Academic and Behavioral Effects of Self-Regulated Strategy Development on Children with Writing Difficulties and ADHD Symptoms

Abstract

Although children of all ability levels underperform in writing proficiency according to national testing, and children with disabilities are perform at very low levels (below basic), the area of effective writing skills interventions for children with disabilities has not been well-studied in the field of school psychology. In addition, the specific cognitive, behavioral, and affective problems that children with ADHD display severely limit their writing capabilities. Because academic and behavioral problems exist within a bidirectional relationship, it is theorized that academic (specifically writing-related) intervention can exert an influence on behavior. Three students identified by their teacher as having ADHD symptoms were recruited to participate in a research study examining the effects of a writing intervention called Self- Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) on writing outcomes (productivity, time spent planning before writing, number of essential story elements, and overall writing quality) and classroom behavior (attention/engagement and disruption). The study was conducted using a single-case design (multiple baseline across participants). The intervention was implemented with two students in five to eight 30-45 minute sessions consisting of SRSD lessons. One of the participants demonstrated appreciable improvements in time spent planning before writing, number of essential story elements, and overall writing quality; however, the other participant showed little progress in writing outcomes. Both participants showed a marked increase in academic engagement during the baseline phase of the study which persisted through intervention. Because this increase occurred before the onset of the intervention but after the initiation of writing outcome baseline data collection, the increase cannot be attributed to the SRSD intervention alone. The study provides limited evidence that SRSD is an effective intervention for children with ADHD symptoms and writing difficulties. It also provides limited evidence that a small group academic intervention focused on self-regulation strategies may help improve academic engagement in the classroom.