Areas of SEND

ADHD

Understanding ADHD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a is a mental health disorder that causes above-normal levels of hyperactivity and impulsiveness. People with ADHD may also have trouble focusing their attention on a single task or sitting still for long periods of time.

Most cases are diagnosed between age 6 – 12 years.

Treatment for ADHD includes medications, psychotherapy and/or counselling and treatment for any mental health conditions that occur along with ADHD.

Signs of ADHD in children may include:

Inattentiveness signs:

Short attention span and easily distracted
Making careless mistakes i.e in school work
Problems sticking to tedious tasks and completing tasks
Appearing forgetful and losing things
Disorganisation and unable to prioritise
Constantly changing activity or task
Appearing unable to listen to or carry out instructions
Frequent mood swings

Hyperactivity and impulsiveness

Day-to day issues for a child may include:

Insomnia
Trouble getting ready for school on time
Social interaction with other children
Large gatherings and formal occasions
Off site activities i.e swimming or school trips
Being organised

ADHD can be challenging and someone with ADHD cannot help their behaviour. People with ADHD may improve with medication and symptoms may improve as they get older into adulthood.

For more comprehensive information support, advice or services about ADHD see the following links:

NHS and GP services for more medical support

There are a number of national support groups

ASD

ASD

Autism is often referred to as ASD or autism spectrum disorder.

ASD is not an illness, with ASD the brain works in a different way to other people. It is not a medical condition with no cure but some people with ASD need support with certain things.

There is a broad level along the ASD spectrum from non verbal to highly gifted.

Aspergers

Aspergers syndrome is used to describe someone with high functioning ASD and generally have a very high level of intelligence.

Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)

Describes those whose main characteristic is to avoid everyday demands and expectations to an extreme extent.

Signs of ASD in children may include:

Not responding to their name
Avoiding eye contact
Not smiling when you smile at them
Getting very upset if they don’t like a taste, smell or sound
Repetitive movements and routines
Not talking to other children as much
Repeating words or phrases
Not empathetic to others emotions
Like a strict routine
Very keen interest in a subject or activity
Taking things literally, will not understand sarcasm or phrases like ‘break a leg’
Difficulty understanding verbal and on-verbal language

Only give one instruction at a time. You will need to give a child with ASD the time to process information and to respond. They may not communicate verbally. Stick to their routine and timetable as much as possible.

For more comprehensive information support, advice or services about autism see the following links:

Mencap’s services and the support they can offer, or search for a local group near you.

For autism support, visit The National Autistic Society

NHS and GP services for more medical support

Dyslexia

Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that can cause problems with reading, writing and spelling. Many people have a varying degree of and with coping mechanisms to learning go undiagnosed.

Signs of dyslexia in children may include:

Primary age:

Slow spoken or written language
Forgetting words
Problems learning phonics
Poor handwriting
Letters put wrong way around or confused order i.e b instead of d, p/g, n/u
Reading slowly or making errors when reading aloud; may retract from reading aloud
Describing words moving around or appearing blurred
Written work is messy, not on lines, not use of margins, crossing outs and poor handwriting
Poor motor skills, may have trouble gripping pencil/pen properly
Struggling to spell, sentence structure, learn sequences i.e alphabet

Secondary age:

Experience the traits from primary age children and may have developed or had assistance some coping mechanisms for personal development, but may also cause:

Poorly organised written work that can lack expression
Letters formed badly, writes slowly handwriting could be good or poor
Difficulty with punctuation and/or grammar
Poor spelling
Confuses upper and lower case
Difficulty planning written work and tends to write very little
Can verbally speak about something but finds it hard to write it in words
Finds revising hard

The following are few things to eliminate symptoms:

using different coloured screens/paper
having larger font
using audio
‘text to speech’ functions on a device

For further information, advice or support regarding dyslexia:

British Dyslexia Association

NHS

Dyspraxia

Dyspraxia

Development Coordination Disorder (DCD) affects fine and gross motor skills.

Some are noticeable in early stages and others as a child develops.

A child may have difficulties with physical tasks:

Dressing, buttons, laces etc
Playing with toys requiring motor skills i.e building bricks
Eating with cutlery
Using everyday items, toothbrush, hairbrush, pens, pencils, scissors
Lack of coordination
Physical games i.e catching a ball, hopping, riding a bike, skipping
May bump into things
Going up and down stairs

A child may appear clumsy, fall over a lot and drop things. They may avoid social areas like the playground.

For further information, advice or support regarding dyspraxia:

Dyspraxia Support

Dyscalculia

Dyscalculia

Dyscalculia is a specific and persistent difficulty in understanding numbers which can lead to a diverse range of difficulties with mathematics. People with dyscalculia, maths difficulty will not disappear even into adulthood.

Signs of dyscalculia in children may include:

Have weak mental arithmetic
Difficulty with counting backwards and number patterns
Poor sense of numbers
Difficulty in remembering even after hours of repetition
Forget maths procedures i.e long multiplication
No concept of the answer being right
Avoidance where possible of maths tasks
Slow to complete number tasks and may exhibit high anxiety

SENSORY and/or PHYSICAL NEEDS

Sensory needs, which can be hearing loss and/or visual impairment or sensory processing difficulties and physical difficulties, can occur for a variety of reasons, e.g. congenital conditions (some progressive), injury or disease.

What are the differences between sensory and physical disabilities?

A sensory disability affects one or more senses; sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste or spatial awareness. Sight and hearing loss are common sensory disabilities.

A physical disability is any condition of the body that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and interact with the world around them.

Physical needs of a human are; food, water, shelter and clothing. These life skills may be potentially impaired with a physical disability.

Some examples of physical disability include:

Cerebral palsy.
Spinal cord injury.
Amputation
Multiple sclerosis.
Spina bifida.
Musculoskeletal injuries (eg back injury)
Arthritis
Muscular dystrophy.

A child with sensory and/or physical disabilities may include difficulties with and need support with:

Vision – braille, tactile learning, computer programmes, moving and spatial support
Hearing – BSL, Makaton or other sign language, computer aids and hearing medical aids
Gross motor co-ordination – some may be wheelchair users or use a frame; school sites are adapted.
Fine motor co-ordination – access to assistive technology, software, audio digital books and IPad applications.

For all students, being aware and supporting their individual sensory or physical need is very important.

Physical activities, such as PE lessons will need to be supported and aware of their limitations and spatial awareness and motor skill limitations.

A lot of students will do well academically and will grow in confidence if given the right support, resources and learning pathway.

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