Learning Disorders and Attention Deficit Disorder with or without Hyperactivity (ADHD)
Learning disorders, including verbal, visual, aural, and non verbal processing disorders, as well as disorders affecting mathematical learning and reading are lifelong problems that begin in childhood. People do not “grow out” of learning disorders and may require medication and/or tutoring to help optimize their ability to acquire new skills.
Others need professional organizers to help with executive function which includes organizing papers, materials, and information. Their work areas may be chaotic, disorderly, and they frequently live with paper messages stuck to walls, computers, and bulletin boards to help with organization and to remind them of tasks. The struggle to manage and organize can be exhausting and efficiency problems threaten employment. These clumsy adaptations are manifestations of executive function deficits which are very common in ADHD.
CBBS offers testing and treatment for attention deficit disorder with and without hyperactivity for adolescents and young and middle aged adults. This disorder is most commonly discovered in childhood and illuminated in educational settings but can be an undiagnosed problem in adults that accounts for inability to focus, a lack of organization at home and at work, impaired executive function, and frequent arguments with noticeable difficulty in accepting criticism.
Adolescents with ADHD and/or Learning Disorders
One of the most serious consequences of LD’s and ADHD are their negative impacts on learning and school performance. For a large part of the first 18 years of life, children and adolescents are submerged in schools where education and socialization are the major focal points of daily life. These disorders have the potential to create true handicaps for affected people.
Too often young people are labeled as lazy, distracted, and immature rather than identified as having learning disorders or attention deficit disorder. Both of these conditions require medical and educational treatment along with special accommodations at school to help level the playing field. In that way, those affected students can better perform on tests so that the score or grade more closely represents their mastery of the material.
Furthermore, standardized tests, used to assess qualifications for entry into college and graduate school, will be frustrating and misrepresent intelligence and ability to learn if taken without appropriate accommodations to compensate for underlying learning and attention disorders.
CBBS is fully equipped and experienced in performing formal neuropsychological testing to determine the nature and extent of problems. We are highly experienced in writing official letters to schools and test boards to formally request accommodations based on bona fide neuropsychological test results.
In addition to creating barriers to learning, the gravest danger of these neuropsychological disorders is the havoc they cause in a young person’s life. These negative experiences wind up injuring self esteem which can be a lifelong scar from untreated cognitive and attention disorders. When learning is very difficult and results of tests and written work are disappointing, many people give up. They often turn to alcohol or drugs to ease the pain of daily life or begin to experiment with anti-social or non conforming behavior to create a self image that feels special and non conventional.
Early diagnosis and intervention with specialized education and biological treatments allows young people with these disorders to feel far better as they begin to achieve at higher levels. Furthermore, they realize that the difficulties they experience in learning or simply focusing attention are not due to flaws in their character. The problems are neurological and treatment can have a large positive impact if it is consistent. This change of perspective is essential for parents, teachers, and affected children to help create a positive environment which no longer labels these young people in negative or stereotyped ways.
Long Term Effects of Untreated ADHD
ADHD and learning (cognitive processing) disorders also affect relationships because of fluctuating mood and irritability. Furthermore, life management skills, emotional regulation, and self esteem injuries get in the way of healthy communication and developing the skills to build trust relationships.
Self esteem injuries are in many respects the most serious damage that ADHD causes. As the result of being chastised by teachers, parents, and peers, young people who are untreated wind up feeling stupid, worthless, and ashamed. They are defensive and easily get involved in arguments or conflicts whenever they feel they are being accused of making mistakes or of failing to perform adequately at home or at work. Often, people who are untreated are prone to arguments as their own bad feelings, anger, and negative emotional arousal quickly spread to others with whom they interact. Many people are in denial of their own wounds and see their reactions simply as logical responses to those who unjustly accuse or deride them for inadequacies or flawed work.
People with ADHD often have special relationship problems. Repeated forgetfulness, failing to complete tasks or to deliver on promises often creates feelings of insignificance and neglect in the partners of adults with ADHD. This leads to anger which creates a reactive, blaming relationship. In such relationships, each partner argues that if the other would simply change or act in a caring and reasonable fashion, then everything would be fine. Such arguments and blaming are endless since they are circular. Personal responsibility is weakened and relationships become dysfunctional and disconnected. Heated conversations become repetitious, resembling pre-written scripts where people argue about reality through recurrent accusations that provoke anger and resentment.
Adults with ADHD
We frequently discover adults who have untreated, undiagnosed, attention deficit problems. They were overlooked and misunderstood as young people but made it through a stormy teenage period and became productive adults. However, in at least 60% of people, attention problems do not go away though hyperactivity subsides. Unless they are treated they continue to have problems as a result and may never reach their full potential.
And these problems make work more difficult as well as impair common multi-tasking requirements of modern life. Today more than ever, people must juggle responsibilities at home and at work both as adults and parents. Persistent ADHD can also create emotional instability and many people are not diagnosed with attention deficit until they seek treatment for depression or anxiety problems which are more frequently experienced and easier to recognize.
Unfortunately, many doctors miss the diagnosis in adults and focus on the presenting anxiety or depression without seeing the symptoms of persistent attention deficit disorder. Most psychiatrists agree that in order to make the diagnosis in adults, a clear history has to be established that the disorder existed during the person’s childhood.
Even though education and structured learning are not a regular part of an affected adult’s life, the treatment of attention deficit can bring a great deal of satisfaction. Persistent attention deficit is still quite debilitating and can cause chaos because of poor executive function, distraction at work and impulsivity resulting in relationship problems, tensions, and self-inflicted financial problems.
There is a silver lining that many ADHD sufferers have and that is the ability to “hyper-focus.” This is usually restricted to an activity or work interest and can lead to enormous success and achievement even though the person still has persistent symptoms of the disorder.
Treatment for ADHD is quite effective and many different medications, organizational help, educational help, and psychological therapies are available from trained health professionals with experience in the field. CBBS has on site help and access to a variety of specialized resources in the West Los Angeles area.
