. Other researchers are investigating the role of nutrition, social environments and conditions during the mother’s pregnancy.
Diagnosis can be controversial at times.
Boys, for example, are diagnosed nearly three times as often as girls, for reasons that are unclear. Critics say that doctors and educators have demonized “typical boy behavior,” while others theorize that boys may be more sensitive to certain environmental factors.
But whatever the cause, there is no cure–only strategies that can help the person stay on track.
COPING IN CLASS
Helping students stay on track is part of KHS English teacher Ryan Malo’s job.
Malo teaches co-lab English 9 and Speech classes at Kaneland. This English class is like all the other English 9 classes, but for one difference: there’s a second teacher assigned to the room, and several of the students in the class have ADD or ADHD.
It’s a setup designed to help students focus. Malo said he uses more redirecting to help students stay on task and that having two teachers in the room helps.
“Once they realize that they have gotten off task or lost focus, they might be less likely to raise their hand and ask for information again. They also may be afraid to come in during STEN, for fear of seeming different,” Malo said. “That’s what a co-lab class is there to help with.”
“I shorten directions, reiterate directions and write things down if possible,” Malo added. “I try to ask all the students to make sure that they understand. And in doing that, I make sure that my ADD students are clear on directions without singling them out.”
Contributions by John Pruett
