An advocacy group is asking parents to pressure the province into making special education services more accessible to students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
“We’re asking parents who are impacted by this or concerned about this to write a letter to their MPP or the minister of education,” says Heidi Bernhardt, national director of the Centre for ADD/ADHD Advocacy Canada.
Bernhardt says students with ADHD may have difficulty with organizational skills, time management, problem solving and working memory. “If they don’t receive accommodation to help with these things, they won’t reach their academic potential.”
In late October, her organization published a report card grading provinces and territories on how well they support students with ADHD. Ontario failed because these students may only qualify for individual education plans if they have a co-existing condition that affects their learning.
Bernhardt says the education system needs to officially recognize ADHD as a legitimate learning disorder. That way, students with the disorder can have individual education plans that accommodate their needs.
Scott Martin, principal of Glashan Public School, says his school doesn’t have specialized education plans for all students with ADHD, but that their needs are being met.
“We do have many kids here who have ADHD,” Martin says, “and some of them are in special classes related to what their exceptionality may be. But they’re also in regular classes.”
Martin says two of Glashan’s three special-education classes are for gifted students. The third class is for students who function at a much lower level than other students of the same age.
“The program is tailored to meet their needs with a real focus on the right skills and being able to develop those skills, especially in the world of work when they leave school.”
Students with ADHD who do not have an exceptionality of giftedness or a learning disability attend regular classes.
But at other schools, students may receive special education without being officially identified as exceptional students, which creates inequities between schools, says Bernhardt.
“What we’re asking for is some kind of consistency so all students across Ontario and across Canada can access accommodations for their disabilities,” she says.