ADD Student

Archive for September, 2007

No, AD/HD is not considered a learning disability. It is considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, but not specifically learning based. This is because Attention Deficit Disorder affects far more of a person’s life than their ability to learn.

AD/HD is almost always accompanied by what are known as co-morbidities. A co-morbidity is a secondary disability that occurs along with the primary disability. Typical co-morbidities for AD/HD can include learning disabilities.

That’s a hard question to answer, because Special Ed can mean different things in different school systems. Many parents falsely equate Special Ed with low intelligence and fear that a diagnosis of AD/HD means that their child has a low IQ.

If the school does suggest Special Education for your child, find out why and how they think it would be beneficial. Some kids with AD/HD are lacking basic skill sets that can be remedied with some Special Ed assistance.

Get the facts and make your decision based on that. Don’t let a label interfere with your child’s education.

Mornings can be really rough for ADDers, for a number of reasons:

• ADDers have trouble transitioning from one thing to another, like going from being asleep to being awake.
• Transitioning from being awake to going to sleep the night before can be just as difficult, and can affect the amount of sleep the person gets.
• ADDers are often restless sleepers, almost as though the hyperactivity has carried over into sleeping hours. The result is that it may affect the quality of sleep.

Here are some things you can try to minimize morning battles:

• Make sure that the amount and quality of sleep per night is sufficient.
• If getting to sleep is a problem, you could try herbal teas, a soothing bath or other relaxation method, or even a tape or sound machine designed to help aid sleep. Take a look, too, at what’s going on in the hour or so before bedtime.
• If restless sleep is a problem, you may have to do some detective work to see what might help. Altering the temperature of the room, changing the bedclothes or sheets, or maybe adding a sound machine might help.
• In the morning, try giving the first dose of medication about 30 minutes before your ADDer needs to get up. Wake them up long enough to swallow a pill, then let them go back to sleep. You may find that they are easier to wake when the time arises.
• Talk to your ADDer and find out what they object to about getting up, or perhaps about the current way they wake up. I think all of us would prefer to get up on our own time rather than the alarm clock’s, but we don’t often have that choice. Maybe your ADDer would be happier if they could wake up gradually, or if they could wake up to music instead of a buzzer. There are all kinds of creative ideas out there these days for waking up, including clocks that use sounds and smells to wake you up, and one that literally shakes the bed. Do a search online, or email me if you want suggestions.
• Prepare the night before. Get as much ready the night before for the coming day as you can. It will make your mornings much easier and less rushed.