The CEC ADD Training Project

During the past decade, attention deficit disorder (ADD) has moved to center stage in American schools. However, as schools have sought to provide appropriate services, it has become clear that many educators know little about the condition or about how best to educate students with this disability. CEC’s project, “Continuing Education Program on Attention Deficit Disorder,” funded by a 3-year grant from the U. S. Department of Education, is intended to help fill this large gap in information and skill. While CEC’s natural constituency is special education teachers and administrators, the training materials and workshops also are intended for regular educators, other professionals, and parents. The project is utilizing a team of professionals (the “Content Committee”) to develop and deliver the training. Committee members include Ron Reeve, a professor at the University of Virginia; Mary Spessard, a school administrator from Coloma, Michigan; Ron Walker, an educational consultant from Atlanta; Ann Welch, a teacher from Albemarle County, Virginia; James Wright, a professor at Auburn University-Montgomery; and CEC staff, including Ginger Katz and Dawna Farrar. Judy Schrag, who until recently was Director of the Office of Special Education Programs, is consulting with the team on administrative and policy issues. Four “modules,” each relatively self-contained, are being developed. The first three modules, Characteristics and Identification, Model School Programs, and Effective Classroom Interventions, were presented for the first time in conjunction with CEC’s annual convention in San Antonio, Texas, in April 1993. Almost 100 participants attended the 6-hour presentation, making this one of the most popular workshops. Participant evaluations were very positive, supporting both the importance of the topic and the effectiveness of the workshop. A brief description of the modules follows. The first module, Characteristics and Identification, provides a brief historical background of ADD, followed by a clinical description of children with the disorder. Current definitions of ADD are presented. A model for the assessment process then is offered, which takes into account emerging “best practices” in the field while sensitizing participants to the important cultural and ethnic issues which must be considered. The second module, Model School Programs, addresses the issue of school reform and its impact on service delivery to children with ADD. This module includes the rationale for the collaborative teaching approach, important features of this approach, and strategies for overcoming resistance to change. Specific components necessary for success are elaborated. The theme of honoring diversity, that was introduced in Module I, is expanded here with attention to ways of structuring classrooms that will honor diversity while maintaining high expectations. Module II, Model School Programs, and Module III, Effective Classroom Interventions, share many themes. Module II addresses the themes from the school perspective and Module III focuses on specific classroom practices. Both modules take the position that, in the large majority of cases, administrative, instructional, and management changes that are beneficial for students with ADD are beneficial for everyone. When a teacher adds to his/her repertoire of skills to meet the needs of a student with ADD, the new skills will be used daily with other students. Module III also stresses that effective behavior management depends on affect and rapport at will as much as it does on consequence and cognition. While good rapport does not replace sound pedagogical practice, poor rapport may render ineffective practices that are effective in the hands of another teacher. This module presents specific strategies for maximizing positive consequences, minimizing negative consequences, and modifying instructional and grading practices.