Continuing medical education makes people better doctors. Many people place their trust in experienced doctors and there is much to be said for experience. It might, for example, make the doctor a better diagnostician. However, for some doctors (as for some other professionals) experience leads to a degree of complacency. Without all of the knowledge of medical school freshly in their minds, doctors tend to fall back on what they know and may not be up to date on the latest research, resources or treatments available.

Therefore, the state agencies which license doctors to practice medicine require that doctors complete continuing medical education requirements so that they can give their patients the best care possible.

How Many Continuing Medical Education Credits are Required for Physicians?

The answer to this question depends upon where you practice medicine. Each state has its own continuing medical education requirements for doctors. Massachusetts, for example, requires 100 hours of continuing education credits during each licensure period (2 years). The majority of those hours must be spent in the doctor’s practice area. So, for example for an OBGYN, continuing medical education credits should be primarily in the areas of obstetrics and gynecology and not dermatology.

Massachusetts also requires that at least 10 hours of continuing medical education be in the area of risk management. Nevada, on the other hand, only requires 40 hours of continuing medical education during a two year period. Two of those forty hours must be in medical ethics and 18 must be in the area of the doctor’s primary specialty.

The American Medical Association

The different state requirements can be confusing and burdensome, especially for doctors who are licensed in more than one state. Accordingly, the American Medical Association (AMA) has come up with a system that is acceptable in 40 U.S. states and two territories. Doctors who earn the AMA’s Physician Recognition Award (PRA) will have satisfied their continuing medication education requirements in those states and territories.

In order to the earn the AMA’s PRA, a physician must take at least 50 hours a year of continuing medical education that meets that AMA’s standards. Included in the 50 hours a year must be at least 20 hours from AMA Category 1 credits and 30 hours from AMA Category 1 or Category 2 credits.

• AMA Category 1

Category 1 refers to activities that are preapproved for this category before the physician participates in them. The most common examples are seminars and publishing in a peer reviewed journal. Other activities that have the prior approval of the AMA’s continuing medical education committee may also qualify for Category 1 hours.

• AMA Category 2

Additionally, the AMA accepts up to 30 hours from what they deem Category 2 activities. Category 2 activities are not formally designated as continuing education activities by an accredited provider. Instead, they include more informal but also important professional development activities such as reading medical journals and consulting with colleagues. For an activity to qualify as a Category 2 activity, it must improve the care that the doctor provides his or her patients.

Continuing Medical Education Travel

It is certainly possible to complete your continuing medical education requirements in your local area. However, many doctors who want to attend the most relevant seminars and courses for their specialty often have to travel. Important medical conferences for different specialties are often held in different parts of the country each year and these conferences count toward the requirements for continuing medical education.

Travel to these locations can be fun and can be combined with a personal or family vacation. For example, the American College of Gastroenterology hosts its Annual Scientific Meeting in Orlando, Florida in October 2008. The meeting gives gastroenterologists 16.5 AMA PRA Category 1 credits with an opportunity to earn 13.5 additional AMA PRA Category 1 credits. Further, the doctor could combine the conference with a trip to Disney World or another Florida destination.

The requirements for continuing medical education may seem strict. However, they are so with good reason. Doctors who stay abreast of developments in their field and network with other doctors provide superior care for their patients. Therefore, continuing medical education is something that is required and expected of every U.S. physician.

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The journey to become a medical doctor begins long before a student starts his or her formal medical education. Medical schools are extremely competitive in the United States. Therefore, they accept only students with excellent college grades and medical college admission test (MCAT) scores. The competitiveness of the college or university that the student attends also matters. Therefore, a student should begin to position himself or herself for medical school while still in high school so that he or she can attend the best college possible and get into medical school to become a doctor.

High School

It is true that not every doctor knows that he or she wants to practice medicine when entering high school at age 14 or 15. However, the people who go on to be eligible for a medical education often took high school seriously. They challenged themselves with high level honors or AP classes and they took advantage of difficult math and science course offerings.

Their hard work and focus in high school often positions these students to get into some of the best colleges and universities in the country. For students who want to become doctors, the name of the school matters. While not every doctor has an Ivy League undergraduate degree it is certainly easier to get into medical school from a good college.

College

Students need to take college as seriously as they took high school. The best way for students to position themselves for medical school is to study in the pre-med program at their undergraduate institution. Students who study in pre-med programs make sure that they take all of the required courses to get into medical school. They also receive valuable advice about the MCAT, medical school applications and extracurricular activities that look good on a medical school application. Further, the pre-med curriculum inevitably weeds out some students who thought they wanted to become doctors but who end up not enjoying or excelling at the study of medicine.

Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)

Almost all medical schools require applicants to take the MCAT and submit their scores. The MCAT is analogous to the SAT for college admissions. The MCAT is a standardized multiple choice exam that tests applicants’ knowledge of scientific concepts and principles as well as their critical reasoning, writing and problem solving skills.

MCAT scores are broken down into 4 subcategories that are reported to medical schools. Those categories include: Verbal Reasoning, Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences and a Writing Sample.

Medical School

In order to be admitted into a United States medical school, most medical schools require applicants to have a 4 year bachelor’s degree and to take the MCAT. Many schools also require that students have taken specific science classes during their undergraduate career and that they present letters of recommendations during the application process. Any other higher education degrees, such as a master’s degree, are looked upon favorably.

Once a student is accepted to medical school, the student begins a 4 year program to earn his or her Doctor of Medicine degree. The 4 year program is divided into the preclinical and clinical components. The preclinical component is conducted during the first two years of the program and consists of mostly classroom and laboratory work. Once students successfully complete the preclinical phase, they usually take phase 1 of their medical licensing board exams.

The clinical component takes place during the last two years of medical school and is usually done by working in a teaching hospital or with a community doctor. Students begin to provide medical care for patients under the supervision of licensed doctors. During the last year of medical school students usually take phase 2 of their medical licensing board exams.

Once the student has successfully completed the four years of medical school, he or she has earned a medical degree but must still complete a one year internship and pass phase 3 of the medical licensing board exam before practicing medicine.

Residency

Medical specialties require students to complete a residency before practicing medicine in that area. Residencies are typically 2-8 years in length. Residents work under the supervision of licensed doctors and earn a modest income.

Continuing Education

After successfully completing high school, college, medical school, internship, residency and passing the board exams, a person will have earned his or her medical license. However, medicine is a field that requires post graduate medical education so that doctors can stay up to date on developments in their field. Many doctors chose to complete continuing medical education requirements with online continuing medical education courses.

It is very hard to become a doctor in the United States and for good reason, our health depends on the skill of our physicians. Therefore, medical education is extremely important.

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Have you ever wondered about what type of study qualifies as a social science? Do you wonder why your child comes home with social studies homework rather than something like English, math or science? While the term social science can be confusing, it actually has very little to do with your child’s socialization at school and a lot to do with some very useful disciplines.

What Are the Social Sciences?

The social sciences refer to the disciplines that study human behavior and social life in a scientific way. The major disciplines include:

• Anthropology: simply put, anthropology is the study of humanity. It is a combination of natural science and social science and includes 4 predominant fields of physical anthropology, cultural or social anthropology, archaeology and linguistics.

• Economics: economics is the study of wealth. Students of economics learn to analyze how wealth is produced, distributed and consumed. Students who pursue a degree in economics will spend time studying both macroeconomic principles and microeconomic concepts.

• Education: people who study education are examining how people teach and how students learn information. Students may focus on different aspects of education such as early childhood education, high school education or adult education or on general education theory.

• Geography: geography focuses on where humans live including the names of various cities, states and countries. It also focuses on the location of physical aspects of the earth such as mountains, oceans and rivers. Students of geography learn how to read maps for location and topographical information among other things.

• History: history is a broad subject that includes past events in time. It includes ancient civilizations and modern political events. While some people believe history should be classified as part of the Humanities, others believe it is appropriately classified as a social science because of its analytical and critical nature.

• Information Technology: this relatively new field refers to how people design, use and adapt computers to fit their needs.

• Law: law refers to the study of the rules of a society that are passed by the governing authority. Study of the law often includes how laws are drafted, researched, interpreted and applied.

• Linguistics: linguistics is the scientific study of languages.

• Political Science: as the name implies, political science is the scientific study of politics. Specifically, the discipline includes analysis of political systems, political behavior, public administration, public policy and law.

• Psychology: psychology is the study of human behavior and mental processes. Students of psychology are interested in how mental processes affect behavior rather than the biological reason for the mental processes.

• Sociology: sociology is the study of human social action. It is the study of the rules of society that are not provided by the governing authority but instead become well known and adopted by society at large. Some institutions include the study of criminology in the sociology department.

Why are Social Sciences Important?

Social sciences provide students with similar research skills and analytical thinking skills as the natural sciences. That is what separates the social sciences from the humanities. Therefore, it provides a strong and valuable educational experience for all students.

For those students who are particularly interested in or exhibit talent in a social science field, there are numerous social science employment opportunities. Social scientists become professors, sociologists, psychologists, political scientists, linguists, lawyers, politicians, anthropologists, economists and more. Many of these fields offer exciting and well paying careers for those who pursue them.

Social sciences can also lead to a better understanding of humanity. The study of social science disciplines encourages students to examine why humanity did certain things at certain times. It encourages students to hypothesize about why something may or may not be true and then research primary and secondary sources to find the answer and articulately communicate it to their teachers.

It is important to the future of humanity for students to understand its past. The social sciences seeks to make that understanding as accurate as possible by using different methodologies and techniques to come to sound conclusions.
For these reasons, social science is a very important part of a school’s curriculum from kindergarten through twelfth grade and it is a discipline that is supported by the nation’s colleges and universities as well.

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It might seem like the holiday concert at your local elementary school is the goal of music education. Friends and family, undoubtedly, enjoy listening to the chorus and band play the festive holiday tunes. However, there are many benefits of music education that go beyond the public school music education shows and help make individual children better students.

The Impact on Languages

Many people find it easier to remember words and sound when they are set to a tune. Many music students will find that they can easily remember words even if they are in a foreign language. For example, many choruses sing songs in both ancient and modern language such as Italian, Latin and Hebrew during the annual holiday concert.

Of course, a few songs in a foreign language will not make the student fluent in the foreign language. However, it will make them more aware of similarities between the languages and make it easier for them to pick up the different sounds made in different languages.

The Impact on Math and Science

While many students look forward to music class for the pure enjoyment of it, they remain unaware that their music teachers have developed music education lesson plans that actually help students improve their math and science skills.

As early as elementary school, many music educators teach students how to read music. The ability to read music is not only helpful in music class but also in math class. Students learn to count and to multiply and divide when they learn about half notes, full notes, quarter notes and musical times. Instruction in different tempos also helps students learn about rhythm.

Similarly, science skills are developed when students begin to learn about why different instruments make different sounds. They also learn to hypothesize about what notes or instruments might sound good together and this will help them learn to make educated hypotheses in later science experiments.

The math and science skills remain important beyond early childhood music education. High school students continue to develop their math and science skills by enrolling in music classes.

The Impact on History

Music has played an important part in almost every society for as far back as history has been recorded. Music students may learn about the style of church music in medieval times. They may learn traditional hymns or nursery rhymes from other countries. They may learn the music from plays or movies. All of these things teach students about the history of the time and place when the music was popular. They may learn about the culture of the time through popular dance moves and operas. Music has proven to be a very productive way for many students to learn about different cultures and historical events.

Socialization

In addition to the many academic benefits of music education, students learn very important social skills in music class. Students need to learn to work together and to follow each other’s cues as they learn to sing a song for chorus or play a song in the band. They also need to learn to watch and interpret the music teacher’s nonverbal cues about when to stop, start, slow down or speed up the music. These social skills will help them ready other people’s important nonverbal body language as they get older.

Music Therapy

Music therapy has proven to be very successful for students with disabilities. Music can help children work on physical, emotional or social needs. It gives many children with disabilities a way to communicate and to express their thoughts that might otherwise go unexpressed. It proves to be a stress reliever and a way to manage emotions for children with emotional disabilities who may tend to lose control and need to refocus themselves.

For all children, music education is an important part of their overall education. Whether students join in a mandatory music class or take part in extracurricular activities such as chorus, band or performing arts, they are learning to work together and to develop skills that will help them both academically and socially as they complete their education and move into the work force. For these reasons, many public schools understand the benefits of music education and keep music education as a part of their core curriculum.

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Each state has a compulsory education law that requires students between certain ages to attend public school or a private school or home school alternative. While the majority of children in the United States attend public school, a sizeable minority attend private school for some or all of their K – 12 education. There are many pros and cons to attending private school and the whether the benefits outweigh those drawbacks, is an individual decision for each family to make.

The Advantages of Private School

There are many benefits to a private school education that cause people to forego the free public education to which they are entitled and instead seek a private education. Some of the potential benefits include:

• Religious or specialized instruction

Some private schools are affiliated with a particular religion and provide instruction on that religion. The most common type of private religious schools are parochial or Catholic schools which are affiliated with the Catholic Church. However, there are many other types of religious private schools that are affiliated with other branches of Christianity or with other religions. Of course, not all private schools are religious. Some private schools may offer instruction in particular area such as the arts or a general education that is unaffiliated with any particular religion, discipline or philosophy but that provide an alternative to public school for other reasons.

• Smaller classes and more individualized attention

Many private schools offer smaller classes and a smaller student body than public schools. Most public schools have classes of 20 to 30 students. Therefore, many parents believe that their children receive more attention from the teacher in private school classes which typically have fewer than 15 students and they believe that this increase in attention leads to a better education for their children.

• A more rigorous curriculum

Some private schools are able to offer a more rigorous curriculum than public schools due to the increased attention that teachers can provide to their students. Many private school students progress faster than the majority of public school students. Parents feel that this education gives their children an advantage when it comes time for college.

• Additional opportunities

Many private schools have generous alumni that often make donations to their alma maters so that the current students can enjoy extra activities such as field trips, guest speakers and interesting projects. Often, these donations and endowments allow private schools to offer more opportunities for special events than public schools.

The Potential Disadvantages of Private School

While there are many benefits to a private school education there are some potential drawbacks which families should consider. Some of those concerns include:

• Services for students with disabilities

Public schools are required to provide services for students with disabilities through their special education program. While public schools may provide assessments and related services for private school students in their district, those students will not receive the full range of special education services from the district. Some, but not all, private schools may be able to meet the needs of students with disabilities.

• Lack of student diversity

Students who attend some private schools may not be exposed to the diversity of race, religion and beliefs that they would in public school. Diversity can provide a valuable educational experience that some parents value.

• Strict rules

Many private schools have strict rules. For example, many private schools require that students wear private school uniforms. Students may not be entitled to the same due process as public school students if they are facing suspension or expulsion since they do not have the legal right to attend a private school as they do a public school.

• Tuition and other costs

Tuition for a private school education can be steep. Parents may also be required to participate in private school fundraising which is not something that everyone enjoys.

There are many aspects of parenting which are based on personal preferences and beliefs. Education is no exception to that. Therefore, private schools exist in many communities to give parents a viable choice in how they educate their children. Yet, this type of education is not for everyone. Parents who are interested in the possibility of having their children attend a private school should visit several schools before deciding whether or not there is a school that is a good fit for their child.

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Many American college students study abroad for a semester during their college career. It can be very exciting to study abroad in England, to study abroad in Australia, to study abroad in Spain or in just about any other large country in the world. Study abroad programs can offer many opportunities and benefits to students that they would not otherwise be able to obtain in their usual college program. That is why many students find that spending one of their eight college semesters abroad is a valuable life experience.

Study Overseas: Learn a New Language

As people get older it often becomes more difficult to learn a new language. However, the easiest way to learn a new language is to become immersed in it. If you choose to study overseas in a country that has a national language other than English than you are likely to pick up the other language fairly quickly.

Many people consider what language they want to learn and use it as one of the primary factors that they consider when deciding which study abroad program to pick. As our economy becomes ever more intertwined with the global economy, a second language can be a very useful skill in future employment endeavors. It can also be useful in a one’s personal life if they have a love of travel that might take them to more countries that speak that language.

Not only do students get to learn the language of the foreign country but they also get to know about the culture by experiencing it first-hand. They get to taste the food, celebrate the customs and interact with the people in a way that is impossible to do without visiting.

Study Abroad: Learn Lessons About Your Self

It might seem unusual that you need to travel overseas in order to learn more about yourself. However, for many students who study overseas, this is the first experience traveling or living in a different country alone and without their families and close friends. They find that they need to solve their own problems, make their own friends and learn to adapt to a culture that is different than theirs. All of these experiences will make a student a stronger and more confident individual both on the trip and when he or she returns home.

An International Education Includes International Travel

Of course, you will travel from the United States to the destination of your study abroad program. However, many international education programs have organized some kind of weekend or academic break travel opportunities. Many students also choose to travel to nearby areas before or after the formal program.

For many students, the opportunity to travel is the primary motivation for enrolling in a study abroad program. Many decide to pick a destination in Europe or South America so that they can visit nearby countries. Other students decide to pick a country in Asia or to visit Australia and to spend their time traveling one country extensively and getting to know different areas and cultures.

Future Employment Benefits

Many employers view study abroad programs and international education opportunities very favorably for a couple of reasons. First, only a small minority of students take part in this type of experience and it says a lot about a person’s confidence and initiative. Second, as described above, students who study abroad become immersed in a different country’s language and culture.

Employers who operate in the global economy may be very excited about a prospective employee who understands the fine points of another culture and can use that knowledge to establish good business contacts and complete successful negotiations in that country.

Things to Consider Before You Travel

While studying abroad can be very beneficial to your college career and your future career, there are some practical things to consider before you go. For example, it is important to make sure that your college or university will accept the credits from your study abroad program. It is also important to talk to other students who have done the program and to get their feedback on it before you enroll.

If you are in a demanding major or find that you do not have enough time to fit a traditional semester abroad into your schedule, then you might want to consider a summer study abroad program. You can get the same wonderful benefits from a summer program as you can from a traditional study abroad experience.

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In these difficult economic times when school budgets need to be reduced by local boards of education, specials like art education are often the first thing to be cut out of school curricula. However, there are compelling reasons why art should remain an important part of a K -12 curricula even if it means sacrificing in other academic and extracurricular areas.

Plato mentions art schools as early as 400 BC. Art education became popular in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century and continues to be taught in public schools today. Art education was retained as a part of the core curriculum in the No Child Left Behind Act. However, unlike other areas of the curriculum, schools are not required to assess students in the arts, nor are they required to report on their progress. Therefore, many schools are decreasing the amount of time that students spend studying the arts.

Why Is Art Important?

An art education curriculum is important to students at all grade levels. At the elementary school level, art education helps students enhance their language development. Students are encouraged to describe their art and the art of others. This requires them to use descriptive words and to develop critical linguistic skills.

At the high school level a solid foundation in the arts can lead to different work opportunities. A student may decide to become a traditional painter, sculptor or woodworker or follow a more modern career path and become a graphic artist or a web designer.

At all levels, art education teaches students to be creative, to be thoughtful and to take pride in their work and it teaches them how to accept and use constructive criticism. It also reminds makes them more aware and mindful of their surroundings.

How to Fund Art Education?

As with most academic subjects, the majority of the funding for art education comes from the local school budget. However, school boards, superintendents and concerned parents should be aware that there are other sources of funding available such as an art education grant.

It may be useful to consult your state board of education to see if there are any state grants available to help offset the cost of the art teacher or art supplies for your district.

Additional art education grants are available through private organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The NEA promotes art education for all students, not just those with exceptional talent. The organization believes that art is very important to the education of all children from prekindergarten through high school.

Art Education Curriculum

There are many different art education curricula available. Each art education curriculum takes a different approach to achieve much the same goals. There is no one curriculum that is right for art education throughout the United States just as there is no one algebra curriculum that works in every high school.

Local art teachers and administrators will need to work together to study different art curricula and art education resources to determine which is the right fit for their school district.

That said, one of the most popular art education curricular models in the United States is called Discipline Based Art Education. Students learn about aesthetics, criticism, art history and studio practices. This approach can be used across all grade levels.

Opportunities for Serious Artists

While art education is undoubtedly important for all students, talented and serious artists often need more art education than their school can provide. Accordingly, many communities have established charter schools or other special high schools that focus on the arts. The budding artists are able to spend more time intensely studying their craft while still receiving all of the core academic education that their peers in the regular high school receive.

When school boards decide their annual budgets they undoubtedly face difficult challenges because there is a set amount of money and many worthwhile programs which require funding. Yet, it is the responsibility of those school boards to make sure that students receive the best education possible. Art education becomes important in that regard as it helps create confident, insightful and sensitive children who become excellent students and productive members of the adult society.

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With more than 4,000 higher education institutions in the United States, it can be very difficult to choose the college or university that is right for you. Each of the 4,000 degree granting institutions has characteristics which make it unique. However, the process of deciding which institution of higher learning is the right match for you does not have to be overwhelming. This article will explore some of the important things to consider when deciding which college or university to attend.

Location of the Higher Education Institution

You may have heard the famous saying that finding the right piece of real estate is all about location, location, location. You can change many things that you don’t like about a piece of real estate but the one thing that you can’t change is the location.

This truth also applies to colleges and universities. You might be able to pick your courses and avoid bad professors at any school but you can’t change the physical location of the school. So, if it is important to you to be in a particular city or to be close to home, your family or a job then the location of the college or university should be at the top of your list of criteria.

Available Degrees

Some students start college already knowing what they want to be when they grow up and what degree they need to further that goal. Other students are not yet sure what degree that want to pursue.

For both groups of students, it is important to take a look at all of the available majors and degrees from the colleges and universities that they are considering. Often, the students who start their freshman year knowing exactly what they want end up declaring a completely different major during their sophomore year. There is nothing wrong with that and it helps to be at a school that has a wide variety of majors so that you do not have to transfer to study a different subject.

Class Size

Some colleges offer small classes for all students, some offer primarily large lecture style courses and others offer a combination of the two types of classes. It is useful to think about your individual learning style in order to determine which style of teaching is going to work best for you.

Mentoring and Career Services

Most students benefit from guidance during their college years. It helps them become aware of different opportunities available to them within their chosen field and of how to best position themselves to take advantage of those opportunities. So, it is important to think about the kind of mentoring that is available from the academic advisers and career services offices at the school which you are considering.

Student Life

Student life is a big part of college life. For most traditional students, it is the first time that they have lived away from home. Accordingly, some people argue that student life is just as important as academics in the traditional college experience.

Prospective students will want to consider things such as extracurricular activities, the presence or absence of fraternities and sororities and whether they see themselves fitting in with the student body. They will also want to consider their living and dining options, whether they can have a car on campus, whether the campus is urban or rural and whether most students tend to stay on campus during the weekends or commute to school during the week.

Competitiveness

High school students are often counseled to apply to “reach schools” and to try to get into the best institution of higher education that they possibly can. It is thought to be beneficial to one’s future career if you can get into and graduate from an extremely competitive school, such as Ivy League School. Yet, this is a matter of personal preference and the competitiveness of each institution should be considered by each applicant.

Cost and Financial Aid

The price of higher education in the United States varies greatly from school to school. State runs schools tend to be the less expensive than private school. However, prospective students should take financial aid and possible scholarships into account when figuring out what a particular school will cost.

It is important to remember that in our society many students are privileged to have access to higher education. While it is important to find a school that is a good fit for you, there is usually more than one school that will meet your needs and exceed your expectations. So, when you consider the factors described above you may be able to find several institutions of higher learning where you would be happy.

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Virtually everyone with a child in public school knows a child with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Both conditions are being increasingly diagnosed among school age children in the United States. Often the terms are used in everyday speech by people who feel that they are having trouble concentrating.

However, both conditions involve more than a lack of concentration and need to be diagnosed by professionals. So, due to the prevalence of ADD and ADHD and misconceptions associated with the terms, it is important to understand what they are, why the cases of each seem to be increasing in the United States and how they can be treated.

What Are ADD and ADHD?

ADD is an old term that has been replaced by ADHD. ADHD is a neurobehavioral developmental disorder that is estimated to affect up to 5% of the world’s population. The most common symptoms of the disorder are not paying attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. ADHD is further divided into three subcategories. The first is ADHD-I where the primary symptom is inattentiveness. This is the kind of ADHD that was formerly known as ADD.

Students with ADHD often are careless in their schoolwork, unable to sit still for long periods of time, are easily distracted and do not seem to listen or pay attention to their teachers. This often results in poor academic grades, frustrated students and aggravated parents and teachers.

Why does ADHD Seem To Be Becoming More Common?

The reasons why ADHD seems to be becoming more common among school children in the United States is often debated. Some people contend that more students are presenting the symptoms in school than students of earlier generations. Other people contend that ADHD was an often under diagnosed or misdiagnosed condition in earlier generations and that the increased numbers are actually relevant of the true prevalence of the condition across different generations. Still others contend that ADHD is being over diagnosed now and that any student who is impulsive or who has too much energy is diagnosed as having ADHD.

All of these reasons for the increase in diagnoses are plausible. However, if a qualified doctor is making the diagnosis then it stands to reason that students who need help will be receiving appropriate services. Doctors have strict protocols that they need to follow when making an ADHD diagnosis. Specifically, patients must be found to present 6 out of 9 very specific symptoms of inattention or 6 out of 9 very specific symptoms of hyperactivity or impulsiveness over a period of six months or more. Further, the inattention or hyperactivity and impulsiveness must be significant to the point that they are found to be disruptive and inappropriate for the student’s development level. Additionally, some of the symptoms must have started before the child reached age 7, the symptoms must be present in two or more settings (such as school and home), the symptoms must significantly impair schoolwork or social functioning and the symptoms must not be accounted for by another disorder.

How Is ADHD Treated?

ADHD can be treated through a combination of medication, behavior modifications, life style changes and counseling. Of course a public school may not require a child to be medicated. So, medication and often life style changes are out of the control of teachers and administrators. If a child is medicated and a family is making life style changes that would be useful information to share with the school, however.

Regardless of the family’s actions, the school has a responsibility to educate a student with ADHD. If the student’s ADHD is significantly impacting his or her progress in the general curriculum and the student therefore needs specialized instruction than the student will be found eligible for special education. IEPs will be written for students with disabilities with appropriate accommodations and modifications. Schools can appropriately work on behavior modifications and counseling as they relate to the child’s progress in school.

Whether you term the condition ADD or ADHD, students with this disorder often need help in school. It is a condition that is being increasingly diagnosed in the U.S. and that is leading more and more educators to be aware of the symptoms and effective strategies for allowing ADD or ADHD students to succeed in the general curriculum.

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While most kids get their formal instruction in a public or private school setting, there is a lot that families can do to further their children’s education at home. Many families help their children learn without deliberately planning to do so. It is something that comes naturally to many parents. However, with a little bit of thought parents can provide their kids with even more opportunities to learn at every stage of their childhood.

Early Childhood

Simply put, a parent is a child’s first teacher. From infancy, kids learn from their parents. In those first few months of life parents teach babies when to expect food and how to fall asleep. A few months later, parents begin to teach older infants how to eat from a spoon and how to develop the gross motor skills that the child will need in order to learn to crawl and to walk. Throughout their children’s infancy, many parents sing to their children or narrate their daily activities. This, however unintentional, helps children learn language skills.

As the infant grows into a toddler and preschool age child, the parenting role expands. The parent may enroll the child in different kids’ activities such as music or movement classes. While many parents see these classes as a fun way to structure their day, it is also teaching the child valuable socialization, language and motor skills.

Parents of toddlers and preschoolers may also engage their children in simple games. The games are fun and a way to enjoy your time together but they are also educational. Something as simple as playing catch teaches the child to take turns and to communicate with you so that you work as a team to prevent the ball from falling.

The Elementary School Years

As kids enter elementary school much of their day is taken up in formal schooling. However, they are still learning from their parents when they are at home.

The early elementary school years are a great time to get your child involved in daily household activities such as cooking. Cooking requires the child to follow directions, to learn mathematical measurements in terms of cups and spoons and, to learn important kitchen safety techniques. It is also begins to teach children about the work that goes into feeding the family and keeping the family’s routine running smoothly.

Middle School Kids

It might seem like your middle school child wants to be anywhere else rather than with you. Many kids this age are involved in a power struggle with their parent(s) that is the beginning of their separation from their parents. Yet, most kids still respect and learn from their families, even if they are not aware of it.

It might be difficult to get students this age to sit down and play a game with you or to help you with household tasks. While it is important to include them in all family activities and, at times, to insist on their participation, it is also important to structure some kids’ entertainment activities that they will enjoy.

This is a great age to take the child to various museums or historical sites. If finances allow or you live close by it is a nice age to explore a city such as Boston, Washington D.C., or San Francisco. Your child may be more agreeable outside of the home, you will be able to expose the child to different historical or cultural places and teach the child how to safely navigate the city.

High School Students

The high school years are just as important for family educational activities as the earlier years were. Many teens are getting ready to leave the family home for college, jobs or the military. Many parents are eager to teach the child to have more independence and to use good judgment. Independence and good judgment are certainly skills that are encouraged in school but they are most often taught and fostered at home.

A public, or private, school cannot bear the full responsibility for educating a child. Kids learn a lot of academic and social skills from their parents. More importantly, they develop their senses of pride and responsibility, and their ability to make good decisions from the lessons taught at home.

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