Teachers’ recognition of children with ADHD: role of subtype and gender

Abstract

Background: This study investigates the ability of primary school teachers to recognise Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and the impact of subtype and child gender on recognition and proposed management. Method: Primary school teachers read one of four types of vignette describing the behaviour of a 9-year-old child: either a boy or a girl with inattentive or combined subtype of ADHD. Teachers were asked about their conceptualisation of the child's difficulties and their thoughts about need for specialist referral and other interventions. Results: Of 496 teachers, 99% identified the presence of a problem. Subtype (combined) of ADHD influenced teachers' recognition of ADHD and agreement that medication might be helpful. Only 13% of teachers thought that medication might be helpful. Conclusions: Results suggest a need for better teacher awareness about inattentive subtype of ADHD. Key Practitioner Message:• Epidemiological data show that ADHD is underdiagnosed in girls and in children with inattentive subtype, while research and clinical experience suggest that teachers are important in the process of recognition and referral of children with possible ADHD• Using a case vignette, teachers were more likely to conceptualise the problems as ADHD and think that medication might be helpful for a child with combined subtype than for a child with inattentive subtype of ADHD• We found no evidence that teachers were less likely to recognise ADHD in girls than in boys • Teachers strongly endorsed nonpharmacological intervention approaches for children with ADHD, but few thought that medication would be beneficial; many teachers expressed their views that medication should be 'a last resort'• During the diagnostic process for a child with suspected ADHD, or when offering training to teachers, clinicians should try to increase teacher awareness about inattentive subtype of ADHD

Predictors of and barriers to service use for children at risk of ADHD: longitudinal study

“…Fourth, we did not obtain information about family history of ADHD and associated knowledge and help-seeking. Fifth, although we found that most parents had consulted a teacher, we are unable to illuminate how this influenced further help-seeking as we did not obtain information about teacher attitudes and beliefs towards ADHD [34].…”

“…It systematically enquires about possible symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsiveness, and inattention using items that reflect the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD. To monitor the quality of the PACS interview and measure inter-rater reliability, the first twenty and every tenth subsequent interview were recorded (total of 34) and rated by a second researcher (KS). As information on pervasiveness of symptoms and impairment related to symptoms is required for DSM-IV ADHD diagnoses, the presence of ADHD was based on meeting the following three criteria: a) Parent-reported symptoms -a standardised algorithm [14], providing operational definitions for each symptom, was applied to the PACS information to assess each of the 18 DSM-IV ADHD symptoms (9 each relating to the inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity subtypes).…”

Practitioner Review: Pathways to care for ADHD – a systematic review of barriers and facilitators

“…Despite the considerable work (consensus activities with experts and a systematic review) to ascertain the validity of the diagnosis of ADHD prior to the development of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence () guidelines, there remains scepticism and misinformation within professional groups (e.g. teachers) which may impact on children gaining access to services (Moldavsky, Groenewald, Owen, & Sayal, ).…”

Teachers’ Knowledge of ADHD: Relevance of Training and Individual Perceptions // Conocimiento de los maestros sobre el TDAH: Relevancia de la formación y de las percepciones individuales

“…Despite the popularity that ADHD has acquired in recent decades, it continues to be an underdiagnosed disorder (Moldavsky, Groenewald, Owen, & Sayal, 2013;Soroa, Balluerka, & Gorostiaga, 2014b). According to the results of epidemiological studies, worldwide, approximately 5% of children and adolescents may have the disorder (Polanczyk, De Lima, Horta, B iederman, & Rohde, 2007;Po lanczyk & Rohde, 2007), which means that, very probably, every teacher may have at least one child with these characteristics in the classroom.…”