UAE Elementary Teachers’ Use of ADHD Referral and Management Strategies

Abstract

The purpose of this study was four-fold:  to identify factors teachers perceive to contribute to their referral of students with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); to examine management strategies elementary teachers in the UAE use; to examine the effect  years of teaching experience, domain (general versus special education teachers) and experience teaching children with ADHD have on their use of referral and management strategies, and; to explore the relationship between teachers’ use of referral and management strategies. The ADHD Referral Scale and the ADHD Management Strategies Questionnaire (AMSQ) were completed by 52 elementary special and general education teachers. The results of the study revealed that inattention/distractibility was perceived by both the special and general education teachers to be a contributing factor for referring students with ADHD to special education services. The general education teachers also noted hyperactivity to be a contributing factor. The findings further revealed that while special and general education teachers employed behaviour and academic intervention strategies, special education teachers frequently used home/parent intervention strategies. Finally, the MANOVA analyses showed a significant main effect of teaching experience and teachers’ experience with ADHD.  https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.6.20