Journal of Psychiatry

Educational Intervention for Increasing Teachers’ ADHD Knowledge

Benjamin Ambrosio^* Department of Psychiatry, Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
^*Correspondence: Benjamin Ambrosio, Department of Psychiatry, Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Email:

Received: 19-Apr-2022, Manuscript No. JOP-22-16175; Editor assigned: 21-Apr-2022, Pre QC No. JOP-22-16175(PQ); Reviewed: 05-May-2022, QC No. JOP-22-16175; Revised: 18-Jun-2022, Manuscript No. JOP-22-16175(R); Published: 25-Jun-2022, DOI: 10.35248/2378-5756.22.27.673

Editorial

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (ADHD) is one of the important problems of the fields of psychiatry and education. Defining as a neurodevelopmental disorder, it progresses with hyperactivity, lack of attention, and impulsivity. Based on DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5^th edition) hyperactivity/impulsivity and/or lack of attention in adolescents and children must be at least six of the nine problematic behaviors in a child confirmed by a mental health professional in multiple settings. In addition, those symptoms last in an unsuited style with developmental level for at least 6 months, compromise functionality and that ADHD symptoms begin before the age of 12 so that a diagnosis can be made.

The elementary school teacher is most often the first one who notices the hyperactivity or inattentive behaviors in the classroom and should be able to manage them and to do a right action, for example, make a referral for accurate assessment for ADHD. Elementary school teachers play an important role in the assessment of children's behavioral and academic problems due to their extensive interaction with children in a variety of unstructured and structured settings. Also, they play a crucial role in the implementation, support and assessment of recommended treatment plan for affected children. Furthermore, elementary school teachers make recommendations, inappropriate or appropriate, about ADHD to the parents, who tend to follow such recommendations.

It is obvious that teachers ADHD knowledge and attitudes influence their behavior in the classroom while working with ADHD students. As we expected the results revealed that after intervention teachers classroom behavioral management in the intervention group was significantly improved rather than those of the control group. Improving ADHD behavior management strategies could be interpreted because of increasing teachers’ knowledge and self-efficacy. A study in Australia revealed that primary school teachers’ ADHD knowledge and self-efficacy increased following the educational intervention.

As teachers ADHD knowledge increases, their self efficacy will improve. As a result, they can develop more self-confidence in their abilities in making necessary changes and better control in classrooms; also use less destructive behavior toward children with ADHD. The relationship between ADHD behavior management strategies and teaching self efficacy await further support by accurate measures in future research. The educational intervention based on “the classroom accommodations for children with ADHD” is helpful in improving teachers understanding of school age children with ADHD and their abilities in addressing attention and disruptive behavior problems of children affected with ADHD in the classroom.

Self report questionnaire, because of the limited resources available. In addition, masking was not possible which means that socially appropriate responding could have contributed to the higher scores among the teachers in the intervention group. Future studies should include observational measures of teachers behavior in addition to self report. Due to the adverse effects of ADHD on the academic achievement, well-being, and social interactions of children, it is recommended that this program will incorporate into in-service training courses for primary school teachers as a means of facilitating teaching and managing children with ADHD in class.