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OU Researchers Look For ADHD Interventions
< < Back to ou-researchers-look-adhd-interventionsOhio University researchers are receiving $1.5 million dollars in grant money from the US Department of Education for an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder intervention study.
It's a project meant to help teachers manage student behavior in the classroom.
Many children struggle to pay attention, sit still and stay organized in the classroom.
But for a child who struggles with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a full day of school means a constant struggle to focus and keep up with class.
It's a challenge for both students and teachers.
"If they're having a bad day, they may be off course longer than other children may be, so you have to be able to be flexible and manuever around them and get them back on track," says Katrina Bennett, a teacher at Green Elementary School.
Ohio University researchers are looking for the best way to put these kids back on track. They are launching a three-year study that will focus on interventions to help students with ADHD succeed in class.
"If we can put the intervention at the point at which the child is struggling, so when he's getting out of his chair, when he's interrupting, when she's struggling with her work, we call that intervention at the point at performance. So, we can intergrate these interventions into the classroom to help them succeed when they struggle most," says Julie Owens, who is the primary researcher for the project.
One of these interventions is something similar to a report card, but instead of grading a student on academics, the grades are based off of good behavior.
The first year of the study will involve the creation of a community development team, who are tasked with creating a criteria for the study.
"They're not going to be the actual teachers, but they'll be the representatives of those communities saying something like, 'yes, this is something that might be good for teachers,' or ' no this is taking too much time or this is too burdensome," says Owens.
The study will be conducted in two schools. One in an urban area in Florida and one elementary school in the Logan-Hocking School District.