Educational ecosystem and RTI for ADHD care in school settings

Abstract

Introduction: The preliminary project examined the educational inclusion of students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in basic education, understood as a challenge that required equity and full participation. It recognized that ADHD affected performance, social integration, and emotional well-being, and that the pedagogical response should be based on evidence and context-sensitive approaches.
Development: A theoretical framework was reviewed that integrated Vygotsky's sociocultural perspective, highlighting the Zone of Proximal Development and scaffolding as supports for collaboration and cooperative learning. From the perspective of information processing, the role of working memory and executive functions was emphasized, prioritizing explicit instruction, visual organizers, attentional cues, and metacognitive strategies. Self-Determination Theory guided the creation of environments that satisfied autonomy, competence, and relatedness through meaningful choices, shared goals, and timely feedback. Likewise, a multimodal model and the Response to Intervention (RTI) approach were valued, with continuous monitoring and data-based decision-making, incorporating curricular adjustments, assistive technologies, CBT, and school-family-service coordination. Personalized teaching, task segmentation, scheduled breaks, and formative assessment were proposed.
Conclusions: The study concluded that the effective inclusion of students with ADHD required a coherent, multilevel pedagogical ecosystem. Strategies were most effective when they were coordinated with each other, responded to the variability of ADHD, and were continuously evaluated. It was recommended to strengthen institutional policies, teacher professional development, and implementation research that measured fidelity, cost-effectiveness, and long-term impact, incorporating the voices of students and families.