title: An ADHD educational intervention for elementary schoolteachers: a pilot study.
abstract: We assessed the effect of pediatrician-led inservice training on the knowledge and stress of elementary schoolteachers related to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The subjects were 44 schoolteachers staffing a 750-student school. Preintervention and postintervention questionnaires assessed teachers' training and knowledge concerning ADHD, teacher stress, and teacher-rated student behavior. The intervention was an ADHD curriculum developed by the national organization, Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit Disorder (CHADD). At preintervention, 41% of the teachers thought that ADHD could be caused by poor parenting and 41%, by sugar or food additives; 64% thought that methylphenidate should be used only as a last resort. Postintervention percentages of teachers holding these beliefs were 7%, 5%, and 34%, respectively. Sixty-one percent had no contact with physicians prescribing stimulants. Teacher stress correlated with ADHD behavior in male students and decreased postintervention. Use of the CHADD curriculum and discussion with a pediatrician were associated with improved teacher knowledge and decreased teacher stress related to ADHD.
authors.affiliation: Section of Community Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA.
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Barbaresi
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Olsen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000628:therapy*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012574:Schools; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013663:Teaching