Maureen Murphy-Ryan offers a clinical look at attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Her thorough definition of ADHD and the diagnoses that may occur simultaneously offer teachers an awareness of what this could look like in a classroom.
Dr. Montessori, the physician, the educator, and the scientist, integrated the three practices into one in service of the development of children. She scientifically integrated medical science and education/pedagogy, and it was called scientific pedagogy. Scientific pedagogy involved first getting to know a child in order to know how to educate that child. Therefore, in order to aid the development of a child with ADHD, it is essential to get to know him/her.
Here is a list of tools for Montessori teachers to immediately begin implementing with their attention-challenged children. These tools will help the teacher manage the challenging behaviors of a child with ADHD and, in the freedom of a Montessori environment, will help the child attend better to learn to manage his/her own behaviors. For mild cases of ADHD, this may be all that is required to support a child’s success in a Montessori classroom.
Teachers working with children with ADHD often start to wonder: Will this child ever be able to function independently as an adult in the world? Will this child ever be able to graduate high school, or complete a college course? Will this child ever be able to stay employed? Will this child ever safely be able to drive a car down the road? Will this child end up in prison? Will this child even make it to adulthood?
Catherine Nehring Massie provides important contextual information in considering children with attentional challenges. She discusses the prevalence of attentional challenges in today’s culture and the contributing factors. She gives a general overview of the spectrum of attentional challenges and some of the indicators in children.
In this research I asked the question “How do Montessori teachers adapt Montessori methods with children diagnosed with ASD?” An interpretive description methodology focused on the specific modifications participant teachers applied to the Montessori method…This methodology will provide practical applications for Montessori teachers who do not have experience with children with ASD…”
This study has contributed to the strong need for non-medication alternatives for the treatment of ADHD and enhancing educational achievement for children and adolescents with different types of learning disabilities/ differences.