ADHD, Autism, and Anxiety,
This really makes a lot of sense to me because the label tends to put the student in a box and that box of course has a lot of barriers that may not meet the individual student's needs. We really have to know our students, read their IEP's, and talk with the team members that are involved in their education.
To start with the blog postings, I decided to share some of the current resources that I have found very exciting and seem to connect to our text and the aim of our course. I will not go into detail on a particular domain as you will be doing that in your blog posts, but rather share some resources on a topic that all of us as teachers deal with and that is anxiety in our students.
I was very excited to learn about the Sutcliffe clinic in San Francisco, which specializes in the three "A's" of ADHD, Autism, and Anxiety. Dr. Sutcliffe explains each of these disabilities and it really dovetailed with the label-free approach that our authors are advocating. What really struck me was the aspect of anxiety that can permeate these disorders. As we know, ADHD and ASD are neuro-developmental disabilities or disorders and while they are different disorders, they can have similar symptoms and also share a common genetic link. The differences lie in communication and social connections. This is a link to a podcast that Dr. Sutcliffe describes the overlap between ASD and ADHD. It is an excellent podcast, although very long, but the discussion of the overlap between ASD, ADHD, and anxiety begins around 1:06:00.
Anxiety can debilitate executive functioning in children which of course can stunt working memory, and flexibility in thinking, self-control, planning and organizing, decision-making, problem-solving, and emotional regulation. One other key feature discussed was the concept of "self-identity" and the importance of fostering positive self-identity for educational growth and overall happiness. I will share a little more about this in lecture 5.1. This short article on the Understood website provides a lot of useful strategies and accommodations for helping students with ADHD and anxiety. Namely, providing emotional support, setting up classroom schedules and routines, and helping with the completion of work. This PDF will provide more information for each of those categories.
Upon further online searching, I came across this article in ADDitude that gives some great tips for dealing with the three "A's" and also suggests that we should focus "less on diagnostic labels and more on how a child's functioning is impacted" (Perlis). Again, this connects to the label-free approach and encourages us as teachers to look at the six domains that are affecting our students' learning abilities.
Overall, these references help us to understand that we need to look at the conditions the student is presenting and deal with these in our teaching to better help our students. Finding strategies to help lower anxiety in all of our students can lead to better learning environments and perhaps help them to be happier, healthier people.
Resources and References
Dr. Sutcliffe's blog has many great articles and ideas for strategies and the latest research.
Excited to learn this content to enrich my music teaching to students.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the quick read, especially on the part of anxiety. With the panic attacks, I absolutely understand and agree that the breathing in music is important and can help. But the self-regulation of emotions is definitely a crucial part to that because I know from experience that sometimes taking those breaths can be frustrating so I am excited to continue learning the strategies throughout this class.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate the infographic on coping strategies for physical anxiety. Many people without anxiety believe that anxiety is just in the mind, but it manifests in physical ways. The infographic gives information about how anxiety triggers a physical reaction through the figh-or-flight response and thus can benefit from physical coping strategies such as movement, breathwork, and other strategies. These are helpful for students who are neurodivergent who are more easily triggered, but also benefit neurotypical students as well. Not only are these strategies beneficial for the classroom environment, but for any environment.
ReplyDeleteOne huge takeaway I had from this is the point that anxiety can be totally debilitating to one's executive functioning skills. These skills are the main ways we function, and certain levels of anxiety and anxiety disorders can bar someone from being able to fully access those skills that they need to get through the day to day. It is a good wake up call to neurotypical people that it is not just a fleeting thing that affects your emotions, but a constant that can cripple someone's ability to succeed in daily life.
ReplyDeleteI see the anxiety creep in as performances come closer, especially solo recitals. We work all the time to be big and bold with our (violin bow) movements because we discuss how everyone becomes "smaller" when we are nervous or anxious, especially when performing in front of an audience. We have to actively practice to be big so that when we naturally get small, we still have a confident mind and muscles to trust. If we stop moving and breathing, everything halts to a stop, which only exacerbates the problem. The instrument bow is our breathe (and motor), and so incorporating fundamental breathing exercises is always important and a good technique for students to use anytime they feel anxious or nervous.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that stuck out to me in this post was the idea of "self-identity" and the importance of fostering positive self-identity for educational growth and overall happiness for our students dealing with Autism, ADHD, and Anxiety (and really everyone). As a middle school teacher, I see students every day and then across three years grow and evolve as they learn and discover who they are. Sometimes this can be an exciting process, but for a lot of students, it can be a tumultuous time. Using the concepts and suggestions in the various links provided here can help us create a more calming and supportive environment for our students that also allows us to better get to know them beyond their labels as they also learn to find their own identities.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the part about fostering a positive identity. I talk a lot about this with my colleagues at CB. Years ago students with disabilities would often hide or down play their disability, but there has been a really positive shift in the past 5-10 years I have seen where kids are very comfortable talking about their challenges and self advocating when possible not just with teachers but with peers as well. There are so many great example of how people have been embracing their identity. There is a video my wife sent me years ago by the Holderness Family that shows a great example of this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zvqx9DfG9lU&list=RDZvqx9DfG9lU&start_radio=1
ReplyDeleteHahaha, that's a great video, puts in into perspective for us as teachers of students with ADHD:).
DeleteWhat really blows my mind is the affect that anxiety has on memory. I have learned from trauma informed teaching that if students feel in "danger," whatever that means to them, they are unable to reach the parts of the brain that control higher level thinking. If students do not feel safe in an environment, it will be impossible for them to retain what they learn, let alone memorize an entire concert of music. For chorus, we do not use folders and instead sing from memory. I can imagine this would be an extra struggle if a student is trying to learn music when speaking a language that is not English. I think I will display this poster you shared with coping strategies or something similar to it to help my students regulate themselves, feel safe, and have more productive rehearsals.
ReplyDeleteI am someone who is on the autism spectrum (high-functioning), has ADHD, and anxiety (triple threat haha!), and this really resonated with me. As someone who personally deals with autism, ADHD, and anxiety, the label-free approach really makes sense to me. Labels can be helpful for understanding what someone might be experiencing, but they can also make people assume they already know what a student needs. In my own experience, the biggest challenges usually show up in things like focus, executive functioning, sensory overload, or anxiety, which really fit more into those broader domains than into just one label. The point about anxiety affecting working memory and organization especially stood out to me because that’s something I experience pretty often. Small things like clear routines, supportive teachers, and even simple breathing strategies can make a huge difference. It reminds me that as teachers, paying attention to how a student functions day to day is often more helpful than focusing only on the diagnosis.
ReplyDeleteI liked the focus on the label-free approach and how it shifts the focus to the true needs of students instead of a label. I also thought the connection between ADHD, Autism, and anxiety was interesting and I have been trying to apply this knowledge to the students I work with that do sometimes struggle to work productively and often find themselves to be overwhelmed/anxious. I definitely see the value of breathing exercises and I know that I always appreciated those when Dr. Lovell did them before exams in our aural skills courses. I also had a Spanish class that took a minute at the beginning of each class to focus on intentional breathing and relaxation which I always liked because it felt like the calmest minute of my entire day. It was like a mini reset that allowed me to get myself ready for class and just push aside everything else that happened in the day.
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