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Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) - Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is characterized by a prolonged history of inattention, impulsiveness, poor concentration, and variable amounts of hyperactivity, all normal human characteristics. All of us are forgetful and inattentive at times, become nervous and fidgety, and are somewhat impulsive. ADD is not the presence of these behaviors, but a matter of the degree. People with ADD have an overabundance of these characteristics.
In the U.S., over 3 million youth have been diagnosed with ADD. The American Medical Association states, “ADD is one of the best researched disorders in psychiatry…the overall data on its validity are far more compelling than for most mental disorders and even many medical conditions.” Research indicates that ADD seems to impact both boys and girls in equal number. The consequences of this disorder on learning and academic/vocational progress can be devastating.
Stimulants were found to have a calming effect on disruptive behavior as early as 1937. In the 1980’s the advent of brain scan technology definitively explained the paradox of using stimulants to slow down constantly moving children. Neuropsychologists identified weaker activity levels in the brain’s frontal lobes resulting in poor self-regulation, planning, and ability to attend to tasks. Stimulant medications strengthen the frontal lobes by releasing dopamine, a natural stimulant and neurotransmitter.
A child or adult with ADD may use constant motion and risk taking activities to attempt to energize the brain. In the case of routine schoolwork, lack of sufficient stimulation results in little sustained effort and inconsistent academic performance. Students may make mistakes on simple problems but excel in challenging tasks. Boredom is often mistaken for poor sustained attention when the task is no longer unique.
Often, symptoms of attention or learning deficits are misunderstood for laziness, lack of motivation, or limited intelligence. Memorization is excessively difficult for ADD students. Many feel inadequate or dumb, avoid homework, need several reminders to get started, and lose motivation through frustration.
But those with ADD are neither dumb nor lazy! Most with ADD simply lack specific cognitive strengths and strategies that make learning easier. Attention deficits can have serious consequences: failure, dropout, depression, conduct disorders, unsuccessful relationships, workplace underachievement, and substance abuse. Low self-esteem and depression often accompany ADD due to a sense of chronic failure and underachievement.
Based on neuroscientific research, attention is a cognitive skill set that can be improved and developed. Too often ADD is treated with accommodations like removing distractions, reducing workload, or isolating students into quiet areas. This may allow better performance temporarily but does nothing to develop the cognitive skill of attention long-term. That would be like treating poor vision by having someone read to you instead of getting glasses, contacts, or having surgery. Your future would be ill served.
Can attention be developed? Neuroscience shows that by targeting and stimulating the underactive region of the brain responsible for the characteristics of inattention (the prefrontal cortex), attention can be strengthened. Therefore, the correct approach is the opposite of the usual accommodations used.
Attention develops when a person performs a task requiring attention while exposed to structured distracting stimuli. This designed intensity and distraction is at the core of cognitive skills training aimed at improving attention. Unlike biofeedback or neurofeedback that simply identifies underactive brainwaves, cognitive training alters brain structure to strengthen cognitive function. Cognitive training is active rather than passive and is The Brain Gym’s approach to addressing ADD and other learning challenges. Appropriate training, not accommodation, is the best solution.
Adapted from Unmasking Attention Difficulties by Dr. Russell Griffiths, a Licensed Educational Psychologist and professor in the School of Psychology and School Counseling at Alliant International University in Irvine, CA
The three main characteristics of ADD/ADHD are:
1. Inattention
• difficulty organizing tasks

• difficulty staying on task
  (quick loss of interest) and  
   maintaining effort

• difficulty with transitions or
  prioritizing tasks, following
  instructions, and completing
   school work
  
•  problems with misplacing
   things needed for tasks
  
• becoming easily distracted by
  extraneous stimuli
 
•  difficulty remembering daily 
   activities
2. Hyperactivity
•  experiences minor
   motor restlessness,
   such as fidgeting of hands

•  has difficulty remaining
   seated and talks excessively

•  has difficulty regulating
    restlessness to situational
    demands

•  has difficulty channeling
    physical restlessness in
    productive directions

•   has difficulty listening to
    others
3. Impulsiveness
•  speaks or acts without
   considering the
   consequences

•  has difficulty taking turns

•  has feelings of being
   out-of-control, which can
   result in obsessive
   compulsive behaviors

•  has need for high
   stimulus activity
For more information or to schedule a screening, contact:

The Brain Gym, Yardley Area                                   The Brain Gym, Reading Area
267.467.9125                                                                 484.269.8969
elaine@thebraingym.net                                             kristencarder@yahoo.com
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