UNDERSTANDING ADHD 1

Reflection on ADHD Students in Classroom Set Up

Authors Name(s)

Institutional Affiliation
UNDERSTANDING ADHD 2

Reflection on ADHD Students in Classroom Set Up

Introduction

As a teacher, I had an opportunity to observe a pre-recorded video that helped delve into

neurodevelopment. I was privileged to watch a video of a student with ADHD in a classroom

setup. This gave me a chance to make many observations related to this field and probably

give more insight into understanding children in such conditions and help in research on how

best to help them or draft activities that a teacher can come up with to deal with them and

help them in their development effectively. In this reflective essay, I will explore the

difficulties encountered, the assessment scoring process, the ethical implications of this

observation, and their purpose in clinical or research contexts. The reflective essay will help

provide critical insight into the problems which ADHD children face as well as the vital role

their educators play in providing a conducive environment to have an inclusive and

supportive learning environment.

Observation

In the short video, the focus is on one student who has an ADHD condition (boy 5).

Many observations are made in this classroom setup. Boys labeled 1, 3, and 5 show evidence

of ADHD. Boy 5 is hyperactive; he frequently fidgets and does not adhere to turn-taking. He

fails to follow instructions on individual seat activity at a designated timeframe (About Kids

Health, 2017, 00:04:04). This makes it difficult to follow the teacher’s guide. He often leaves

the seat, does not wait for the teacher to finish the statement, and blurts out the answer before

the teacher finishes. The behaviors the boy exhibits are some of the characteristics described

in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) for SDHD, which is

hyperactive–impulsive type.
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Theories related to observation

The dopamine hypothesis is a theory that best explains the behavior exhibited by the

boy in the video. Individuals with ADHD tend to have a dysregulated dopamine

neurotransmission in the brain. This neurotransmitter regulates attention, motivation, and

focus (Kerekes et al., 2021). In the case of the boy in the first video, low dopamine might

have contributed to this behavior in class. Therefore it becomes difficult to sustain attention

and even remain seated for the whole class session; this results in fidgeting, leaving the seat

not finishing some small tasks even after the teacher tries to set the behavioral expectations.

The boy's condition in the video can be related to a theory of Executive Functioning

Deficit as he struggles to be organized, have inhibitory control, and have working visuals

with ADHD condition often an impairment which results in impulsive actions and challenges

in having organized thoughts(Lonergan et al., 2019). In the observation in the video, I

observed that the boy had problems remaining organized even to start a small arithmetic task.

The behavior can also be influenced by sensory processing theory, where children in such

conduct are more sensitive to sensory stimuli, which increases their need to move around.

ADHD Children often find it difficult to have self-control; the fidgeting and moving activities

witnessed in the video are meant to manage sensory overload.

Difficulties Encountered in Observation

One of the challenges as an observer is multitasking, where I am needed to pay

attention to multiple aspects of a classroom setting. Striking a balance can be mentally

draining, and at times, it leads to an overload of information. Another challenge was

difficulties interpreting and understanding the reasons behind the boy's behavior. Another

issue was the time limit for a comprehensive picture of the boy's behavior. The
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inattentiveness of the boy led to me being unable to capture the behavior or engage fully with

his actions in class.

Scoring Assessment Report

Scoring assessment reports was not an easy task for me because of many struggles. It is

not easy to objectively fill in the assessment report about the behavior and academic

capability of Boy 5 in Team A. The group activity provided is not easy to understand if boy

number 5 can fully complete behavioral activities such as remaining seated. It is difficult to

comprehend if boy A understands when turn-taking is required of them, as stated early by the

teacher. The boy's potential seems overshadowed by these ADHD symptoms, making it

difficult to reflect on his abilities. This makes me wonder if traditional evaluation methods

effectively assess students with ADHD conditions in a learning environment.

The problem of scoring the assessment sheet tells that there is a common problem out

here for researchers on focusing on one student in the classroom. Researchers need help

focusing on one student while maintaining and managing broader classroom dynamics

(Dogan, 2022). This is a true challenge to ADHD students since their hyperactive and

impulsive behavior distracts them from other students. Specialized observation and video

recording techniques can help have quality and accurate observation in an educational setting.

In the future, using technology will help capture students' actions in a controlled manner;

using designated observation focus and multiple observations will improve the experience.

Ethical Implications

While making observations in this first video, several ethical implications impact the

students and may affect the research or teaching context. As educators, sensitive information

about diagnosing students' conditions should not be revealed. Every learner must be
UNDERSTANDING ADHD 5

respected, and their knowledge about their underlying conditions should not be disclosed to

anybody; this can sometimes be detrimental and may lead to stigmatization in the classroom

(Witeska-Młynarczyk, 2020). As seen in this video, the teacher treats all the students well

and seems not to label anyone or not disclose any sensitive information to anyone. This

makes the conduct of the class normal while trying to attend to the needs of each learner in a

very personalized manner.

In the research field, studying the experiences of children who are ADHD should mean

that their voices are incorporated into the research. Engaging ADHD students, educators, and

parents will be seen as a collaborative effort that will give good insight and a holistic

approach (Benzing & Schmidt, 2019). The research outcomes should inform and even

improve the practices which educators have in a classroom set up to help have inclusion, a

supportive environment, and better support for children with ADHD condition. Overall

ethical research practices are essential in getting knowledge that benefits ADHD students and

has evidence-based educational approaches.

Inclusion is essential; it is ethical to have an all-inclusive classroom learning situation

where the teacher tries to incorporate and have a supportive environment for the students.

Having a supportive environment could n mean attending to all needs of those students with

ADHD conditions. Also, another ethical implication is about the classroom environment;

keenly looking at the video, somehow, the classroom setup is about rigid; as educators, we

must advocate for individualized support and a tailored environment to help learners with

ADHD conditions to be comfortable and cruise through their daily activities. Each ADHD

student has own behavior and thus needs specialized attention; it is not good to generalize

about them.

Conclusion
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This reflective paper has given me insight into the journey of an ADHD student's life in a

classroom setup. I have learned that there is importance in understanding ADHD as not just a

behavioral problem but also a neurodevelopmental condition. Therefore I am now open to

providing an all-inclusive environment to those students who have a challenge in this and

even advise parents on how ne better they can have an environment that will help them go

through their everyday life. I am now better equipped to have a positive impact on the lives of

many young kids who are having such a condition. There is a need to have neurodiversity for

positive change in education.

UNDERSTANDING ADHD 7

References

About Kids Health (2017, March 24). Teach for success – Rethinking ADHD [Video]. About

Kids Health. https://youtu.be/8kObS2MadUc

Benzing, V., & Schmidt, M. (2019). The effect of exergaming on executive functions in

children with ADHD: A randomized clinical trial. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine

& Science in Sports, 29(8), 1243-1253.

Dogan, T. (2022). The Dopamine Hypothesis of Language Acquisition: A Prospective

Longitudinal Clinical Study on Effects of Methylphenidate as a Dopamine Agonist

on Early-Childhood Individuals with Late Language Emergence (LLE) and

Acquisition Journal of Language Acquisition, 15(3), 127-140

Kerekes, N., Sanchéz-Pérez, A. M., & Landry, M. (2021). Neuroinflammation is a possible

link between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and pain: Medical

Hypotheses, 157, 110717.

Lonergan, A., Doyle, C., Cassidy, C., MacSweeney Mahon, S., Roche, R. A., Boran, L., &

Bramham, J. (2019). A meta-analysis of executive functioning in dyslexia

considering the impact of comorbid ADHD. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 31(7),

725–749.

Witeska-Młynarczyk, A. (2020). Can the Children Speak? Voice, Children and an Adhd

Diagnosis in an Ethnographic Research. Revue des sciences sociales, 4 (63), 46-57.

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