The Causes Of Learning Difficulties In Children With ADHD

Specific deficits in information processing in the brain are the commonest causes of academic difficulties in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. For many children with the disorder academic difficulty is not confined to a particular subject but occurs across a number of areas of study. A child suffering from the disorder may under achieve at school for a variety of reasons. Learning difficulties may occur in children both with and without behavior problems. Even when behavior problems are present the learning deficit may be related more to impairment in information processing than the behavior problem.

Specific deficits in information processing in the brain are the common causes of academic difficulties in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and can affect any area of school performance but language based subject are most commonly involved. Essay and story writing is typically poor in children with the disorder. These children may have good ideas that they can express oral yet they find it extremely difficult to put their thoughts down on paper in a coherent way. Their attempts usually consist of poorly expressed written work. Spelling and reading comprehension are also often poor. Some children with have difficulties with speaking. They find it hard to find the appropriate word when speaking and may say an incorrect word as a result. For some weakness in mathematics is unrelated to impairment but rather relate to deficits, such as poor working memory. Academic difficulty is not confined to a part but occurs across a number of areas of study. When the problems become apparent behavioral problems may encounter difficulties from their earliest school years. However, many children may manage the less demanding primary school years.

The combination of puberty and the increasing demands of high school often cause problems and difficulties worsen. The disorder can also surface for the first time in high school. The causes of learning difficulties are:

• Poor concentration is common in some children with with the disorder they absorb and retain very little information in the classroom because they are so easily distracted. They gaze out of window they stare into space and their thoughts are far removed. Such a child may misunderstand the teacher's instructions and the lesson. His diary may be empty or filled with doodling and other scribbling with the lessons in the class he may disturb others by talking.
• He can be slow so he is so easily sidetracked such a child often finds it impossible to maintain the concentration required to read a book. Some children can concentrate reasonably well on their schedule work but lack attention to detail. This becomes a more significant problem the child advances through school and inferences become more important.
• The impulsiveness of many children can interfere with learning inability to reflect and to plan ahead leads to carelessness that can be a significant handicap in solving mathematical problems. The child's work may be compromised by a failure to stop and think. Impulsive children will answer a question without first giving it careful consideration.

Working Memory Impairment

The poor working memory of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a very important cause of learning impairment. Poor working memory leads to difficulties in carrying out plenty of instructions and in solving mathematical problems that require logical thinking. Progress in high school requires many hours of tedious study for a rewards that may not be enjoyed until several years later. To succeed in high school they must be prepared to defer immediate gratification for later intangible reward such as marks on his report card. If a child is able to perform any of the actions involved in forming letters in isolation, but cannot carry out these actions in an uninterrupted sequence when writing the difficulty is known as motor dyspraxia. This will have a negative impact on their schoolwork particularly in their high school years when teachers expect and demand a great deal of self sufficiency from their pupils. Even bright children without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder will obtain poor marks if they forget to bring work and books home, fail to plan ahead for projects and study and fail to hand in their work for marking.

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are often poorly coordinated and are clumsy when manipulating objects . Handwriting is often untidy with children with the disorder and if a child is able to perform any of the actions involved in forming letters in isolation but cannot carry out these actions in an uninterrupted sequence when writing the difficulty is known as motor dyspraxia. Dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have specific difficulty in learning that interferes with a child’s ability to read. It occurs because of dyslexia can be an isolated problem in a child.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder more than not coexists with other disorders such as anxiety disorder and learning disorders. In the preschool to school age parents and caregivers need to act in unison to reward appropriate behavior. Medicating preschoolers with stimulants can be and called for if there are serious safety issues. Treatment with medication tends to be associated with more side effects and less effectiveness in the population of school age children in fact the first line treatment option for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is dietary changes such as eliminating additives or supplementing with essential nutrients.