- Inattention in school is not just ADHD
- When children struggle with learning, and the way information is being presented, they will often get off-task, clown around, withdraw or act out.
- There are many issues that cause inattention in school including: dyslexia (trouble with reading), slow processing speed or dysnomia (trouble recalling known information), dyscalculia (trouble with math) and dysgraphia (trouble with handwriting, and forming thoughts to be put into writing).
- Children who are not able to process instruction as delivered, feel left out, misunderstood, and they will often feel “dumb”
- They see other students understanding and getting on task, and they are still trying to figure out what they are supposed to do. This causes embarrassment, anger, shame and anxiety.
Dr. Fuiko Hoeft, PH.D and MD has researched this topic and has found:
- Dyslexia is frequently misdiagnosed as ADHD
- Studies confirm ADHD medicine does NOT improve reading ability
- 67% of kids with ADHD have at least one more co-occurring learning or mental health issue.
- 45% of kids with ADHD also have a learning disability with 65% struggling with writing, 32% struggling with reading and 30% struggling with math.
- Dyslexia and ADHD share 17 symptoms in common including: not being able to follow a series of directions, messy rooms and backpacks, poor handwriting, poor capitalization and spelling, and problems with reading comprehension.
Any child who shows attention problems in school should be given a full educational evaluation by an educational psychologist that not only evaluates a child’s ability to pay attention and executive function, but also their reading and math skills, listening skills, writing, spelling and visual-spatial learning abilities.
