Preparing Students with Attention Deficit Disorders for Entry into the Workplace and Postsecondary Education.

Abstract

Approximately 40 % to 70 % of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not outgrow the symptoms, which persist into adulthood along with related problems that emerge in adolescence (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorders, 1993; Teeter, 1991). Children and adults diagnosed with ADHD are generally of average to above-average intellectual ability. However, it is estimated that 25 % to 35 % of students with ADHD fail to graduate from high school (Barkley, 1990). Additionally, Klein (1991) reported that only 2% of adults with ADHD attained professional job status (college educated positions), as compared to 20% of a control sample. She also found that young adults with ADHD experienced low occupational ranking, low socioeconomic status, and poor social class standing when compared to their peers. Researchers and other professionals agree that early intervention is necessary to minimize academic underachievement and other effects of ADHD on the life of affected children. If elementary and secondary school counselors address the needs of students with ADHD early, these students may achieve their potential and plan for college or vocational entry. Therefore, it is imperative for school counselors assisting adolescents with ADHD to be aware of high school preparation issues that may affect these students and to prepare these students for entry into the workplace and / or postsecondary education (Richard, 1995). The purpose of this article is to provide school counselors, particularly high school counselors, with strategies for identifying high school preparation issues that may affect students with ADHD and for preparing these students for entry into the workplace and/or postsecondary education (Sealander, Eigenberger, Schwiebert, & Ross, in press). Definitionof ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, frequently referred to as hyperactivity or attention deficit disorder (ADD), is a severe and usually chronic disorder estimated to affect 3% to 5% of school-age children (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). ADHD is more prevalent in males, with boys outnumbering girls by a mean ratio of six to one in clinic samples (Barkley, 1990). Phelan (1993) notes that on average, one child in an elementary school classroom has ADHD. Moreover, he reports that approximately 40% of students manifesting problems are likely to be students with ADHD. Children with ADHD experience behavioral difficulties, which most often manifest in distractibility, inattention, impulsivity, or hyperactivity. In fact, ADHD children are most commonly characterized as having difficulty completing tasks or persisting at a play activity, difficulty concentrating on tasks requiring sustained attention, distractibility, and not paying attention (Hoza & Pelham, 1993). As a result, children with ADHD may develop emotional, social, developmental, academic, and / or family problems because of the frustrations and difficulties they commonly experience due to the disorder. In addition, the families of children with ADHD may experience pressures and stresses beyond those produced by normal developmental problems (Schwiebert, Sealander, & Tollerud, 1995; Sealander et al., in press). Although most children with ADHD exhibit the first signs of difficulty before the age of 4, most often ADHD is first diagnosed when the child is in elementary school. Moreover, the behaviors of ADHD children and the problems which result put the ADHD child at risk for the following: completing their education, substance abuse, poor vocational achievement, social rejection by peers, oppositional behaviors, and delinquency. However, with proper intervention and treatment, children with ADHD can learn how to cope with daily demands in the classroom, in social situations, in family situations, and with life in general. Therefore, it is essential that identification of children with ADHD occur early. This allows teachers, parents, healthcare professionals, and school counselors to work with these students to assist them with strategies and intervention techniques designed to facilitate adjustment to school and vocational situations, social situations, family situations, and life in general. …