Creative Methodologies: ADHD in Parish Life - Pastoral Implications (SN 3)
Course Level: Advanced
Course Summary
This e-course is an attempt to introduce catechists to understanding the meaning and impact of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) on faith formation. It is a guide for cultivating faith learning environments that support and incorporate the person with ADHD within the catechetical environment. Understanding ADHD will make it easier to embrace individuals with this condition and their families in parish life. This course is designed to help participants to understand the symptoms of ADHD syndrome. E-Learners will also be presented with suggestions for techniques that work to engage individuals with ADHD in catechesis and facilitate appropriate behavior.
***Please note: the course Disabilities in Parish Life: An Overview is a prerequisite for this course.
Successful completion of this course earns 2.5 CEU's.
General Course Objectives
- To explain the meaning of ADHD
- To clearly explain one’s understanding that no one is to blame for an individual’s having ADHD
- To identify and explain the pastoral implications of ADHD on the individual, his/her family and the person of the catechist
- To explain the challenges in the catechetical setting
- To identify the strategies for engaging individuals with ADHD
- To demonstrate catechetical sensitivity for impact on the lives of individuals with ADHD, with positive and negative possibilities
Course Materials
- Required Book: Brown, T. E. Attention Deficit Disorder: The Unfocused Mind in Children and Adults New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. 2005 ISBN: 0-300-11989-3
- Optional Book: Wojtaszek-Healy, M The ABC’s of A.D.D. for Catechists. Joliet, IL: Rooted In Love
- Optional Book: Brown, T. E. Smart But Stuck: Emotions in Teens and Adults with ADHD San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. ISBN: 978-1118279281
Course Structure and Highlights
- Week 1: What is ADHD?
- To understand the meaning of E.F and its’ six clusters
- To identify inhibiting inappropriate behavior, as well as activating proper responses
- To understand that emotions are intrinsically connected to the six clusters
- To understand hyperactivity is diagnosed when one has at least 6 (of nine traits) on Brown’s scale.
- To identify the role of ‘working memory’
- To understand the issue of will power associated with ADHD
- Week 2: How do Negative Explanations and Expectations of Individuals with ADHD Cause Problems?
- To understand the challenges individuals with ADHD face personally and from the community
- To identify several of the experiments and theories that influence our understanding of ADHD
- To identify the role of ‘working memory’
- To identify how expanding research is enabling us to deepen our understanding of ADHD
- To explain how this research can assist catechists in creating faith formation learning environments, or experiences that benefits the learner
- Week 3: What Effect Does ADHD Have on Family Life?
- To explain why ADHD children lag behind in developmental tasks of self-regulation
- To explain the challenges parents and siblings face striving to interact with an ADHD sibling
- To identify signals of how an individual with ADHD may select friends
- To identify and address the challenges of an adolescent with ADHD
- To explain why research demonstrated that people with high IQ not only can have ADHD but are more likely to struggle in school
- To identify supervision techniques that can guide a catechist in ministering to an adolescent with ADHD
- To identify pastoral approaches to support families with an adolescent with ADHD
- Week 4: What is it Like Living with ADHD? The Gift and the Challenge?
- To explain the meaning of “working memory” for ministering with learners with ADHD
- To understand and explain the circuits of the brain and how they influence behavior associated with ADHD
- To engage in a case study to apply what has been learned about ADHD to a particular situation
- To explain the role of neurotransmitters in the brain associated with ADHD
- To understand the role various medications offer someone with ADHD
- Week 5: How Do We Engage Persons with ADHD in the Catechetical Environment?
- To remind catechists of the relational purpose of catechesis for ALL
- To identify the insights from the National Directory of Catechesis that support adaptations to catechesis for individuals with ADHD
- To identify the unique qualities, or characteristics a Catechist needs to develop in order to catechize individuals with ADHD with sensitivity and compassion
- To explain alternative methodologies, or techniques for catechizing learners with ADHD
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