Degree Name

MA in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management

First Advisor

Ken Williams

Second Advisor

Karen Blanchard

Abstract

The following capstone paper “Relationship between preponderance of ADHD in African American community and how teachers are trained to type students as ADHD” explores the epidemic of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnosis in students and the prevalence of ADHD in the African American community. In recent years the number of African American children with ADHD have skyrocketed concerning parents about the over diagnoses and misdiagnoses of the disorder (Ahmann, 2016). A recent study by Getahun and colleagues found a "70 percent increase in the number of ADHD diagnoses among African American children, with a 90 percent increase among African American girls. This is compared to smaller increases in other groups- 60 percent among Hispanic youth and 30 percent among white youth". (Dr. Wallace, 2013). Diagnosing ADHD continues to become more prevalent in the African American community due to education and awareness, improvement in socioeconomic conditions, and societal factors (Ahmann, 2016).

Teachers and parents are usually the first people to recognize signs of ADHD in children. This paper will focus on teachers within the state of Illinois and their ability to identify ADHD in their classrooms, the protocol that they follow, and training that they receive to decipher ADHD from other types of learning disabilities. This research aims to provide a better understanding of the correlation between race and class and how they play a major factor in the diagnosis or lack thereof of ADHD?

Disciplines

Disability and Equity in Education | Education | Educational Methods | Gifted Education | Medicine and Health Sciences | Race and Ethnicity | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social Work | Sociology

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