Adult AD/HD
You probably have been to several sites about adult AD/HD. Most are very good, but the majority of them do not understand AD/HD from the beginning of life through adulthood. This site is different because I bring the educational perspective that psychologists, neurologists, social workers and even special education teachers do not have. Most specialists pick up where the AD/HD individual is, and moves on, never really understanding the background of how they learn and what their specific learning differences happen to be.
Think back to when you were in school. Do you remember scenarios like the following?
“Charles, Charles, could you please give the answer to number two? We’re waiting! Were you not listening, again? That will be another check on the board for you, Charles.”
“Mary, would you please go to the board and work out that math problem? Could you please hurry up about it, we don’t have all day! You obviously were not listening when I was giving the lesson. PLEASE, sit down and I will have someone else finish it. (Teacher sighs)”
“ I am handing out the novel that I told you about yesterday. I expect a report on it on my desk by the end of the week. This is will be 50% of your grade. Make sure you do a good job on it.”
Do these scenarios bring back feelings of nausea? Did you suddenly find yourself catapulted back into a desk with the teacher hovering over you? What images came flooding back to you? You probably thought that you have gotten past all of that. Maybe you have but, then again maybe not. The pages ahead are designed to help you understand what your learning difference is and how to make it work for you within your daily life.
That’s right learning difference. You may not have heard that term before, but it is the correct term to be used in this book when talking about ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia and the related disorders.
AH/HD and the related disorders
Did you know that the adult AD/HD individual shares other learning differences as well? Each individual is unique and can have different variations of these differences. It is very rare to have just ADD by itself. Some of the other differences are:
Dyslexia – Dyslexia is a neurological disorder that interferes with the acquisition and processing of language. It is hereditary and is imprinted during the fifth to sixth month of gestation. Dyslexia is evident through difficulty with receptive and expressive language, with phonological processing, and with reading, writing, spelling and handwriting.
Dyscalculia – (difficulty with math) Believe it or not this is a learning difference. It can be very difficult for this individual to see abstract relationships. They must be direct taught with manipulative so that they can see the reality of the mathematical concept.
OCD – (obsessive compulsive disorder) Often times mild OCD can accompany AD/HD. This population can want things done in a certain way and if it is not, life can be difficult.
Dysgraphia – (difficulty with handwriting) It is best to use a computer whenever possible so that others will be able to understand what you are writing. (For children, if this is not remediated early, then reading can become a problem. The areas of the brain that control these functions work closely together.)
Auditory processing – This is when it is not possible to process all of the information that is being related to you. You may perceive only a portion of verbal information.
If these areas are not understood completely, then it will be difficult to get a grip on what AD/HD is to your everyday life. Make sure that you find an ADD coach or Certified Academic Language Therapist to help you maneuver through the mine fields of AD/HD. Feel free to go to my blog and let me know how these areas are affecting your life.
