No province or territory received a grade of ‘excellent’ for special education systems from the Centre for ADHD Awareness Canada, but four, including Saskatchewan received a grade of ‘good’. The charity’s report card gave failing grades to British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec for having systemic barriers that discriminate against students with ADHD, making access to supports a significant challenge.

Director of Education and Advocacy, Heidi Bernhardt, says Saskatchewan currently has a system of identification, where students with ADHD are recognized with a disability, and there is paperwork, so schools are accountable for taking that into consideration with extra supports or resources.

However, Saskatchewan’s Education Ministry has told the Centre it is thinking of moving to a system of inclusion, like many other provinces and territories, where no diagnosis is needed, therefore there is no paperwork.  The Centre is concerned that although the word ‘inclusion’ sounds good, a lack of documentation reduces a parent or caregiver’s ability to hold their child’s school accountable. Bernhardt adds though, that students will have Inclusive Intervention Plans, which she hopes will be considered legal documents so parents can advocate for supports for students with ADHD.

She says the disorder is complex, affecting attention regulation, both over and under-focusing, and executive functioning, like what to prioritize and understanding lists of instructions. There are teaching strategies that are great for students with ADHD, which Bernhardt says are also effective for the entire class.

On the Centre’s report card, none of the provinces or territories received a grade of excellent because they weren’t able to confirm that their educators were trained in ADHD, and most didn’t have easily accessible information on the disorder, should a teacher wish to read up on it.