Posts

Could My Daughter Be ADD? Assessing Attention

/in /by

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.

Girls With ADHD Are Different From Boys With ADHD

/in /by

Girls With ADHD/ADD

The majority of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD) are boys.  Boys are generally identified more frequently than girls are because they are more active, always on the go, and demonstrate acting-out behavior more noticeable than girls.  Girls are often overlooked because they are quieter, are taught to conform, and are less likely to demonstrate acting out behavior.  Signals that your daughter may have ADHD or underlying problems include school phobia, low self-esteem, poor organizational skills, messiness, sleep problems, high intelligence and creativity with low academic performance, and messy appearance.

One Girl With ADHD

I recently worked with a family that was concerned about their daughter because she was very forgetful, her grades were slipping, and she was not feeling good about herself.  We worked together to do a comprehensive school neuropsychological evaluation and determined that there was inattentive type ADHD (ADD) as well as some processing difficulties that were making learning much harder.  This girl was very intelligent so she had been able to get by on her intelligence but the academic demands of middle school finally caught up with her and she became overwhelmed.  Before coming to me, her parents thought she just was not trying and was getting lazy but it turned out she really had legitimate needs.

You Suspect Your Daughter has ADD/ADHD

If your daughter is struggling and you are unsure if there are underlying problems, consider these important questions: (1) Are these behaviors things you have noticed for a while?  Are they interfering with life functioning at home or at school?,(2) Are the behaviors a continuous problem, not just a response to a temporary situation like final exams or a teacher conflict? (3) Do the behaviors occur in several settings or only in one specific place like the home or in school?  If you answered ‘yes’ to most of these questions, my evaluation may help you and your daughter.  I give parents strategies to use at home and in school that can help your daughter.

When you are ready to help your daughter call me or fill out my contact form.