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I was at a point in my lie when I elt I needed a change. I had
worked in womens health throughout most o my proessional
career. My ather had recently passed away, and I ound mysel
re-examining my lie. An opportunity to become certifed as aParent to Parent teacher came my way. I had a grandson with
AD/HD and thought it would be good to know more and give
back to my community.
Soon I was teaching my frst group o parents, sponsoredby the CHADD chapter in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and
assisted by the PTA o my local public school in Lambertville,
New Jersey. It was a great group o parents, some o whom
drove seventy miles to and rom the workshop each week orseven weeks. They came rom both sides o the Delaware River,
which separates the two states.
The parents in my frst P2P class taught me that teachers in
the public school systems did not understand AD/HD very well.My son had taught my grandsons teachers about AD/HD. I had
considered this an isolated event, but I learned rom my P2P
parents that it was a airly common experience. Working with
their schools to get adequate accommodations and educationalplans required countless hours o time spent with teachers, child
study teams, doctors, psychiatristsand sometimes,
lawyers. I began to see the enormous need or more
inormation or teachers o children with AD/HD.
te road o head sar
Energized and ready to make some changes, I realized
I had begun a journey. The need or more proession-
als in the AD/HD ield was very clear. I quit my job.I began to read: Barkley, Brown, Bussing, Greene, Hallowell,
Illes, Rie, Snyder, Solden, Tuckman, Zeigler, and more.
I listened at conerences. I enrolled in the ADD Coach
Academy. I learned everything I could and continueto learn every day.
The most emotionally difcult thing to learn was
that the majority o children in our juvenile justice
programs and adults in our correctional acilitieshave undiagnosed mental health disorders, mainly
undiagnosed AD/HD. My frst experience as a social
worker ater graduate school had been in criminal
justice, working with women in correctional acilities.I knew that minorities rom underserved communi-
ties were the majority popula-
tion in my states prisons, and
I remembered the low rates
o diagnosis among AricanAmericans and Hispanics.
I learned that AD/HD is not
understood by judges, lawyers, probation and pa-role ofcers, and others in the correctional system,
including the special education teachers working
with adjudicated children.
Where to begin? I knew that early diagnosisand treatment were critical. My grandson had
been diagnosed at three. I the little ones could
be identifed early, there was hope that they
could get the help they needed. Without
diagnosis and treatment, they mightenter an uninormed public school
system to be labeled a bad kid.
I identifed and treated early,they might avoid spending
I wAnt to tell you A story,one that I hope will resonate with manyparents o children with AD/HD. Its about the need or more support services or all o our
children with AD/HD. And it is about how CHADDs Parent to Parent teacher certifcation
program can give you a oundation o knowledge to help provide that support. Its about
curiosity, passion and creation. This is my story, but it could be yours.
lARgEphOTO:MOnkEybUSinESSiMAgES/dREAMSTiME
AllOThERphOTOSCOURTESybCCAp
by Judith chapion, msW
Judith chpion, msw, is a certied Parent to Parent teacher and family coach based
in Lambertville, New Jersey. She also trains early childhood educators in teaching strategies
to maximize the learning potential and socialization of children with AD/HD. Champion
has worked in the healing artsspecically in womens health, prenatal care, and
AD/HDfor more than fteen years. Contact her at [email protected].
bere Coutys
hea Start roram
rovies services
to aroximately400 cilre a
teir families.
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Had sa
AD HDCa CfcigA assioate creatio a a moel of suort
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20 attention
their school years eeling like they were
stupid and unable to learn. They might
not be called lazy and eventually havetheir sel-esteem reduced so low that
they drop out o school because being
there makes them eel so terrible. Once
on the streets, they might not sel-medicate, turn to substance abuse, or
engage in illegal behavior. I realized
that children with unaddressed needs
rom AD/HD were being unneledinto ourjuvenile justice programs andeventually into our prisons.
The real crime in this cycle o undi-
agnosed AD/HD is that children with AD/HD can be helped, i
identifed and treated. Multimodal treatment works, and we arelearning more every day. Give a child structure, exercise, good
nutrition, medication i needed, behavior modifcation, appro-
priate school accommodations and lots o love, and he or shecan be successul.
And then it came to me: Head Start was the next place or
me to go on my journey.
Wa can you do for 400 cildren?
The director o New Jerseys Community Action Programs,
many o which run Head Start programs with unding rom
the U.S. Department o Health and Human Services, allowed
me to make a presentation to its local directors in June 2008.Allan DeGiulio, PhD, director o the Bergen County Commu-
nity Action Partnership, immediately asked what I could do or
the 400 children in his countys Head Start. I told him I couldtrain his early childhood educators about AD/HD, teach them
how to identiy an at-risk child, and provide them with strate-
gies designed to modiy inappropriate behaviors and increase
a childs ability to learn. He said, Send me a contract.With 21 classrooms at our sites, Bergen Countys Head
Start program provides services to approximately 400 low-in-
come three- to fve-year-olds and their amilies. Most classes
run rom 8:45 AM to 3:45 PM, September through June. Each
class is comprised o a maximum o 18preschool children, an early childhood
educator, and a teaching assistant. The
children receive a ull range o educa-
tional, medical, nutritional, and socialservices. The program is ree to amilies
who can demonstrate fnancial eligibil-
ity, as defned by ederal poverty guide-
lines. Parents are expected to take anactive part in their childs education.
I began to work with Bergen Coun-
ty Head Start director Nancy Griner.
In September 2008, I trained all o thecountys Head Start sta. Many not
only knew o children who might be
at risk, but also recognized AD/HD
in their own amilies. When we werefnished, they knew how to identiy a
child at risk o AD/HD.
how cae conferencing workI developed an observation orm or
teachers to document and rate a childs
behavior compared to other children in
the classroom in fve areas: activity level,attention span, emotional control, excit-
ability, and aggressiveness. Ater the initial
observation, the teacher meets with di-
rector o disabilities Ellen DeCarlo, whothen axes me the observation orms.
Each month, I visit the classroom
and observe a set o three or our chil-
dren. My recorded observations include both active and quiet
periods: when children are receiving and responding to direc-tions, participating in group activities, engaging in circle time,
waiting in line to brush their teeth, or eating lunch at the table
with their riends.Later that day, I hold a case conerence with the teacher,
assistant teacher, director o disabilities Ellen DeCarlo, and as-
sistant director o disabilities Suzanne Steeleman. We discuss
the childs classroom behavior, home environment, amily re-lationships and support systems, as well as any other services
the child is receiving. While it is a challenge to discriminate
between appropriate and inappropriate behaviors in a group
o three- to fve-year-olds, I fnd that the children at risk or
AD/HD stand out airly well among their classmates.During the case conerence I coach the teachers in the ap-
propriate way to give directions to a child with AD/HD, the
importance o requent positive reinorcement, and otherteaching strategies specifc to each child. I speak to them about
how inappropriate behavior can be made worse by how adults
respond to the child. We are part o the behavior equation and
it is oolish to believe that a child is exhibiting inappropriatebehavior in isolation rom the response we are giving him or
the stimuli he is receiving rom the environment.
The case conerence is a wonderul opportunity to present
more in-depth inormation and to coach the sta in best-
Every head sar i operaed
by people wo wan
o do more for e cildren
in eir program.
Every head sar ould
ave an AD/hD program.
A rou of cilre
ose for a otora
wit bCCAp irector
of isailities Elle
deCarlo, keeli;
assistat irector of
isailities Suzae
Steelema; autor
a Ad/hd case
coferece creatorJuit Camio,
keeli; bCCAp
irector Alla degiulio,
pd; a hea Start
irector nacy grier.
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21Augut 2009
practice teaching and response strategies. But when the dayis done, I always fnd that the educators have taught me as
well. Conerences are ollowed up by a written case report
and teaching plan or each child.
Wen more i neededThere are times when a child may not respond to a behavior
modifcation strategy. When this occurs, the parent is usually
asked to come in to discuss the childs behavior and determinei there are ways to improve consistency and communication
between us and reinorce behavior strategies at home. Many
parents are happy to learn that behavior modifcation strate-
gies used successully in school transer well to the home.Teachers also use a behavior measurement orm when it
appears that a child is not responding to a new intervention or
teaching strategy. Behaviors that disrupt the classroom or in-
terere with learning are identifed and targeted. The requency
and intensity o the behavior is then measured over fve days.Oten, children with AD/HD modiy their behavior
more slowly that other children. It is thereore important
to look or and reward change in the intensity and re-quency o the target behaviors, instead o simply whether
the behaviors are occurring or not. The child may still be
exhibiting the behavior, but at a less intense level and less
oten, and this can be a signifcant improvement.
succe and expanion
In March 2009, Ellen DeCarlo and I organized a case
conerence with everyone I had worked with during the
school yeareight teachers with twelve challenging chil-drenso the teachers could share successes and ailures.
We met or our hours. Each teacher spoke about how
the strategies they learned had changed students rom
disruptive to cooperative. They spoke o responding to
the children with a new knowledge o the unique brainwiring that AD/HD brings. The teachers accepted the ac-
commodations and teaching strategies as being good or
the whole class.I lived on the energy rom that case conerence or a
week. I was humbled by how hard these Head Start teachers
work with their students. Next school year, Bergen County
Head Start and I have agreed to expand my work to includetraining classes or parents, a much needed component o
an AD/HD Head Start program.
This important work, which started with CHADD P2P
certifcation and passion to make lie better or amilies with
AD/HD, can be created in other places. It takes passion and per-sistence and connection with people who want to help children.
Every Head Start is operated by people who want to do more or
the children in their programs. Every Head Start should have anAD/HD program.
I this is something you eel passionate about, take your
experience with AD/HD, combine it with knowledge rom
CHADD through P2P training, and create something inyour community. The need or support or amilies with
AD/HD is vast. Create something that is ed by your passion
and expands our AD/HD support network. There are so
many children and amilies who need our help.
A teacer Perpeciveby Michele Steinmetz
a irle tie leon in progre t one of bergen county four Hed strt ite.
en my tudent rt arrved n my claroom,
i wa amazed at all of g energy and
druptve beavor. i felt tat i ad to top te
leon frequently jut to ettle m down and avod
temper tantrum. i wa tryng to eek anwer on ow to elpm te bet i could from artcle, te nternet and lterature.
But notng gave me te wonderful ngt on cldren wt
callengng beavor lke te AD/hD tranng.
My teacer ade and i ceduled a team meetng to dcu
t tudent beavor. i learned ow AD/hD tudent need
tmulaton trougout te day, weter t playng at te
water table, queezng a tre ball durng crcle tme, ttng on
an energy pllow, or elpng te teacer a muc a poble to
keep buy. i learned many dfferent teacng tecnque and
creatve dea to reac t cld becaue e ddnt tnk lke
everyone ele. he wa pecal n very own way.
A i ued tee tratege, beavor cangeddramatcally. Now my tudent can t troug an entre
crcle tme leon, expre emoton n word, follow
cla rule and routne muc better, and repect
teacer and frend. he a become my wonderful lttle
elper, my toryteller, my artt, and my explorer. i nevergave up on m becaue i aw potental; i jut couldnt
ave done t wtout te knowledge and undertandng
i ganed troug te AD/hD head start program. i credt
te program for magncent progre!