Emilio, Ana, and Max are all Latino children who come from different Latin American cultural backgrounds. The children all have Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, better known as ADHD, and are soon to start 5^th grade. The three children will frequently encounter barriers in the treatment of their ADHD due to their culture. Barriers in treatment carry over into their learning and classroom success. Because of the individual nature of the challenges with ADHD, the students face different obstacles. Under the Americans with Disabilities act Students with ADHD are entitled to reasonable accommodations that would support their needs ¹. Unfortunately what is frequently seen in Latino students with ADHD is a lack of support for those needs ². Because of the students’ culture and ADHD, it is possible that they become numbers in the 32.2% percent of students with ADHD who drop out of high school and part of only the 15% with a college degree ^{3 4}. The unfortunate statistics make it vital that individuals recognize the hardships that Latino students with ADHD face. Through the three children’s different situations we will see the implications of their socioeconomic status, cultural beliefs, and language barriers in ADHD treatment in the classroom.

For a student like Emilio, his family’s Socioeconomic status has a negative impact on his ADHD treatment. Latino households in the U.S make approximately $62,000 annually while the average household income in the U.S is around $75,000 ⁵ In addition, close to 20% of Latinos in the U.S live at or below the poverty level while the general average poverty level is around 11% ⁶. Latinos’ lower socioeconomic status plays an important role in the life of a Latino child with ADHD. For Emilio, his lower socioeconomic household’s income means that it is less likely that he will have health insurance ⁷. Without health insurance Emilio is much less likely to receive an ADHD diagnosis ⁸. Without a medical diagnosis it becomes almost impossible for Emilio to obtain accommodations or an Individualized Education Plan in school. ⁹. An Individualized Education Plan, better known as an IEP, would entitle Emilio to receive accommodations such as extra time on tests or assignments, using technology for certain tasks, time set aside for breaks, and more ¹⁰. Accommodations or an IEP would be important for Emilio as they are necessary to support his learning needs, taking into account the ADHD challenges. ¹¹. Even if Emilio can receive an accurate ADHD diagnosis, his family’s socioeconomic status will still play an important role in his learning experience with ADHD in a traditional school setting. Without health insurance, a student with ADHD will be unable receive treatment including support such as medication, therapy, out of school tutoring, and more. ¹². Treatment for a student like Emilio is important outside of school because it makes him substantially more likely to succeed while in school ¹³. Without further treatment Emilio is put at even more of a disadvantage in handling his ADHD. Through Emilio it can be seen how the socioeconomic status of Latinos in the U.S can create an even more difficult environment for a Latino student with ADHD to succeed in the classroom.

Ana, another student with ADHD, faces cultural recognition problems regarding her diagnosis. Ana received an ADHD diagnosis yet her family struggles to understand what ADHD means. In Ana’s family there is a lack of acknowledgment of her ADHD. Ana’s parents believed that she has simply been having behavioral problems. Unfortunately, Anas circumstances are not uncommon for Latinos with an ADHD diagnosis ¹⁴. For some Latinos, ADHD might be viewed as an excuse for children’s poor behavior ¹⁵. ADHD is considered to be a hereditary developmental disability, meaning that one of Ana’s parents might have ADHD that was never diagnosed ¹⁶ .  Ana’s parent with ADHD might see Ana as a reflection of themself but because they were able to push through hardships with little support it is expected that Ana will too. The expectations that Anas parents have of her likely perpetuate the invalidation of Anas diagnosis. If parents do not believe in the legitimacy of ADHD, it can be difficult for them to connect with teachers, medical professionals or other individuals that can help them manage their child’s learning program.  ¹⁷. In an educational setting, it is vital that parents partner with educators to figure out solutions or a support system for their child. Adding to the lack of recognition, in Latino families there can be a common theme of keeping ADHD problems or behavioral problems in the family ¹⁸. If Ana’s parents follow this pattern, Ana’s ADHD treatment will lack support due to her parents’ hesitancy. In addition to hesitancy, for parents like Ana’s, there is a potential barrier between them and Anglo healthcare professionals. ¹⁹. The lack of comfortability can lead Latino parents to remain confused or unwilling to fully communicate with a healthcare system that Ana could benefit from. Ana’s parent’s uneasiness with home support perpetuates the problem of reliance solely on the school system. ²⁰.  If a Latino parent puts their full trust into Ana’s teachers and other help at school, Ana will still lack support in other aspects of her life. The lack of support outside of school and infrequency of treatment can make it harder for Ana, and children like her, to thrive while in school ²¹.

Max, another student with ADHD, struggles with a different problem than Ana and Emilio.  Because Max’s family is predominantly Spanish speaking the language barrier gets in the way of many aspects of Max’s ADHD treatment. Max’s parents are not fluent in English, meaning that it is difficult for them to communicate with teachers that understand the provided information about Max’s ADHD ²². Max’s parents’ language barrier is not limited to teachers but also affects interactions with healthcare workers and other support systems that may benefit Max ²³. The language barrier can prove difficult for Max’s parents to acquire adequate treatment for Max. His parents have a limited understanding of treatment that might be beneficial for their child. Like his parents, Max also faces problems with language barriers. Max’s lack of English proficiency affects his focus in school especially in a monolingual English classroom ²⁴. Adding to Max’s struggles with ADHD are performance issues that might be falsely attributed to his language barrier. Max struggles to read and write and it is assumed that this is because of his low English language proficiency ²⁵. What’s important to recognize is that bilingual students with ADHD are still likely to perform relatively poorly in their native language ²⁶. What this means is that Max’s performance could be due to his ADHD rather than just his language barrier. Because of Max’s language barrier, teachers may approach his underperformance in a way that focuses on improving his English language proficiency rather than focusing on supporting his ADHD ²⁷.

Emilio, Ana, and Max’s problems with ADHD combined with their culture can lead to them having a more difficult time in school than their peers or other students with ADHD. In the future this will lead to problems such as underperformance and negative self-esteem ²⁸. Despite the problems being faced by these students there are organizations and approaches that aim to support children, Latinos included, with ADHD. Support organizations include CHADD, The National resource Center on ADHD, and even the CDC. What is most important to recognize about Emilio, Ana, and Max’s circumstances is that the problems they face are prevalent but not limited to Latinos. In other words, approaches that aim to support Latino children with ADHD are approaches that could work for everyone in a classroom.