ADD and Poor Memory | ADHD Information

hi

my son of 8yrs old has add, language disorder.

his main problems are concentration and poor memory

he does not seem to retain very much academic information, i suppose due to the poor concentration

he does not take meds

can anyone explain why the poor memory or is there anything to help

he is so academically behind but has the capacity if it wasnt for the concentration and poor memory

he even forgets the dogs name sometimes and we have had her for 2 yrs

any ideas anyone

many thanks

ADHD can interfere with retention of information and there are other disorders that can cause this as well.

My youngest has ADHD and learning disorders. Before treatment, she could not  retain her spelling words. She would get about 5 words correct out of 20 after studying all week. Now she gets all or most all of the words correct. She even gets them correct when she sees them on later pre-tests.

Here is a resource for helping kids learn:

http://www.schwablearning.org/resources.aspx?g=4&s=1

My 7 year old daughter - ADHD has similar issues. Just last week, I had her tested. Although most scores were average to high average, she scored low on memory and language processing. She is a great reader, but has difficulty with putting into words the details of what she just read. The doctor who tested her said he will get in touch with the school regarding what she will need. Speech/language therapy should help her.

Here in the US, schools are required to provide what is needed to help a child succeed academically. The doctor mentioned that the language therapy important will involve helping her access the part of the brain where the info is stored so that she can then retrieve and communicate the information.

In the interim, I have found it helpful to have a list of things she needs to do to get ready for things such as soccer and school. The "get ready for soccer" lis has been laminated and she is to keep it in her bag where she keeps her soccer shoes. She does VERY well with these lists. A lot less frustration for her and for us.  

A specail Ed teacher once described an ADHD childs brain as functioning like a file cabinet drawer that is continually opening and closing. They only grasp the information that falls in when the drawer is open. Imagine having to try to fill in the pieces on your own. It is so hard for them.

ADHD is thought to have a large genetic component. I see it in several of the family members around me. In some it is mild and actually a benefit and in others it has been an unrecognized cause of failure.

ADHD has been recognized for a long time:

http://www.focusonadhd.com/about_ADHD/ADHD_history.jhtml

It is just that things have changed and the emphasis on an education is more pronounced today. My dad dropped out of school at 15 and worked on a road crew building highways and was a rodeo bull rider; at 18 he joined the navy. He later had to take college classes to advance in his job or he would be stuck with menial jobs for life (not very interesting for him). This worked in the 50s, but it does not work for many now. School failure and drop out is high for kids with untreated ADHD (along with other things that can happen).

Take your time and you will find the path that fits you and your son.

My duaghter before meds could only get about 5 out of 20 spelling words correct after studying all week. On meds she gets 24 or 25 out of 25 correct and even gets most of them correct on the next pre test that they appear on.

Her reading comprehension is much better now as well, she understands what she reads and does well when tested on the material (she use to be 2 years below reading level).

Before meds, we had to put in her IEP that the teacher would list her homework in the planner and we have a spare set of books at home; otherwise we never got the homework done because we did not know what it was or did not have the book or worksheet. Now (it has been a year on meds) we dropped that from the IEP and she writes down her own assignments and gets them home. There is also so much less homework now that she finishes her classwork in class and some of her homework in class as well.

My daughter is gifted and has learning disorders and ADHD and it seems that helping her with the ADHD has helped her find ways to compensate for the learning disorders more easily.

thanks very much for the reply, its inspiring

i just dont understand why there are so may children with these difficulties especially add, where does it come from, how and why.

i suppose its the never ending question

its all so hard to understand, having a broken limb or something else to diagnose is all so easy in comparison to add and the brain.

why cant it be easier and not so scary

never mind.......onwards and upwards x

 

My son has trouble with "working memory", as his neuropsych calls it.  Medication has helped a lot with focus/attention, but he still needs a little extra help in things that involve the brain holding more than one thought at a time (like remember what he's read and the question that's being asked).

A friend of mine who is a special ed teacher told me to break his reading down into chunks, and then ask him specific questions about what he's read, write down his answers for him, and then when he's done he has a summary, in his own words, that he can use to help answer the questions.  I take a colored marker and make a small dot every 3 sentances or so- that gives him a visual que to stop so I can ask him a question.  It's time consuming, but it's helped him a ton this year.  At first he gave me a hard time about doing it (he hates anything new) but now he brings me the reading homework on his own and tells me to "do the dot thing". 

Stimulants have helped my son tremendously; it seems to help him
organize his thoughts and gives him a two second delay so that he can
retrieve information and respond properly.
   Last Sunday night when his dad brought him back to my house, he tried
to get him to tell me about the puppy they adopted over the weekend. His
meds had worn off hours before. His dad had to keep shaking him and
prompting him to keep telling, because he would drift off every few words
and stop talking and stare off into space. It kind of looked like he was
forgetting, but he just couldn't stay with us and retrieve the words and
say them, and forget about any eye contact! I know that his teacher would
have been shocked to see this; she thinks she has seen him at his worst,
but never like that. Medicine keeps him here on earth with us, pretty
much.

 

my sons memory is so bad that 95% of what he reads he forgets immedietly

here in spain at the age of 8 he gets alot of txt to read and then has to answer questions, the proble is that even if you get him to repeat a long sentence he cant remember it.

he not only has add but a language disorder also and in school he has to learn everything in spanish and valenciano and then come home and speak english, so as you can imagine it is very difficult for him but he rarely moans and likes his school

i would be interested to see if anybody has noted a better memory on the stimulant meds.

not that i want to go down that line

thanks for the help

maria 

It is so interesting that you brought this up because I have been
wondering recently about how memory issues fit into ADHD... my 6 year
old has problems with short-term memory. Like many kids, he can
remember every detail of his most interesting lessons, but sometimes I
know he was taught a specific thing and he has absolutely no
recollection. If he remembers the lesson, he will remember everything,
but if not... it was like he wasn't even in the room. I have seen classwork,
in his handwriting, but then later he will be completely unfamiliar with the
topic, and drive himself to tears because he has no idea what to do, even
when I show him a paper where he did it perfectly. He also forgets names,
but then so do I.

He writes himself notes to remember things (that are important to HIM)
and once when he was in preschool and getting in trouble for aggression,
he gravely asked me for a Post-it one morning and wrote "no hiting" and
stuck it on his lunchbox- that just killed me.

Glad to know we are not alone...