The Irvine Paraprofessional Program: promising practice for serving students with ADHD.
The Irvine Paraprofessional Program (IPP) looks promising for serving elementary-school children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the general education classroom. This article describes the components of the IPP, preliminary research studies that support its efficacy, and the benefits of the model. The IPP is a 12-week intensive intervention that includes (a) direct intervention to children with ADHD by specially trained paraprofessionals, (b) teacher consultation by the school psychologist on the use of effective classroom management strategies, (c) school-based reinforcement, and (d) social skills training. Preliminary studies suggest that paraprofessionals can effect positive changes in children with ADHD that can be maintained by the teacher once the paraprofessional is removed from the classroom. The purpose of this article is to provide a description of the IPP as an effective model for serving children with ADHD in the general education classroom.
Kotkin
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Department of Pediatrics, University of California at Irvine 92612, USA.
D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000628:therapy*; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D002140:California; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004519:Education, Special / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008297:Male; D017145:Models, Educational; D016730:Program Development; D011584:Psychology / Q000193:education*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012655:Self-Evaluation Programs / Q000458:organization & administration; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods; D000078329:Workforce