Abstract:

The key characteristic of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the permanent and lasting shortness of attention span and the impetuosity and uneasiness that occur in the actions or cognition due to the lack of control intended for avoiding negative situations. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of individualized attention improvement training program for students who are diagnosed with ADHD and receive education within the scope of inclusive applications on improving attention skills and accordingly to examine the attitudes of the primary school teachers towards their attention skills. In this study, both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Pre-test /post-test control group experimental design was used for investigating the impact of the training program on students with ADHD. Descriptive method, one of the qualitative research techniques, was used to determine the impact of individualized attention improvement training that the teachers applied to improve the attention focusing skills of their students with ADHD. Bourdon attention test and teacher interview form were used as data collection tools. According to the findings obtained through quantitative data, it was found that individualized attention improvement training offered to students diagnosed with ADHD significantly increased their attention focusing skills, and the difference between average scores the experimental and control groups participating in the study obtained from the attention-level test was statistically significant. On the other hand, according to the findings obtained from qualitative data, teachers stated that vast majority of the students with ADHD had an increased level of both attention span and educational performance when compared to pre and post training.

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