FAHA: Student with ADD

[Bharat Nain]

This post is so well written that it does not even need an introduction. Read on.

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This year, our team had a student with attention deficit disorder (doctor diagnosed), and while she was not disruptive most of the time, when she forgot to take her medications (which was about once a week) she was very disruptive, sometimes to the point of preventing any progress at all that day. Having never dealt with someone with ADD before, I am at a loss of what to do. I cannot simply kick her off the team, after all she is the type of person that could most benefit from FIRST, but I also can't just tell her to "smarten up," as its not something that is under her control. I also cannot just tell her to take her meds, apparently taking the meds after noon wreaks havoc on her sleep cycle.

I considered not letting her stay if she forgot her meds that day, but its not immediately apparent at the start of the build session, and she typically gets a ride from a senior student after we are done. Besides, that would not be an ideal solution even if it worked.

So does anyone have advice for me? Especially if you have been in a similar situation before (thats not to say I won't listen if you haven't, of course)

One thing I think I should mention is that the rest of the team is very good about it, they recognize that the situation is beyond their control and although they have gotten frustrated on occasion, especially near the end when being efficient is most important, they have never gotten visibly angry, and I am proud of them for it

Thanks for your time.


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[EricH]

I haven't been on a team with someone with ADD that I know about...

It might be best to figure out how to make sure that the medication is taken each and every day. For that, you want to sit down with both the student and the student's parents. Explain the situation, and that the best way to reduce the effects is to ensure that the medicine is taken. Work with the parents to find a way to do that, as they know their teenager much better than you do.

I would also say that if I was a parent I would want to know that any medication my child was on was being skipped now and again. Then it's time for a parent-child discussion on responsibility and the purpose of said medication...

Because this is a fairly regular occurrence, you may be able to figure out why it's happening, too. Say it's usually on a Wednesday, just for purposes of explanation. Maybe the student has something Tuesday night that causes them to stay up late, then has something during zero period, and is rushed between waking up and leaving for school. That would be something that the parents might know about, but you wouldn't necessarily. If they know there's a problem, they can deal with it better than you can.

Definitely bring the parents in while you work on this.

[Alan Anderson]

It should be possible to distract the disruptive student with a video game. It won't help her be productive, but it can help keep her from preventing others from being productive.

While it's not a great solution, it's a simple and easy one to try.

[Rick TYler]

There is so much to be written here, and so little time...

First, I would like to encourage you to remember that "disabilities" can take many forms. We are all willing to accommodate someone with a visible physical problem, such as being in a wheelchair, but chemical/mental issues like ADHD/ADD/whatever the diagnosis is this year is just as real a handicap, and just as deserving of careful consideration. She doesn't want to be disruptive, she just is. Part of the universe of ADHD is the forgetfulness that causes her not to take her medications regularly, too.

Second, I am not a mental health professional, and my experience with ADHD is as a Scout leader and Robotics mentor. I've read on the subject and talked to professionals, including a clinical psychologist. My opinion is that of a pretty informed layman, not a professional.

Some comments and observations:

1. This is a matter for a teacher or mentor to handle, not a peer. If the OP is a student member of a team, I encourage him to share his concerns with an adult leader and hand off the problem. No offense intended, but very few teenagers are emotionally or experientialy equipped to deal with this issue on their own. If you don't have a teacher or mentor who will deal with this, talk to your school counselor.

2. Once you've included an adult in the process, have them meet with the girl and arrive a "contract" of behavior to which both parties agree. She might have to agree not to attend meetings on days she forgets her meds, or she might have to work with her doctor on something that she CAN take in the afternoon. ADHD meds come in many forms, some of which only have four hours or so of affect, so that she could take it at lunch and still sleep.

3. If lots of people on the team find her disruptive, bring in an expert and the girl to a team meeting and explain what is going on. If the team is too big, at least meet with the leadership. We did this in a Scout troop for a boy with a different problem, but things were MUCH easier to manage once the older boys understood his issues, and how best to help him manage. The boy was still disruptive at times, but once leadership knew how to cope his behaviors just "happened" but didn't negatively affect the activities and fun of others.

4. Sometimes folks with ADHD can be kind of impulsive. This is a BAD tendency for someone working with edged tools and power tools. Again, your team leadership needs to reach an agreement with this girl on the rules. Perhaps she doesn't use tools on no-drug days?

5. In extreme cases, we have had to require that parents attend events that certain Scouts were attending. This is especially true of out-of-town trips or other long events. In Scouts, we have had boys drop out (mostly because of their parents), but more often, one or the other parent becomes an active volunteer. I haven't ever had to try this in high school robots, but I have on 11-13 year olds.

6. Try to remember that she is just a more-extreme person on the continuum. I think a lot of people are ADHD to one extreme or another. I know several adults who don't take drugs, but have evolved various coping mechanisms to deal with their own mild-to-moderate ADHD. Or, as a friend in Scouting says about a different condition, "We all have Asperger's , it's just more noticeable in some people than others." She isn't weird, just a little more.

Someone with this kind of problem can get marginalized and left out of a lot of things. I encourage you to get help on figuring out how best to make her a productive member of your team, and to help HER get the most from this experience. Good luck.