Social inclusion of children with ADHD in primary school

This thesis deals with social inclusion of pupils with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in primary school, as most children with ADHD (52–82%) also have notable and hindering social difficulties, but the problems are usually not recognised appropriately. The quality of peer relationships and thus also social inclusion is largely bound to the effectiveness of pupils in making contact with their peers, which is reflected in the use of social skills (Košir Pečjak 2002). Children with ADHD often lack the social skills that are essential for succeeding in life and they often experience loneliness, to which poor social skills contribute greatly. A positive image of such a person needs to be formed and spread intentionally. Many views and attitudes are acquired by children at school and they are extremely important for successful educational inclusion. The theoretical part first brings a definition of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and then moves to different factors affecting social acceptance of pupils with ADHD, e.g. social perception, social cognition, social competence, social skills, the social impact of norms and the group, social interaction and interpersonal relations (especially peer relations), the views of teachers, parents and pupils on integration, facing problems and emotional intelligence, self-image, the characteristics of a school and the school environment. The section closes with a description of different kinds of help both from teachers and from parents to children with lower levels of inclusion and specifically pupils with ADHD. Relationships of ADHD children with friends are also described. The empirical part of the thesis presents a research on social inclusion of pupils with ADHD in primary school, which included 106 pupils of 6 different classes from all three-year sections of primary school, 6 class teachers, 6 pupils with ADHD and 86 parents. Based on questioners for class teachers, parents, pupils with ADHD and their peers and with sociometric testing, we establish the social position of the pupils with ADHD and how their social inclusion is seen by the children themselves, their classmates, their class teachers and the parents of all the pupils. Special stress is given to what they believe to be the reasons for the disturbing behaviour and who they think is responsible for the acceptance of pupils with ADHD, their peers’ attitude towards them, what social skills they use and how one should react to a pupil’s problems and special needs. The research has shown that all the pupils with ADHD have at least one good friend in their class, but their circle of friends is very small. The perception of social inclusion is positive among class teachers and similar among the children with ADHD and their peers, while parents think the pupils with ADHD do not get along with their classmates or do so only to a certain extent. The teachers find the main reason for the disturbing behaviour in the family upbringing and the situation at home, while the classmates believe the main factor are peers and the pupils with ADHD see it in both their peers and teachers. Classmates are most commonly tolerant towards pupils with ADHD, but do not offer any special support. In the eyes of parents, the behaviour of pupils with ADHD is more negative than it is in the eyes of the teachers and the ADHD-afflicted children themselves. The pupils with ADHD see the attitude of their classmates towards them as prevailingly positive, while the classmates see both negative (e.g. violence or insufficient knowledge) and positive traits (e.g. hobbies or creativity in excuses) in their peers with ADHD. Class teachers believe the social skills of children with ADHD are underdeveloped and they share the view with parents that the main responsibility for social inclusion of a pupil with ADHD lies with teachers