Children with ADHD often need some special accommodations to help them learn. For example, the teacher may seat the child in an area with few distractions, provide an area where the child can move around and release excess energy, or establish a clearly posted system of rules and reward appropriate behavior. Sometimes just keeping a card or a picture on the desk can serve as a visual reminder to use the right school behavior, like raising a hand instead of shouting out, or staying in a seat instead of wandering around the room. Giving a child like Lisa extra time on tests can make the difference between passing and failing, and gives her a fairer chance to show what she’s learned. Reviewing instructions or writing assignments on the board, and even listing the books and materials they will need for the task, may make it possible for disorganized, inattentive children to complete the work.

Many of the strategies of special education are simply good teaching methods. Telling students in advance what they will learn, providing visual aids, and giving written as well as oral instructions are all ways to help students focus and remember the key parts of the lesson.

Students with ADHD often need to learn techniques for monitoring and controlling their own attention and behavior. For example, Mark’s teacher taught him several alternatives for when he loses track of what he’s supposed to do. He can look for instructions on the blackboard, raise his hand, wait to see if he remembers, or quietly ask another child. The process of finding alternatives to interrupting the teacher has made him more self-sufficient and cooperative. And because he now interrupts less, he is beginning to get more praise than reprimands.

In Lisa’s class, the teacher frequently stops to ask students to notice whether they are paying attention to the lesson or if they are thinking about something else. The students record their answer on a chart. As students become more consciously aware of their attention, they begin to see progress and feel good about staying better focused. The process helped make Lisa aware of when she was drifting off, so she could return her attention to the lesson faster. As a result, she became more productive and the quality of her work improved.

Because schools demand that children sit still, wait for a turn, pay attention, and stick with a task, it’s no surprise that many children with ADHD have problems in class. Their minds are fully capable of learning, but their hyperactivity and inattention make learning difficult. As a result, many students with ADHD repeat a grade or drop out of school early. Fortunately, with the right combination of appropriate educational practices, medication, and counseling, these outcomes can be avoided.
Right to a Free Public Education

Although parents have the option of taking their child to a private practitioner for evaluation and educational services, most children with ADHD qualify for free services within the public schools. Steps are taken to ensure that each child with ADHD receives an education that meets his or her unique needs. For example, the special education teacher, working with parents, the school psychologist, school administrators, and the classroom teacher, must assess the child’s strengths and weaknesses and design an Individualized Educational Program (IEP). The IEP outlines the specific skills the child needs to develop as well as appropriate learning activities that build on the child’s strengths. Parents play an important role in the process. They must be included in meetings and given an opportunity to review and approve their child’s IEP.

Many children with ADHD or other disabilities are able to receive such special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Act guarantees appropriate services and a public education to children with disabilities from ages 3 to 21. Children who do not qualify for services under IDEA can receive help under an earlier law, the National Rehabilitation Act, Section 504, which defines disabilities more broadly. Qualifying for services under the National Rehabilitation Act is often called “504 eligibility.”

Because ADHD is a disability that affects children’s ability to learn and interact with others, it can certainly be a disabling condition. Under one law or another, most children can receive the services they need.

© This information is from the Federal Citizen Information Center of the U.S. General Services Administration.

In other children, ADHD-like behaviors may be their response to a defeating classroom situation. Perhaps the child has a learning disability and is not developmentally ready to learn to read and write at the time these are taught. Or maybe the work is too hard or too easy, leaving the child frustrated or bored.

Tyrone and Mimi are two examples of how classroom conditions can elicit behaviors that look like ADHD. For months, Tyrone shouted answers out in class, then became disruptive when the teacher ignored him. He certainly seemed hyperactive and impulsive. Finally, after observing Tyrone in other situations, his teacher realized he just wanted approval for knowing the right answer. She began to seek opportunities to call on him and praise him. Gradually, Tyrone became calmer and more cooperative.

Mimi, a fourth grader, made loud noises during reading group that constantly disrupted the class. One day the teacher realized that the book was too hard for Mimi. Mimi’s disruptions stopped when she was placed in a reading group where the books were easier and she could successfully participate in the lesson.

Like Tyrone and Mimi, some children’s attention and class participation improve when the class structure and lessons are adjusted a bit to meet their emotional needs, instructional level, or learning style. Although such children need a little help to get on track at school, they probably donþt have ADHD.

It’s also important to realize that during certain stages of development, the majority of children that age tend to be inattentive, hyperactive, or impulsive–but do not have ADHD. Preschoolers have lots of energy and run everywhere they go, but this doesn’t mean they are hyperactive. And many teenagers go through a phase when they are messy, disorganized, and reject authority. It doesn’t mean they will have a lifelong problem controlling their impulses.

ADHD is a serious diagnosis that may require long-term treatment with counseling and medication. So it’s important that a doctor first look for and treat any other causes for these behaviors.
What Can Look Like ADHD?

* Underachievement at school due to a learning disability
* Attention lapses caused by petit mal seizures
* A middle ear infection that causes an intermittent hearing problem
* Disruptive or unresponsive behavior due to anxiety or depression

© This information is from the Federal Citizen Information Center of the U.S. General Services Administration.

All 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Territories have enacted statutes specifying procedures that a mandatory reporter must follow when making a report of child abuse or neglect. Mandatory reporters are individuals who are required by law to report cases of suspected child abuse or neglect. In most States, the statutes require mandated reporters to make a report immediately upon gaining their knowledge or suspicion of abusive or neglectful situations. In all jurisdictions, the initial report may be made orally to either the child protective services agency or to a law enforcement agency.
Agency Responsibility

In addition to procedures a mandatory reporter must follow, the statutes in most States also specify procedures for the response required by the agencies receiving the reports.

Typically, the department or public agency that provides child protective services has the responsibility to initiate an investigation of the allegations made in the report. In approximately2 8 States (Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, Washington, and West Virginia), cases of physical or sexual abuse may be investigated by a law enforcement agency.

The designated agency usually is required to complete its investigation within a reasonably short period of time. Most States also require cross-reporting among professional entities. Typically, reports are shared among social services agencies, law enforcement agencies, and prosecutors’ offices.3
Content of Reports

Most States also specify in statute the kind of information that must be included in the report of suspected abuse or neglect. Reports typically include the name and address of the child and the child’s parents or other persons responsible for the child’s care, the child’s age, the nature and extent of the child’s injuries, and any other information relevant to the investigation.
Special Reporting Procedures

Some States also specify reporting procedures in special situations such as the suspicious death of a child and cases of drug-exposed infants.

Specific reporting procedures to be followed in the event of a suspicious child death have been enacted in approximately4 31 States, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands. Typically, these statutes instruct a mandatory reporter to report a suspected child death to a medical examiner or coroner.

In States that do not have specific reporting procedures for suspicious child deaths, standard child abuse reporting procedures apply.

Specific reporting procedures to be followed for drug-exposed infants have been enacted in approximately 12 States5 and the District of Columbia. In general, these statutes make drug exposure or a positive drug test alone the basis for reporting.

Standard reporting procedures apply in those States that statutorily define infant drug exposure as child abuse and neglect,6 but have no specific reporting procedures for drug-exposed infants.

1 For a listing of mandated reporters by State, see Department of Health and Human Services, Statutes-at-a-Glance: Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect (2003). (Available at http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/general/legal/statutes/.)
2 The word approximately is used throughout the State Statutes Series to stress the fact that statutes are constantly revised and updated.
3 See Department of Health and Human Services, Ready Reference: Reporting Laws Cross-Reporting Among Systems (2003). (Available at http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/general/legal/statutes/.)
4 See the State-by-State listing in this publication for those States that currently specify special procedures in their statutes.
5 The States that currently specify special procedures for drug-exposed infants include Arizona, California, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Utah, and Washington.
6 See the Ready Reference Reporting Laws: Drug-Exposed Infants (2003), available at http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/general/legal/statutes/.

© This information is from the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information.

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)2 requires States to have policies and procedures to address the needs of infants born and identified as being affected by illegal substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug exposure. Several States currently address this requirement in their statutes. Approximately 12 States3 have specific reporting procedures for infants who show evidence at birth of having been exposed to drugs, alcohol, or other controlled substances, while 12 States4 and the District of Columbia include this type of exposure in their definitions of child abuse or neglect.
Children Exposed to Illegal Drug Activity

There is increasing concern about the negative impact on children when parents or other members of the household abuse alcohol or drugs or engage in other illegal drug-related activity, such as the manufacture of methamphetamines in home-based laboratories. Many States have responded to the problem of substance abuse by parents by expanding the civil definition of child abuse or neglect so that children living in dangerous home environments can be protected. Specific circumstances that are considered child abuse or neglect include:

* Manufacture of a controlled substance in the presence of child or on the premises occupied by a child5
* Allowing a child to be present where the chemicals or equipment for the manufacture of controlled substances are used or stored6
* Selling, distributing, or giving drugs or alcohol to a child7
* Use of a controlled substance by a caregiver that impairs the caregiver’s ability to adequately care for the child8
* Exposure of the child to drug paraphernalia,9 the criminal sale or distribution of drugs,10 or drug-related activity11

A few other States address the issue of exposing children to illegal drug activity in their criminal statutes. For example, in Georgia, Idaho, and Ohio, the manufacture or possession of methamphetamine in the presence of a child is a felony. Washington State provides for enhanced penalties for any conviction for the manufacture of methamphetamine when a child was present on the premises where the crime occurred. In Wyoming, selling or giving an illegal drug to a child by any person is a felony.

1 The word approximately is used to stress the fact that the States frequently amend their laws, so this information is current only through June 2004.
2 42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq., as amended by the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-36).
3 Arizona, California, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Utah.
4 Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
5 Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Virginia.
6 Arizona and New Mexico.
7 Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, and Texas.
8 Kentucky, New York, Rhode Island, and Texas.
9 North Dakota.
10 Montana and Virginia.
11 District of Columbia.

© This information is from the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information.

Individuals typically designated as mandatory reporters have frequent contact with children. Such individuals include:

* Health care workers

* School personnel

* Child care providers

* Social workers

* Law enforcement officers

* Mental health professionals

Some States also mandate animal control officers, veterinarians, commercial film or photograph processors, substance abuse counselors, and firefighters to report abuse or neglect. Four States–Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, and South Dakota–include domestic violence workers on the list of mandated reporters. Approximately1 eighteen States require all citizens to report suspected abuse or neglect regardless of profession.
Standard for Making a Report

Typically a report must be made when the reporter suspects or has reasons to suspect that a child has been abused or neglected.
Privileged Communications

Approximately 34 States and Territories specify in their reporting laws when a communication is privileged.2 Privileged communications, which is the statutory recognition of the right to maintain the confidentiality of communications between professionals and their clients or patients, are exempt from mandatory reporting laws. The privilege most widely recognized by the States is that of attorney-client. The privilege pertaining to clergy-penitent also is frequently recognized, but limited to situations in which a clergy person becomes aware of child abuse through confessions or in the capacity of spiritual advisor. However, five States, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Texas, and West Virginia, deny the clergy-penitent privilege. Very few States recognize the physician-patient and mental health professional-patient privileges as exempt from mandatory reporting laws.

© This information is from the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse.