ADD Moms

ADD or ADHD and school performance is kind of like oil and water - they don’t mix. Although it seems as though most people with Attention Deficit Disorder are very intelligent, their school performance (or grades) rarely reflect it. This can set up a lot of frustration for parents and teachers, and for those that don’t understand ADD/ADHD, it can often lead them to believe that the student just isn’t trying. Well, maybe they aren’t.

Let me explain: kids with ADD know they’re smart. They’ve been able to get through school for years and get good grades just on their intelliegence alone.

At some point, though, school starts overwhelming them and their grades start to slip. In an effort to bring their grades up, they may try harder. The problem is, they don’t know how to try harder. They’ve never learned effective study skills, even the most basic skills that other kids pick up without trying, and they don’t know how to take notes properly. Reading the material the night before class in order to prepare for it? A foreign concept. They may have tried it at one time, when they were much younger, but as soon as they realized that they could get to the end of a page and not have any idea of what they had read, they stopped. What was the use?

The inability to focus, concentrate, and pay attention on a consistent basis is the underlying problem here. Sometimes, too, their very intelligence trips up people with ADD or ADHD. It wouldn’t be unheard of for them to be the smartest person in the class (including the instructor) and to find the lessons dull and uninteresting; too simplistic to capture their attention or challenge their minds.

If the class is so easy, then, why aren’t they passing it? Probably because they either aren’t doing the assignments at all, or because it is so easy for them, they assume that they can get the work done in very little time. They end up, of course, underestimating the time they’ll need, and then either don’t do the assignment, or they complete only a portion of it. Factor in the probability that the homework will actually arrive at school on time, and suddenly the picture gets much clearer.

More challenging classes may help to motivate them and engage them in the learning process, but you’re not likely to be able to put them into more challenging classes if they don’t pass the ones they’re in now.

So, what’s the solution? Well, first, it’s not one solution, but many. A series of them, applied slowly and reinforced often, adjusted when necessary, to help fill in the gaps, and ultimately, help the student succeed, not only in school, but in life itself. That’s where coaching comes in. Along with medication, it is proven to be the most effective method of treating ADD/ADHD symptoms, and of shining a postive light on ADD & ADHD and school performance.

Note: I have written a series of posts on my blog that offer some concrete guidelines to address the issues of ADHD and school performance. Click on “Home” at the top of the page, and look for them in the April 2007 archives. I intend to continue offering such tips and suggestions as I develop this site. Subscribe to the site (top right page) in order to stay posted.