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is the blog for The Germantown Academy Professional Development Program.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

First Thursday: Understanding ADHD




ADHD.  As teachers we are all familiar with the term: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.  We recognize it in the student who stares out the window at the falling snow instead of listening to instructions, in the child who fiddles with his pencil, jumps out of her chair, answers your question about the novel by asking to go to the bathroom.



Researchers have continued to study ADHD over the years and their understanding of its complexities and the most effective strategies for helping students who experience it has deepened and broadened.



Please join us on  Thursday, April 7th 3:30-4:45 in the BCI for our next 1st Thursday meeting, facilitated by our school psychologists, Janet Maurer, Andrea Kurtz, and Angie Jones.  We will discuss the article ADHD in kids: What many parents and teachers don’t understand but need to know which includes a much broader and more positive description of ADHD, its symptoms and recommendations for addressing the condition.  It will, of course, be important for participants to have read the article prior to this meeting.




Below are a few excerpts from the article:



“Many think it is simply about kids who can’t focus on their work or sit still, but there is a great deal more to it, experts say, and student achievement in school suffers because the condition is misunderstood.”



“In fact, what we call ADD (a terrible term, as it is not a deficit of attention but rather a wandering of attention, and it is not a disorder in my opinion but rather a trait; if you manage it properly it can turn you into a phenomenal success…”



“On the positive side, which people rarely discuss, people with ADD are the people who founded this country.  They tend to be visionaries, dreamers, explorers, inventors (Edison was a classic), path-finders, discoverers, entrepreneurs (almost all entrepreneurs have ADD), creative types, original thinkers, paradigm breakers, trend-setters, free thinkers, as well as being big-hearted, trusting, generous, and fun.”



“Treatment includes, first of all, education.”



This is an important topic, and I hope that many of you can join us for this conversation.  Please mark your planbooks now and please RSVP to Maggie @maggie.mcveigh@germantownacademy.org

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