Why use the term “disorder?”

The diagnosis of a disorder and documentation that a student meets the criteria of a disability relates to accommodation under the human rights act, which recognizes that the environment and typical teaching approaches can create barriers for brains and bodies that function differently than most.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is an official diagnostic label found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the latest version being the DSM-5, published in 2013). When something is considered a “disorder” it signals that the condition interferes significantly in a person’s day-to-day functioning.

The term deficit does not, as the word suggests, describe a shortage of attention. Rather it is the regulation of attention that is problematic. The difficulty is created because a person with ADHD can become absorbed in topics and activities and be highly engaged (which can be an asset), but then they have difficulty shifting their attention to less interesting or more difficult things even when these have a higher priority. Their lively minds may  make interesting connections and segues, but then it may be difficult to get back to the initial task at hand and turn their attention away from what isn’t relevant. They may also be more easily distracted by inside stimuli (feelings, worries) and outside stimuli (the ticking clock and every person walking down the hall). But there is more to ADHD than attention.  Some people are troubled primarily by symptoms of hyperactivity (in body and/or mind) and impulsivity. Others present with symptoms that are primarily related to inattention, and others experience a combination. So, as in the case of soup cans, labels can serve a limited purpose but never capture all there is to understand and appreciate.

There is a move to consider a person diagnosed with ADHD (along with other less typical cognitive processing tendencies) as neurodiverse, and to recognize that problems arise in education because many educational practices are designed for those who are neurotypical. For a podcast on this topic see Let’s Talk About…Neurodiversity from the MRU Let’s Talk About It series. There are  instructors at MRU who are redesigning their teaching approaches to be more responsive to the diversity of learners they see in their classes. You may hear this talked about as universal design for learning (UDL).