(PS6-72) Evaluating Teacher Time Burden: Youth with ADHD in General Education Classrooms

This research investigates whether children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) require more time compared to typically developing children in the classroom. It is estimated that about 5% of school-age children meet the criteria for ADHD, such that there is at least one student with ADHD in a general education classroom (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Murphy, 2015). Teachers may take more time managing behavioral problems children with ADHD may exhibit. Teachers are expected to adjust lesson plans and accommodate behavioral plans to help manage problematic behaviors and stress caused by students with ADHD. Thus, higher rates of problematic behaviors can be associated with higher teacher burnout and stress levels because students with ADHD may require more time and resources to help manage the classroom. (Bussing, R.,2009).  

A sample of size 127 children (73.23% males, 26.77% females) between grades 1-5 were recruited across three cohorts in South Florida with a high Hispanic/Latino demographic (85.83% Hispanic/Latino, 14.17% not Hispanic/Latino). All children were enrolled in a larger trial investigating adaptive interventions for elementary-aged children with ADHD (IES R305A170523). Each month, teachers of participating children completed a modified version of the Impairment Rating Scale, which asked the teachers to report on time spent managing the behavior of the child in the study as well as time spent managing the behaviors of a typical child in their class on a typical day (IRS; Fabiano et al., 2006). Analyses were performed to estimate differences in time spent with a child with ADHD versus a typical child. A one-way ANOVA revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in time spent with a child with ADHD versus a typical child in the classroom (F(56, 70) = [2.056], p = 0.002. This indicates that more time was spent on children with ADHD due to managing disruptive behaviors and problems exhibited in the classroom setting.