Could My Daughter Be ADD? Assessing Attention

JimADD/ADHD

My ten-year-old daughter often has trouble following multistep directions-will lose her place in reading and need to re-read, will say “huh?” or “what?” after being given directions, blurts things off topic, has a difficulty staying engaged during lessons, and shows inconsistencies in academic performance. This mom asked, “Could she be ADD?”

These ADHD, Inattentive Presentation warning signs (This is what we used to call ADD) showed a valid concern and lead her to trust her instincts and seek out professional help in understanding her child.  She felt like her daughter might being manipulative but yet she did not want to scold her for something that she might not always be able to control. Mom also wanted to understand treatment options if it was ADHD, Inattentive Presentation.

Assessing Attention

Our school neuropsychological evaluation tested many key areas of attention including her sustained attention, attention capacity, impulse control, flexible thinking, and processing speed. The child also completed a self-esteem assessment to gain understanding about how she felt about herself. Emotional health is important for reaching one’s potential.

First Factor

The assessing attention results revealed two factors which contributed to her challenges. First, she had slow processing speed. This helped explained her “huh” types of behaviors. She must put in lots of mental effort when learning new content. This drained her mental energy and contributed to her difficulty maintain attention. Once her mental fuel was used, she tuned out, disengaged from learning and showed avoidance behaviors.

Second Factor

The second factor was indeed a deficit in sustained attention. This was validated through interactive tests of attention, a computerized test of attention, and by having others complete behavioral rating scales.  We discussed the different treatment options, and this mom decided to first work on increasing her underlying processing speed prior to considering other treatments. This mom also planned to share the results with her school to give understanding and obtain accommodations.

Need to Talk?

Call 561.625.4125 if you would like to discuss your child and your concerns for possible dyslexia, ADHD, autism, or anxiety.