ADHD+and+Blogging

ADHD and Blogging ====Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood disorders and can continue through adolescence and adulthood. The condition is also known as attention deficit disorder (ADD) and is a lifelong pattern of hyperactivity / impulsitivity. There are an estimated 6.4 million diagnosed children in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are three ADHD diagnoses: predominately inattentive presentation, predominately hyperactive / impulsive presentation, or combined presentation. ADHD is known to affect executive functioning skills such as one's motivations, learning from errors, ability to socialize, level of organization, hyperactivity / impulsivity, memory, attention, and concentration.====

====Social media is a great way for supporting students’ learning. Teachers can use social media in order to help students with ADHD succeed in school. For example, a teacher may use a blog as a tool to enhance students’ academic achievement and support their learning.“A blog is a frequently updated online personal journal or diary. It is a place to express yourself to the world.” [] A blog could be a place where the teacher, student, peers, and parents can share their thoughts and comment on the others ideas. Because students with ADHD are not able to organize tasks and remember the activities, one way is for teachers to use a blog as reminder and organizer tool. Through a blog, teachers can post the assignments, classroom activities, handouts, resources and other classroom materials on the class blog. Thus, all students, not just students with ADHD, can visit the class blog to check and review class material multiple times. In addition, a class blog is a great source for students and parents to find the important classroom materials or daily assignments easily in an organized way. ====

Social media holds several opportunities for students particularly with inattentive presentation ADHD students. According to the Attention Deficit Disorder Foundation, the symptoms of inattention presentation ADHD must be present for at least 6 months. The most common symptoms noted are with regard to attention to listening, distractibility and / or forgetfulness, lack of organization, not performing tasks, and not following through on instructions or tasks or reluctance to do them in the first place.

Social media, such as blogging, offers hope and opportunity for accommodations for students with these symptoms. A blog is a resource that a student can read, return to, and reread if listening, distracted or forgetful. Students need not listen to blogs as they are written. This learning technology may be more of an accommodation for inattentive ADHD students. Blogs may serve students who have ADHD in that they may socialize and/or collaborate on their own terms, time and space (avoiding such reluctance for present and future assignments). The only barrier that a student or teacher would face in a classroom is the lack of internet or computer to be able to access the class blog. However, the teacher may allow students to use a smartphone in a classroom in order to access the class blog or any other devices, such as iPad, tablet and MP3 player.

Resources:

@https://add.org/new-to-adhd/

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[|http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/adhd][|/]

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Reham Eid

Edited by Ryan Hanlon on 8/20/17