Understanding Children With Diverse Needs

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Table of Contents

Individual Differences
Learning Needs
Strategies and Interventions to Enhance Learning
Conclusion
References

Diversity in classes is typical of many regions of the world, including Hong Kong. In this context, much attention should be paid to developing and proposing effective educational practices for English learners in multicultural environments with a focus on students with learning needs (Poon-McBrayer, 2014). Ronny is a six-year-old boy who lives with the family in Hong Kong. His mother is a Chinese woman, and his father is a White American.

Ronny was born in the United States during the period when both parents worked here as programmers and IT specialists. The boy speaks fluently Cantonese and English because they are actively used at home. Two years ago, the family moved to Hong Kong, and when Ronny was five years old, he was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) of the combined type. The parents do not use medications to address Ronny’s hyperactivity and impulsivity.

Individual Differences

Parents reported that Ronny was always more energetic and active than other boys, and they decided to consult the therapist when they noticed Ronny could not concentrate on any activity for some time, could not sit or stay without excessive movements for a long period, and had problems with sleep. ADHD is associated with such signs and behaviors as an individual’s inability to concentrate on a certain stimulus, the demonstration of excessive motor activity and nonfunctional movements, impatience, inattention, and impulsive behaviors (Rief, 2016). The majority of the signs were found to be typical of the boy, and they were not caused by external or physical factors.

While focusing on the individual differences of this student in the classroom, it is possible to state that Ronny is usually positive and friendly, and he likes to interact with other children, but he also demonstrates behaviors that are typical of ADHD. Ronny quickly becomes involved in examining handout materials, but he cannot concentrate on the task or instructions that the teacher provides.

Thus, the student prefers to work on new interesting assignments that involve using some physical objects and colorful materials prepared for lessons. When the teacher explains new tasks for the group of students, Ronny usually does not listen to the teacher, he can tear handouts or break some other materials without waiting for instructions from the adult. Moreover, the student often interrupts the teacher and peers to ask questions that can be unrelated to the topic of a current discussion or activity.

If Ronny is engaged in working on lesson assignments, he usually patters, knocks on the table, rocks back and forth in his chair, and frequently stands up. When Ronny participates in group activities with other children, he is concentrated on speaking to peers rather than on performing tasks. Despite preferring activities that involve other children, Ronny cannot stay focused during some time, and he begins to interrupt his peers, becomes upset, or even aggressive if other children do not react or respond to his actions or words. There are situations when Ronny can leave the lesson activity or playing with his peers and become involved in any other activity despite the teacher’s or other adult’s instructions.

Learning Needs

It is also necessary to discuss Ronny’s specific learning needs. Although the boy fluently speaks Cantonese and English and can participate in conversations while building grammatically correct sentences, his literacy skills require development because he cannot recall the names of all letters, read, and write. Ronny’s strengths in learning include his ability to understand different complex concepts and formulate sentences, as well as his rich vocabulary.

However, Ronny does not demonstrate skills in decoding symbols and letters, reading simple words, recognizing unfamiliar words or figures, and writing. Ronny’s skills in mathematics, including counting, are also limited. He requires support and teaching regarding the development of literacy skills because he successfully participates in activities that are based on drawing or designing some objects, but he refuses to be involved in working with letter cards, reading, writing letters and figures, and listening. Problems with listening to texts read by the teacher are associated with his inattention and the inability to concentrate on the teacher’s words during a long period.

Ronny’s skills include his enthusiasm in interacting with peers and adults, as well as his positive response to praise. The areas of interest include playing with a building kit, watching cartoons, and playing computer games using a tablet. These aspects need to be taken into account along with Ronny’s ADHD to develop individually appropriate strategies and interventions that will help the boy cope with such literacy problems as reading decoding, listening, and reading comprehension. Behavioral interventions should be focused on helping Ronny cope with interrupting other students, leaving uncompleted tasks, inappropriate verbalizations, and motor activity.

Strategies and Interventions to Enhance Learning

To respond to Ronny’s specific learning needs and individual differences, it is necessary to focus on applying classroom accommodations, strategies for academic instruction, and behavioral interventions. Firstly, Ronny should be seated close to the teacher’s table for the instructor to be able to monitor his activities. Furthermore, Ronny’s seat should be near the student who can be viewed as a role model for the boy (Friend & Bursuck, 2014). As a result, it will be possible to control situations when the boy experiences difficulties with remaining seated for a long time, using handouts and other objects inappropriately, frequently standing up, or knocking on the desk.

Academic instruction should also be modified concerning Ronny’s needs. The teacher should provide summaries of the lesson plan to make Ronny both organized and interested in forthcoming activities. The lesson should be properly structured.

Learning expectations should be set, and the teacher should explain what activities will be performed during a lesson and for what purposes. The teacher should also state what resources are needed for the lesson, including sheets of paper and pencils, and prevent using or placing on a table any other materials for students with ADHD (Ehm, Kerner auch Koerner, Gawrilow, Hasselhorn, & Schmiedek, 2016). To teach Ronny to decode symbols and read, it is necessary to use audiovisual materials in the form of projected presentations and simple literacy development games on the tablet.

The assistive use of technologies is typical of working with students having ADHD. In this case, Ronny will be interested in working on new tasks, his motivation and concentration will increase, and interrupting or destructing behaviors will be limited. Standard handouts or cards with letters and words can work ineffectively for this boy, and the format of quickly changed vivid pictures on the screen or the monitor can attract the boy’s attention for a longer time (Tannock et al., 2018).

The teacher can control manipulating objects on the projector’s screen or the tablet and monitor Ronny’s recognizing, understanding, and memorizing letters and words. Furthermore, it is possible to use building kits preferred by the boy to help him learn and recall letters and words. These approaches will improve the student’s involvement in the lesson activities.

Learning new letters, recognizing symbols, and reading words should be organized as an individual activity monitored by the teacher. The expectations should be set before starting the work on the task, and the review of the completed task should be done to praise Ronny for his success. In addition, reading, listening, and comprehension activities should be scheduled to have several breaks to successfully control Ronny’s attention and focus on the task (Gargiulo & Bouck, 2018).

It is important to divide assignments into less complex and short tasks. At the next stage, it is possible to apply instruction for the work in a pair with the role model for Ronny. The teacher should organize group activities with peers after Ronny has learned some material and can demonstrate his skills in decoding and reading to be fully involved in group tasks.

Behavioral interventions for students with ADHD are associated with defining and explaining the appropriate behavior in the classroom, using hand gestures, and giving praise. Ronny should be informed what behavior is appropriate during literacy lessons, and he should be praised for demonstrating results in working on assignments and following behavior rules. Appropriate behaviors can also include raising hands to attract the teacher’s attention, remaining seated for all time working on the task, and talking to a peer only quietly (Rief, 2016). The teacher is also expected to use visual cues and hand gestures for controlling Ronny’s behavior.

These cues must be known only to the boy to avoid attracting peers’ attention to his behavior (Friend & Bursuck, 2014). For example, an open palm can be used as a signal to take a sit and continue working on the task.

Conclusion

Students with ADHD learn better when they are provided with appropriate academic instruction that allows them to sustain attention on certain activities, when they know what behaviors are expected, and when lessons have strict schedules and organization. It is also important for these children to have opportunities to concentrate on tasks that are interesting for them, but they should not be distracted by external factors, including peers’ talks, noise, and objects for manipulation among others. Therefore, the teacher’s task is to combine interventions related to academic instruction, behavioral strategies, and classroom accommodations in order to successfully control students’ hyperactivity and concentration on assignments.

The use of technologies and the balance of individual, pair, and group work are important for helping children with ADHD develop new skills and memorize material. Ronny has no problems with socializing, interacting with peers and adults, and participating in conversations using both Cantonese and English, but he needs to be taught how to recognize letters and read words and sentences. Therefore, interventions are expected to be oriented to helping Ronny remain concentrated on a task for a long period and be actively engaged in decoding and reading activities without being distracted or interrupting other students.

References

Ehm, J. H., Kerner auch Koerner, J., Gawrilow, C., Hasselhorn, M., & Schmiedek, F. (2016). The association of ADHD symptoms and reading acquisition during elementary school years. Developmental Psychology, 52(9), 1445-1456.

Friend, M., & Bursuck, W. D. (2014). Including students with special needs: A practical guide for classroom teachers (7th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Education.

Gargiulo, R. M., & Bouck, E. C. (2018). Special education in contemporary society: An introduction to exceptionality (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Poon-McBrayer, K. F. (2014). A call for multicultural special education in Hong Kong: Insights from a case study. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 409-414.

Rief, S. F. (2016). How to reach and teach children and teens with ADD/ADHD (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.

Tannock, R., Frijters, J. C., Martinussen, R., White, E. J., Ickowicz, A., Benson, N. J., & Lovett, M. W. (2018). Combined modality intervention for ADHD with comorbid reading disorders: A proof of concept study. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 51(1), 55-72.

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