For this blog entry I will be discussing special educational
needs. It has been 50 years since the first British law was published to
primarily cover disability. Throughout this time society has needed to adjust
their own attitudes to allow disabled people to integrate into the community.
The Chronically Ill and Disabled Persons Act 1970 was the first of its kind and
has really changed people's attitudes relating to education, provision and employment for people who
have physical and special educational needs. As much as this law may be
ethically incorrect in certain ways, although it has been altered and changed over
time, without it we would not be the society that we are today.
However, I feel that some of the priorities and attitudes of
people have not changed. I am talking of my own experiences of currently
undergoing the diagnosis of ADHD (Attention Hyperactive Deficit Disorder). The
process of getting diagnosed is so tedious, difficult and expensive it is
almost pointless to even try. It is especially hard to get a diagnosis as an
adult. Throughout my education I have been a quiet and obedient student (see my
previous blog) who was always well behaved. My respect for teachers and behavior was impeccable, only ever receiving detentions when I was missed
important instructions, hence not completing the work. As an unknown ADHD
sufferer I wasn’t the sort to answer back to teachers, shout out answers or lob
the odd chair.
Not many people know that there are three types of ADHD;
there is impulsive sort (most common and obvious), the inattentive (lacks the
skills to sustain attention), and the combined sort (which is a mixture of
both). I have the inattentive sort, which was formally known as Attention
Deficit Disorder (ADD). This means that I have a poor working memory and will struggle
to remember instructions -even for a short period of time. I also have a real
issue with external noises (as do a lot of people with ADHD) and a noise that
is being made across the other side of the room will cancel out anything that
is spoken to me, even if this person is speaking to me face to face. This means
that lectures and seminars are always an issue.
In the UK we like to think of ourselves as modern
thinkers, but people today still believe that this is a ‘made up condition’. As much as this is
hard to believe, even general practitioners (GP’s) are not
convinced. I know that the GP’s in my area have only just started to listen to
the University’s Disability Assist’s pleas and may even start referring people
onto the next stage. Whenever I have spoken to my GP they have been clueless on
what to do, they say that they do not associate with ADHD and sent me to Disability
Assist at the university (which only diagnose Dyslexia) even though I was armed
with a cognitive assessment stating that I have a poor working memory.
In 2008 I was told by my lecturer that I may have dyslexia,
within three weeks I had two cognitive assessments carried out and my diagnosis
typed out and posted to me. The whole assessment was paid for by the university
(worth £200) and I wasn’t even expected to pay for it even when it turned out I
was not dyslexic. However for ADHD it is nearly impossible to get diagnosed. If you are
lucky to get past your GP then you are likely to be sent across the other side
of the country for an assessment that will cost you the best part of £1000. It
seems that the NHS and has their priorities set.
This blog is not to rant about how useless the healthcare
system is. I, and other ADHD suffers, want to raise awareness of the insufficient
support that is provided for us. We, and certainly I, do not want extra benefit’s
or drugs. When I have told people that I have ADHD I often get the same
question, “Isn’t that when you chuck chairs at people?” No, it really isn’t!
Even my own mother refused to acknowledge it. This is all because of a lack of
understanding. It’s not really known and is badly publicised in the press. I did
not even know about my own condition until I did a special educational needs
module in my third year.
It is easy for everyone to focus on the negatives when it
comes to ADHD. From my own personal experiences I have found that people with ADHD, like people with
Dyslexia, are quite creative because they do not think in the same ways as other
people. They are also quite spontaneous
and have good sense of initiative. As a trainee teacher I have also found that
ADHD has helped my behaviour management in the classroom. Children cannot to
talk over me or at each other; otherwise this will lose my train of thought. I
also have the advantage of knowing what it is like to be unfocused and I can
spot the signs pretty quickly.
Thank you for reading this post, I will keep you updated
with the campaign that we are starting to get more support for people with ADHD
in the South West, as there is currently none available. If anyone has any
advice that they could give, it would be gratefully received. Also if
anyone has any stories or ideas on how to keep ADHD children motivated in the
classroom, then this would be most beneficial for us trainee teachers!
Katie O'Reilly (@kforeilly)
Katie O'Reilly (@kforeilly)