KNOWLEDGE OF ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD) AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS OF AHMEDABAD

Dr.Prahlad Patidar; Dr.Jigneshchandra Chaudhary; Dr.N.C.Parikh; Dr.N.D.Shah; Dr.V.M Darji

Volume : VI, Issue : XII, December - 2016

KNOWLEDGE OF ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD) AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS OF AHMEDABAD

Dr. Prahlad Patidar, Dr. Jigneshchandra Chaudhary, Dr. N. C. Parikh, Dr. N. D. Shah, Dr. V. M Darji

Abstract :

Introduction :Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is reportedly the most pervasive disorder of childhood affecting approximately 3% to 5% of school–aged children. Inattention may manifest in social, occupational, and academic settings. Teachers play a crucial role in the diagnosis of ADHD because of their daily contact with students in a range of pertinent situations. Methods : The population for the study included primary school teachers of four English medium schools in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The instrument used for the assessment of the knowledge of the teachers was the ‘Knowledge of Attention deficit disorders scale‘ (KADDS). It has 39 items, testing the knowledge regarding the general features, diagnosis, and treatment of ADHD. Results: 51 teachers completed the study, out of which 80% (n = 41) were female and 20% (n = 10) were male teachers. Average teaching experience was 9.15 years (range 1–36 years). Of all the teachers, 25%(n=13) were from science background and 75%(n=75) were from non science background. The average ADHD knowledge score of the teachers was 31.2%, with knowledge scores regarding the general features, diagnosis and treatment being 33.2%, 27.4% and 33.1% respectively. The teachers from science background had a significantly higher average score than those from a non science background (p=0.04). There was no statistically significant difference in the scores based on age or years of teaching experience. Conclusion: The study concludes that the teachers do not have adequate knowledge regarding the general features, diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, irrespective of their age and years of teaching experience. Specific training programmes must be organized to address this issue so that children with ADHD are diagnosed early and given appropriate treatment.