Tag Archives: executive function disorder

What is Inattentive ADHD?

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When most people think of ADHD, hyperactivity is often what people think of. There are actually 3 subtypes of ADHD including hyperactivity, inattentiveness and a combination of both hyperactivity and inattentiveness.

What is Inattentive ADHD?

ADHD is considered one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders which affects both children and adults. 70% of people with ADHD in childhood will continue to have it in adolescence and approximately 50% will continue into adulthood.

ADHD is described as a lack of focus and attention including not paying attention to detail and making careless mistakes, disorganizations, poor listening skills, distractibility, and constantly losing items.

There has been little research done on the inattentive type, however this is slowly changing. there are many reasons why the inattentive type is overlooked and why it is important to discuss it.  Studies show that females are more likely to have the inattentive type of ADHD. This type of ADHD is often ignored or overlooked due to its comorbidities. Females are more likely to have learning disorders such as dyscalculia (math learning difficulties) and dysgraphia (writing disorders), as well as anxiety, depression and speech and language issues.

Other challenges faced by children and adults with inattentive ADHD includes issues in executive functioning including difficulty in sequencing, staying on a task, prioritizing, and productivity.

Signs and Symptoms

According to DSM-V, a person must meet six of the nine symptoms listed below:

  1. fails to pay close attention to details or makes careless mistakes
  2. has difficulty sustaining attention in work or play
  3. does not listen when spoken to directly.
  4. fails to finish schoolwork, chores or work duties
  5. has difficulties organizing activities
  6. avoids task requiring sustained mental effort
  7. loses things
  8. is easily distracted
  9. is forgetful.

Causes

Research suggests the following play a role in the diagnosis of inattentive ADHD:

  1. Genetics
  2. environmental
  3. low birthrate
  4. stress during pregnancy

Treatment

There is no known treatment for inattentive ADHD. The following medications are used for treatment:

  • methylphenidate- used to create activity in the brain
  • lisdexamfetamin- improves concentration, helps focus attention
  • guanfacine- works to improve attention

Strategies in working with students with Inattentive ADHD:

  1. Allow enough time to complete work. students with Inattentive type take a longer in completing assignments and processing information
  2. Be specific and provide structure. Explain your expectations and ensure instructions are clear.
  3. Decrease distractions as much as you can
  4. Monitor for both depression and anxiety
  5. Help to build self-esteem
  6. Provide accommodations in areas of learning.

For adults in the workplace

  1. Vary instruction when training new staff
  2. allow frequent breaks
  3. decrease distractions
  4. use visual strategies for feedback and expectation.
Updated on 6/28/24

Teaching Strategies for Executive Function Disorder

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According to CHADD org, Executive function skills refers to brain functions that activate, organize, integrate and manage other functions which enables individuals to account for short- and long term consequences of their actions and to plan for those results.

The following resources provides strategies on teaching students with executive function disorder skills:

10 tools to help teachers develop Executive Function classroom skills-The Edvocate

Activities Guide: Enhancing and practicing executive function skills with children from infancy to adolescence- Center on the Developing Child

Addressing Executive Function at the secondary level– Atlanta Public School

Executive Function in the classroom: Neurological Implications for Classroom Intervention– Reading Rockets

Executive Functioning Strategies for the Classroom– Pathway 2 Success

How to address executive function skills in the classroom-eschool news

Standard Interventions for Executive Functions– PDF Format

Teaching students with executive functioning issues– Resilient Educator

Treatment and strategies for weak executive function– Additude

4 Tips On Task Initiation For Children and Adults

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Task Initiation is often a challenge for children and adults with an executive functioning disorder. For a child, it may be lack of initiative in doing homework while for an adult, it may include forgetting or putting off paying bills. Children and adults with task initiation issues generally have a diagnosis of autism, ADHD, Intellectual disability or a learning disorder.

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Signs of a task initiation impaired executive functioning skill would be someone having difficulty in getting started on a task and keeping the effort needed in order to complete the task. A child or an adult require external cues in order to complete the task. Also, it will require understanding what is expected and understanding the task. Here are a few strategies:

  1. Limit Distractions. In the classroom any type of added sensory input can defer the student from getting started in their school work.
  2. Create a List. Visual support will help to increase getting the work done for a school-age child, you may want to create a to-do list which the steps are broken down into smaller steps. When a person with an executive function is given a task, it may be overwhelming, making it more difficult to get started.
  3. Use Cues. A clock or a timer will help the child or adult stay on time and understanding the amount of time it will take to complete a task
  4. Break task down. Create where the work is done in chunks so that the work will not be as overwhelming for the student.

Strategies In Training Employees with ADHD

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Have you ever conducted a training with employees where you experienced a participant interrupting you while you were talking, blurting out answers before you complete your sentence or appearing not to pay attention? Chances are you may have an employee diagnosed with ADHD.

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Most people think of children when they hear the word ADHD, but the fact is that ADHD can continue into adulthood and as a life-long challenge. Currently, 4.4% of the U.s adult population is diagnosed with ADHD. Of these adults, 38% are women and 62% are men.

What is ADHD?

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders which is often characterized by a pattern of inattention/or hyperactivity/impulsivity that can impact workplace learning through making careless mistakes,the inability to complete a task, staying organized and excessive talking throughout the training.

Typically, a person with ADHD, the difficulties lies in the part of the brain that allows people to perform higher level task known as the executive function. 90% of people with ADHD also have an executive function disorder. This is the part of the brain that engages in goal-direction and self-regulations.

Two Types of ADHD:

Types of ADHD

Type 1: Inattention Without Hyperactivity

  • Trouble paying attention
  • Trouble following direction
  • Trouble following through with task
  • Easily distracted
  • Seems disorganized or careless
  • Slow to process information

Type 2: Hyperactivity Without Inattention

  • Trouble paying attention
  • Restlessness
  • Impulsive speech and action
  • Excessive talking
  • Difficulty waiting turns
  • May have a quick temper
  • Overactive
Challenges Training Employees with ADHD

Workplace learning in most cases for the participant means learning new information, participating in training activities, sitting for a period of time and given direction.

  • A participant with ADHD may have difficulty in sustaining attention and remaining focused during lectures.
  • May need questions repeated
  • May have difficulty in grasping main ideas or details during the lecture.
  • Become easily distracted by both internal (day dreaming) or external (noises) stimuli.
  • May blurt out an answer before a question has been completed.
  • May have difficulty in listening in environments with noise distractions.
  • Difficulty in following through with instructions
  • May talk excessively
  • Difficulty in taking turn in a conversation.

The upside is that often when a person with ADHD is interested in a topic, they may hyperfocus, meaning they will fully participant in group discussion, and show great enthusiasm for the subject matter.

Strategies that help in training employees with ADHD include:

Telling participants what they will learn

Vary instructions- auditory alone will not be effective, participants with ADHD will need visual aids as well.

Allow for frequent breaks.

Summarize key points of the training as a way to reinforce the lesson

Create a leadership role such as assisting in setting up any training equipment and giving out training material.

When possible, alternate between physical and mental activities.

Stick to the expectation of the time. It will be difficult for the participant to sustain focus once a time of dismissal is given.

Conduct a stretching activity for the group when possible, I would sometimes include a game of “would you rather.” This works great but should tie into the theme of the training.

Tips to remember:

A diagnosis of ADHD also qualifies under the American Disabilities Act regarding workplace accommodations.

 

 

 

30 Must-Know ADHD Teaching Resources

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Studies show that in the United States, 6.4 million children between the ages of 4-17 have been diagnosed with ADHD. The average age of ADHD diagnosis is 7. Males are almost three times to be diagnosed with ADHD than females.

30-adhd-teaching

The DSM-V defines ADHD as a persistent pattern of attention and or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning of development. Inattention symptoms include the following:

  1. often fails to give close attention to details
  2. often has difficulty sustaining attention in task or play activities
  3. often does not listen when spoken to directly
  4. Often does not follow through on instructions
  5. Often has difficulty organizing task and activities often avoids, dislikes or is reluctant to engage in task that requires sustained mental effort.

Hyperactive symptoms include:

  1. trouble paying attention
  2. restlessness
  3. excessive talking
  4. loud interaction with others
  5. frequent interventions
  6. may have a quick temper

The following links provide tools, resources and information for parents and special education educators on providing support to children diagnosed with ADHD.

Accommodations

Information on classroom accommodations including teaching techniques, learning style, schedule, environment, material, assistance and behavior management.

8 easy classroom accommodations for students with ADHD( Blue Mango)

10 ways to support students with hyperactivity and attention needs  (The Starr Spangled Planner)

Accommodations for ADHD students (ADDCoach4U)

Classroom accommodations for ADHD(Understood)

Every 504 plan should include these ADHD accommodations (ADDitude)

Top 20 ADHD accommodations and modifications that work (Promoting Success Blog)

Classroom Tips and Strategies

The following links are tips and strategies that are specific to teaching techniques and helpful information on behavior approaches, rewards, eliminating distractions and seating arrangements

15 strategies to help students with ADHD (Student Savvy)

30 ideas for teaching children with ADHD (Kelly Bear)

50 practical strategies for teaching ADHD without drugs (ASCD Edge)

ADHD and piano lesson teaching strategies (Teach Piano Today)

ADD/ADHD in the classroom: Tips for teachers and parents (hsana.org)

ADHD Teaching Strategies for the Classroom( Promoting Success Blog)

Classroom interventions for ADHD (pdf)

Classroom rules that keep student’s attention on learning (Additude)

Helping the student with ADHD in the classroom (LDonline)

How can teachers help students with ADHD (Education World)

Ideas and strategies for kids with ADD and learning disabilities (Child Development Institute)

Setting up the classroom (ADD in Schools)

Supporting students with ADHD (Free Spirit Publishing)

Teaching students with ADHD: Instructional strategies and practice (U.S. Department of Education)

Tips for teaching students with ADHD(ADHD Kids Rock)

Concentration

Tips and information from websites on helping students concentrate in the classroom.

5 simple concentration building techniques for kids with ADHD (Empowering Parents)

5 ways to improve your child’s focus (Understood)

17 ways to help students with ADHD concentrate (Edutopia)

Ways to improve concentration in kids with ADHD (Brain Balance)

Executive Functioning

Executive functioning helps students analyze a task, planning, organization, time management and finishing a task. The following links provide articles on understand executive functioning and its relationship to ADHD.

Classroom strategies for executive functioning (Understood)

Executive functioning explained and 20 strategies for success (Minds in Bloom)

Executive function skills (CHADD)

Executive Functioning Issues (Understood)

Handwriting for kids with ADHD (Look! We’re Learning)