ADHD and Education Survey March 2018 The Centre for ADHD Awareness, Canada
ADHD and Education Survey Overview Intro CADDAC s last survey on these issues occurred in 2012 CADDAC has continued to receive concerned calls and e-mails from parents about the lack of understanding and resources for children with ADHD in Canadian school systems Goal To quantify the feedback that we routinely receive from parents Respondents This survey was completed by 1029 parents from across Canada Half of the respondents were from Ontario, 20% from BC and 18% from Alberta
Demographics 70% of respondents were from Ontario and British Columbia 71% of respondents have children in elementary school 91% of students with ADHD attend a publically funded school New Brunswick 1% Quebec 2% Nova Scotia 4% Ontario 51% British Columbia 20% Newfoundland & Labrador 4% Alberta 13% Saskatchewan 2% Manitoba 2% Prince Edward Island 1% 70.38% 6% 4% In Elementary school The English public school system 5.13% The French public school system 16.88% The Separate (Catholic) public school system 8.59% The private school system 13.33% The French Immersion program 19% 71% In High school In Post-secondary, but under 23 Under 23 and no longer in school
Demographics My child has difficulty with: 93% of children with ADHD have Reactions to frustration resulting in 49% trouble regulating their attention Anger /Aggression 49% 89% have an executive functioning Hyperactivity 50% impairment Outbursts / meltdowns 51% Impulsivity resulting in the school 56% 74% have trouble achieving their Shutting down when overwhelmed 61% academic potential Social skills 69% 49-61% of students show signs of Achieving their academic potential 74% impairment when attempting to Executive functioning 89% regulate their behaviour Regulating their attention 93% 42% Learning Disability (LD) My child has an additional diagnosis of: 16% Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) 43% 14% 9% Anxiety Depression Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) 6% 3% 26% OCD CAPD No other diagnosis 43% of children with ADHD also have an additional diagnosis of anxiety 42% have a Learning disability
Psycho-educational Assessment 57% of students with ADHD received a psycho-educational assessment How the Psycho-ed was obtained 35% Received Psycho-ed Assessment 8% 57% Yes No Do not know 63% 37% Through School Board Privately Of the 57% who received the psycho-ed assessment 63% were obtained privately
Psycho-educational Assessment In Ontario, 63% of privately administered psycho-ed assessments were done in under 6 months, while 50% of those done through the school board took more than 1 year 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Under 6 months ONT BC NFLD AB MB NB NS PEI QC SK 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Over 1 year ONT BC NFLD AB MB NS SK Private School In British Columbia, 51% of privately administered psycho-ed assessments were done in under 6 months, while 29% of those done through the school board took more than 1 year Private School
Individual Education Plan ( IEP) Across Canada 45% of students with ADHD do not receive assistance for their ADHD Students receiving assistance at school 45% 55% yes no The school suggested that an IEP be put in place, but we refused 1% The top two reasons cited for not The school suggested that my child be officially identified as an exceptional learner, but we refused The school refused to officially identify my child as an exceptional learner but agreed to put an IEP in place The school felt that our child was not impaired enough to receive resources We had an official meeting to decide whether my child qualifies for the status of an exceptional learner, but my child was refused this status because ADHD does not qualify We were told that ADHD does not qualify a student for special education resources or exceptional learner status We were denied an IPRC meeting, or an official meeting to decide if my child qualified for exceptional learner or special needs status because he/she only has ADHD 1% 7% 7% 18% 26% receiving assistance at school was We were told that ADHD does not qualify a student for special education resources or exceptional learner status (32%) The school felt that our child was not impaired 32% enough to receive resources (26%)
Educator s Knowledge on ADHD Parents were evenly split when questioned about the knowledge level of their child s principal and teachers 38.08% 38.94% 38.72% 35.73% Disagree Agree The principal, vice principal and other administrative staff at my child's school are knowledgeable & understand how ADHD symptoms and impairments impact learning My child's teacher is knowledgeable about ADHD impairments and how they impact learning
Educator s knowledge on ADHD Q14: How has their child s teacher s lack of knowledge of ADHD impacted their child 59% felt it has damaged their selfesteem 56% felt it has made their child s school experience negative 50% felt it had negative consequences to their mental health status Due to the educators lack of knowledge my child experienced 59% Negative consequences to their self - esteem 56% A negative school experience 50% Negative consequences to their mental health status 56% Poor academic outcomes 14% None of the above Do you feel your child's consequences coincided with the teachers/schools understanding of ADHD No 12% unsure 8% 80% felt their child s experience at school directly coincided with their teachers knowledge and understanding of ADHD Yes 80%
Parent s Perceptions Do you believe these consequences were a result of the school's minunderstanding of ADHD as a disability 18% yes no 82% of parents believe their child received consequences for behaviour stemming from their ADHD 82% 60% of students were keep in from lunch 45% spend more than brief periods in the principals office 24% were barred from school outings 24% were suspended from school 60% keep in from lunch or received a detention Consequences applied to my child due to their ADHD 45% spent more than brief periods in the principals office 32% sent home from school prior to the end of the day 24% 24% barred from school outings suspended from school
Bullying 47% of students with ADHD experienced significant bullying 75% of parents felt the bullying was due to their ADHD 59% felt that it was handled inadequately by the school 65% felt that it had negative consequences on their child s selfesteem and mental health My child has experienced significant bullying 53% 47% yes no Disagree child experienced negative consequences to their self-esteem and mental health due to poor handling of the bullying believe it was not handled correctly due to a lack of understanding of ADHD The bullying was not handled adequately by the school Believe my child experienced negative consequences to their selfesteem The bullying was handled adequately by the school believe it was handled adequately by the school believe is a direct result of his/her ADHD Agree 13.99% 19.35% 18.37% 30.68% 23.62% 15.27% 7.76% 65.01% 51.90% 55.98% 48.08% 44.32% 58.79% 75.29%