Case Study - Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) / Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (1)

---

Audio version

Amanda is a bright and articulate young woman; she failed her maths GCSE but got good grades at ‘A’ level and is attending college in order to take a maths resit. She wants the qualification in order to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher. Amanda was diagnosed with ADHD at age eight. Before that, she was frequently in trouble in class and labelled a naughty child. Amanda was very easily distracted, had a short attention span and difficulty remembering oral directions. She had trouble focusing on one task for extended periods. Sometimes she just could not manage to block out sounds or sights around her and this interfered with her ability to concentrate. As she has grown older, Amanda has developed strategies to help her concentrate but she still experiences some of these difficulties from time to time. In addition, she takes medication that can make her feel drowsy at times, although it does help her ‘screen out’ distractions.

The tutor on her course has experience of working with people with ADHD and, following a discussion with Amanda, was able to put in place a range of adjustments to practice to help her study for and pass her maths exam. These included the following:

• Since Amanda has trouble focusing on a single task for extended periods, it was agreed that she be allowed regular ‘rest breaks’ when she could leave the classroom, stretch her legs, get some fresh air, and return to the class refocused.
• Similarly, Amanda finds it difficult to sit still during a lengthy exam. On submission of the medical evidence of Amanda’s condition, the Examinations Board granted Amanda additional time to complete her exam and allowed her to have supervised rest breaks.
• The teacher arranged for Amanda to always sit at the front of her class, near the door, so that she is less distracted by what other students are doing in class.
• Amanda is hypersensitive to the sound of fans/air-conditioning, and the teacher agreed that these could be turned off for the sessions that Amanda attended.

Listen to an audio version of this case study:



This case study has been extracted from the Qatrain2 project website (www.qatrain2.eu).

Rate the information on this page: 1 (very useful) 2 3 4 (not at all useful)