Free Essay on ADHD: Parents, Teachers, and Schools Inclusion in Lebanon

The study aims at depicting ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) as a complex and severe medical condition that poses notable controversies in the educational environment. It will reveal ADHD as a major issue that interferes with children’s lives, particularly in the learning environment, thus requiring dedicated assistance to allow them overcome the devastating outcomes. It will revolve around the need for including parents, teachers, and schools to take part in the process of dealing with the condition, mostly because of the extreme medical, educational, and social influences it has on children in Lebanon. Furthermore, based on the negative impact that the condition has on the sufferers, peers, families, teachers, and the society, the study proposes approaches for dealing with the situation through following biopsychosocial principles. It will utilize the Connors CBRS (Connors Comprehensive Behavior Rating Scales) -Teacher tool, which will assist in the formulation of the bio-psychosocial approach as well as support parents, teachers, and schools to understand and address the disorder effectively.

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Key words: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), teenagers, society, children, Lebanon

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) refers to impairing as well as pervasive symptoms of hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. ADHD serves as one of the major disorders subject to thorough research in the medical field. The disease results in various adverse outcomes among the affected individuals while placing severe financial burdens on the society and families that makes it serve as a major health problem in the public domain, hence the need for forefront research in the medical arena (IGSPS, 2012, p. 12). In the case of those individuals suffering from ADHD, they regularly witness challenge when dealing with the main activities of life, such as education, social relations, functional operations, family functioning, self-reliance, and devotion to standard social rules, and laws. Moreover, people suffering from the condition are subject to experience accidental poisonings and physical injuries (ElZein, 2011, p. 164). The effects associated with ADHD are broad and devastating to individuals. Furthermore, the sufferers are highly likely than the average population to drop from school or college, lack friends, underperform in workplace settings, abuse illicit drugs, and tobacco, as well as participate in various antisocial activities (Richa, et al., 2014).

Research reveals that in the event of those individuals suffering from ADHD, their life events become impaired, including education, social relations, industrial undertakings, family functioning, observance of social norms, rules, and laws, and in attaining self-sufficiency (IGSPS, 2012, p. 4). The organization estimates that concerning the individuals suffering from ADHD, their chances of resulting in accidental poisonings and physical injuries are considerably high, thus leading to severe devastations among the affected individuals. According to Aghar, (2012) persons living with ADHD have higher chances that the rest of the population to drop out from colleges (90 percent), school (32 percent), few or no friends (60 percent), work underperformance (75 percent), and embark on antisocial activities (45 percent). Furthermore, they are likely to encounter teenage pregnancy (40 percent), sexually transmitted infections (16 percent), and speed in an excessive manner and battle depression (25 percent), and portray personality disorders when they reach adulthood (21 percent). They also result in various activities that lead them to endanger and to mismanage their lives.

Moreover, ElZein (2011) adds that stealing, cursing, lying, and blaming other individuals serve as standard ADHD components, especially since a child advanced in age. Aghar (2012) reveals that around 72 percent of children with ADHD argue with other adults compared to only 21 percent of typical children. Around 66 percent blame other individuals for the mistakes they commit versus 17 percent of ordinary children. More than 71 percent of them also become annoyed or irritable quickly versus 20 percent of typical children. Additionally, 49 percent of them lie compared to 5 percent of the typical children. In this perspective, therefore, it is apparent that ADHD symptoms become less appealing as children advance from elementary to secondary school.

In the perspective of Richa, et al. (2014) the good news nevertheless is that the problems serve as part of the ADHD syndrome, thus not the children’s fault or their parents. The vital understanding, in this case, provides an avenue for coping with the issues affecting the children in an efficient way. In addition, Rayes (2014) stipulates that the process of assessment, as well as the resulting treatment, should reflect the disorder’s establishment nature as well as its sophistication. ADHD’s nature as well as the way it becomes expressed demands important developmental and biopsychosocial factors consideration in the assessment as well as the treatment process.

The following questions will guide the study in understanding the need for parents, teachers, and schools inclusion in issues related to ADHD in Lebanon

- What issues led to the lack of adequate attention toward ADHD prevalence in Lebanon?

- How does the prevalence of ADHD in Lebanon affect the social and educational wellbeing of the vulnerable population?

- What role should parents, teachers, and schools play in dealing with ADHD prevalence and challenges in Lebanon?

Since the study will deal with the inclusion of parents, teachers, and schools concerning addressing the issue of ADHD, it is worth noting that people having special needs exist in the Lebanese public. However, challenges emerge when it comes to estimating the percentages of the diverse special needs categories, particularly ADHD, since no central agency for collecting data exists. Moreover, no federal legislation prevails to require individuals with ADHD and other special needs to gain accessibility to schools. Presently, no particular categorical system responsible for identifying as well as supporting students with ADHD prevails in any formal manner in public schools. Moreover, public schools and the Ministry of Education do not play any role in helping children with challenging disorders that affect behavior, such as ADHD. In the case of private schools, even though they have put in place various interventions to deal with students with special needs, the facilities they have in place are not up to standard. Hence, the ADHD issue demands much response, especially by parents, teachers, and schools to ensure that adequate measures prevail to benefit the children suffering from the disorder in Lebanon (Aghar, 2012, p. 3).

The study’s purpose is to facilitate in identifying ADHD as a severe medical condition that poses significant controversies, especially in the educational setting. It will depict that even though practitioners perceive ADHD as blighting children’s lives, who require significant assistance in overcoming it, no notable efforts exist in Lebanon to handle the disorder efficiently. Hence, the study will focus perceiving ADHD as a severe social, medical, and educational issue. It has a dangerous influence on sufferers, teachers, families, peers, and the community. However, it is possible to minimize and control the impacts through effective interventions by parents, teachers, and schools while following the biopsychosocial approach.

The research is significant in that it will assist in determining that early identification, as well as management of children suffering from educational and developmental problems, is vital to the overall well-being of a child. The study will reveal that ADHD demands bio-psychosocial approach consideration to facilitate in integrating the internal biological as well as intrapsychic contexts with the social and psychological interpersonal forces. In this sense, it will be possible to identify the problem behaviors, which children with ADHD portray that demand assessment during the developmental phase while utilizing the ideal instruments for evaluation and comprehensive normative data (Rayes, 2014, p. 12). As such, it will be possible to identify ADHD’s chronic nature based on the ways in which it manifests itself in diverse age groups. This way, it will be possible to determine the ideal assessments tools while utilizing various information source in distinct settings to determine ways through which parents, teachers, and schools can deal with the issue effectively (IGSPS, 2012, p. 5).

In the study, a sample of 40 teachers will be selected to use the Connors CBRS-Teacher forms to facilitate in assessing the ADHD disorder among children and adolescents aged between 3 and 17 years currently pursuing their studies in a public school in Lebanon. They will assess the ADHD symptoms, which include emotional distress, upsetting thoughts, worrying, social problems, deviant/ aggressive behavior, academic difficulties, hyperactivity/impulsivity, separation fears, compulsive behaviors, and violent behavior using the T-scores. They will then match the scores with the ones listed in DSMV-IV. T-scores will determine whether the behaviors the children portray are elevated or very elevated, thereby guide the teachers and parents concerning the prevalence of the ADHD problem (Aghar, 2012, p. 12). The purpose of using the tools is that they will provide an avenue of identifying the various ADHD symptoms that children portray in the learning environment thereby determine the way forward for handing the issue. The tool is also valid and reliable as it can be adopted by diverse cultures as well as support cross-comparison. In this case, it will be possible to answer the research questions apparent in the study in a comprehensive manner, thus give clear insights on how parents, teachers, and schools can be included in addressing the ADHD issue in the Lebanese context (Aghar, 2012, p. 13).

Following the inclusion of parents, teachers, and schools in understanding ADHD prevalence in the Lebanese context, the analysis will assist in identifying the significant symptoms in line with the related challenges and psychiatric ADHD co-comorbidity. It will also be possible to express ADHD prevalence regarding its nature as well as prevalence across age and gender (Richa, et al., 2014). The ADHD issues and prevalence concerning its prevalence in Lebanon will then be apparent at a micro and macro-level to facilitate in understanding its prevalence and persistence, thereby assist researchers and academics in understanding the findings apparent from the parents, teachers, and schools’ perspective. Furthermore, after discussing ADHD as a major challenge and syndrome, the study will assist in examining evidence through the interpretation of the disorder as serving as a biopsychosocial construct (ElZein, 2011, p. 170). As such, it will be possible to present ADHD diagnosis as well as inquire concerning the ways scholars can deal with the issue after categorizing it as an issue affecting the social and educational setting of children in Lebanon, hence propose the appropriate interventions for ADHD students while following the ADHD viewpoint.

Aghar, T. A. (2012). Assessing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Lebanon: The Adaptation of the Conner’s Teacher Rating Scale for Use with Lebanese Children. Leicester: University of Leicester.

ElZein, H. L. (2011). Attitudes Toward Inclusion of Children with Special Needs in Regular Schools (A Case Study from Parents' Perspective. Educational Research and Review, 4(4), 164-172.

IGSPS. (2012). National Health Statistics Report in Lebanon. West Hartford, CT: Institute of Health Management and Social Protection.

Rayes, H. D. (2014). Teachers Attitudes towards the Inclusion of Children with Autism and their Peer Social Acceptance across Schools in Mount Lebanon and Beirut. New York: Lebanese American University.

Richa, S., Rohayem, J., Chammai, R., Kazour, F., Haddad, R., Hleis, S., . . . Gerbaka, B. (2014). ADHD prevalence in Lebanese school-age population. Journal of Attention Disorders, 18(3), 242-246.