Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of Social Stories on the disruptive behaviours of three primary school boys with ADHD. Children’s disruptive behaviours were monitored, and observations carried out by Teaching Assistants, before baseline measurements. Social Stories were created to provide children with alternative social responses, which in turn reduce the target behaviours of calling out of turn, rising out of seat and aggressiveness. Following baseline data, each child read their individual stories, and their behaviour was monitored for ten days. After this intervention period, the story was withdrawn and behaviour monitored for a further five days; this allowed the researcher to obtain maintenance data, post-intervention. Results revealed that disruptive behaviours decreased compared to baseline measurements and continued to do so once the story was withdrawn in two out of the three children. Since additional strategies, such as prompts and reinforcement were controlled in this study, the findings have implications for classroom practice. In particular, Social Stories may provide teachers with an alternative strategy to the usual behaviour modification techniques used to control disruptive behaviour in children with ADHD.
Highlights
Attention-Deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterised by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention and/or excessive amounts of activity/impulsivity [1]
There has been much emphasis on the academic difficulties demonstrated by children with ADHD, when primary school teachers were asked about their concerns regarding children with ADHD, they reported the disruptive nature of the disorder was the most significant challenge they faced
These are followed by the individual results of the CTRS-R:L and qualitative data recorded by the teaching assistant (TA) and classroom teacher
Summary
Attention-Deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterised by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention and/or excessive amounts of activity/impulsivity [1]. ADHD is the most prevalent childhood disorder, affecting approximately 4 percent of school-aged children in the UK [2]. Boys diagnosed with ADHD outnumber girls by approximately three to one [3]. ADHD children often struggle in school because of the type of tasks expected of them [6]. The classroom is full of distractions for the ADHD child and attention and maintaining concentration may be difficult due to a lack of motivation and repeated need for appraisal [7]. Even when children are interested in the activity they are engaged in, sustained interest is often short-lived [8], making daily tasks in the classroom difficult for educators to administer. The same teachers reported it as the most detrimental factor to the classroom as a whole [9]
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