Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Musical Behaviour – the Significance of Context and Implications for Pedagogy
Tuesday 13th February 2024, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM (London Time)
The focus for the presentation is in (a) reporting the nature and incidence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), (b) offering an understanding of how engaging successfully in music can modify and reduce ADHD behaviour and (c) exploring the implications for music pedagogy in general and singing in particular.
According to the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, August 2023), the global prevalence of ADHD in children is estimated as around 5%, although US studies report a higher incidence of 8-10% of young people.
Concerning the nature of ADHD, it tends to be reported more in boys than girls - a sex ratio that is in line with other types of special needs, such as autism. In adults, the reported proportion tends to be lower at 3-4%, and still with a bias towards males of 3:1. The incidence is also reported to be associated with poverty, lower family income and social class. In adults, it is more prevalent in the unemployed, those with disabilities and those with mental health issues.
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by persistent inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Of these three types, the inattentive subtype accounts for 20-30% of cases, and the hyperactive-impulsive subtype accounts for around 15% of cases, whereas the combination of all three accounts for 50-75% of cases (BMJ Best Practice, 2023). Negative impacts of ADHD are often reported in academic performance, emotional and cognitive functioning, and peer relationships.
The presentation will report evidence of recent research into ADHD and music education, highlighting the potential benefits of structured personalised music education (Wilde & Welch, 2022) and also music therapy (Martin-Maratinos et al, 2023). The research findings suggest that, notwithstanding ADHD-related symptoms, individuals can engage successfully in music and acquire musical skills. Moreover, ADHD is not a static condition in music, but variable according to pedagogical and musical context.
Dr Eva Wilde
Dr Eva Wilde is a researcher in the fields of music education and music psychology, and completed her PhD in 2019 at the UCL Institute of Education, University College London, UK.
Professor Graham Welch
Professor Graham Welch PhD is Established Chair of Music Education at the University College London (UCL) Institute of Education (formerly University of London), a role he has held since 2001.
Sorry, this is an archived short course...
We have plenty of upcoming short courses coming soon. See details of some of them below or look at the full list of short courses.
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Some successful pop stars are celebrating career lengths of over sixty years, having been around since the 1950s when pop music emerged and diversified from jazz, so pop singing has been in existence sufficiently long now that, for teaching purposes, we can observe and analyse what type of approach serves it best.
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5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
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5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
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Leda Scearce
Two part course! Vocal health principles are inextricably and symbiotically linked with singing and acting voice pedagogy: Good vocal health allows the singer and actor to more easily and effectively achieve their technical and artistic goals, and good teaching reinforces vocal technique that diminishes the risk of vocal injury. We now also recognize the necessity for singers and actors to understand how their instruments work, how to take care of their voices, and what to do when something goes wrong. Singing and acting teachers are indeed on the front lines of vocal health!