The Influence of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder on the Academic Performance of Primary School Pupils

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Individual child have studied to be unique with in understanding and in doing things with pleasure at their own pace.Impulsive behavior of primary school child on their social skills is embedded in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Impulsivity Inattention and hyperactivity are the core symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A child’s academic success is often dependent on his or her ability to attend to tasks and teacher and classroom expectations with minimal distraction. Such skill enables a pupil to acquire necessary information, complete assignments, and participate in classroom activities and discussions (Forness & Kavale, 2001). When a child exhibits behaviors associated with ADHD, consequences may include difficulties with recognition of letters and with forming relationships with his or her peers if appropriate instructional methodologies and interventions are not implemented.

 The pre-school years are a key period of a child’s development, where the building blocks for later success are laid, and where social, behavioural and academic skills necessary for academic development are acquired. However, for a minority of pre-school children their pathways to school readiness are compromised; some children encounter difficulties with impulse control, attentional capacity and hyperactivity, which hinder their ability to acquire crucial skills such as focusing on teachers, interacting with peers and authority figures, and learning emergent literacy, mathematics and language (Laheyet al. 1998; Spira & Fischel 2005). Indeed, ADHD has been identified in 2% of pre-school age children (Lavigneet al. 1996).