Reading and ADHD

Hello all,
I am sending out a quick query to my fellow ADHD sufferers. I am looking for any quality resources and research that specifically addresses reading skill acquisition and comprehension and ADHD.

I remember having a lot of trouble with learning to read/spell as a child. Not sure if this was just plain stupidity or part of the ADHD thing. I still do not have very good phonic/word attack skills. I certainly had trouble with keeping my eyes and mind focused as I read, affecting reading fluency and ultimately comprehension. I never really noticed how challenging reading was for me until I started taking Adderall. The medication has definately improved my focus and comprehension. The phonics skills---well luckily I've tried to learn these along with my children. (Not sure where I was when the... silent e at the end of a word, usually makes the middle vowel sound long... concept was presented, LOL).

Anyway, I am not a reading specialist so I don't know 1) if these are two separate reading issues, 2) if one or both is common in ADHD patients, and 3) if there are specific reading techniques designed to help ADHD sufferers in acquiring the phonic skills or aid in focusing/fluency without medication.

If you've seen anything while doing your own review of literature please share it here. Also, if you've personally had similar issues with reading I would be interested in how you overcame them.

In my case, I tend to rely on word recognition (memorization) and context to figure out an unfamilar words. Luckily now computerize thesaurses and spellcheckers enable me to expanded my written vocabulary. If I need to speak an unfamilar word, I usually have to look it up and use the pronuciation key to figure out how to say it. I really like the online dictionaries that offer an audio pronuciation feature. Unfortunately, these methods work for me as a professional, but are considered by teachers as cheating. I'm looking for ways to assist my youngest who is struggling a little bit.

Thank you

Have you tried a google search? I found a lot of stuff.

Reading comprehension abilities of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

http://jad.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/1/3/173

A. L. Trout, T. Ortiz Lienemann, R. Reid, and M. H. Epstein
A Review of Non-Medication Interventions to Improve the Academic Performance of Children and Youth With ADHD
Remedial and Special Education, August 1, 2007; 28(4): 207 - 226.
http://rse.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/28/4/207

Language Disorders and ADHD

http://www.addiss.co.uk/languagedisorders.htm

After posting this I did start my own library search, saw a lot of articles connecting both issues to ADHD. Unfortunately, every time I read the words learning disabled, language disorder, special education... I start to get upset.I know I have to learn tolerance for these labels, but I needed to withdraw from it a little bit.I let these labels affect me and my perspective the same way that let my ped doc's immediate assumption that my son has a behavioral problem piss me off. My son does not misbehave and he does really well in school--he is NOT disabled. There are just some things I see that he is struggling with and may need a different approach.Unfortunately, if you speak up and ask for help, attitudes change and labels start being used and I guess I then get pissed.

I know what you mean. I do not like labels. A week or two ago, I met with my teenage daughter's therapist, who told me she was "very depressed." I really withdrew from that label/diagnosis. Inside I was saying these words to her: (Depressed? You've been seeing her for one and half years and now you tell me? Her doctor said she wasn't depressed--what do you know? You only have a master's in therapy and specialize in touchy-feely art therapy.) I'm still coming to terms with that label, and wondering what it really means for my daughter, as well as her treatment. I have often felt my daughter has some sort of organic imbalance, dating back years and years and years. But somehow I really latched onto my doctor's words that she was not depressed and am realizing I was holding them up as some sort of shield. On the other hand, I felt a huge sense of relief that someone finally recognized that something is going on with my daughter, as I have had this nagging, nagging belief that she falls outside the range of normalcy. That's hard to write. So yes, chaotic, I understand about labels.

And your child's opportunities become curtailed and teachers start having really different expectations, which can be harmful. I understand, I understand, I understand.

If you do want your son to undergo any sort of testing for learning capabilities in the future, I would recommend this be done outside of the school system and not shared with the schools, unless YOU choose it to be. (Do you suspect your son might have ADHD?)

I too am no reading expert, but there are some things you can try. It might be worth picking up a book on reading disabilities (sorry) and boning up on current strategies for success. I think you could probably go browse in the teaching/learning section of a big bookstore affiliated with a university (not the textbook section) and find a good starting resource. Also, it is not necessary for readers to learn phonics in order to become very facile readers. That approach does not click with some students and others are better suited to them. I personally strongly endorse phonics, but I know it is not the only game in town. I think "learning style" is also important. Is your son a visual learner, auditory learning, kinesthetic learner, etc.? I think for students who are strong auditory learners, there are things they can do "out loud" to help them learn to read. I can guess what some of those might be, but I don't want to suggest anything specifically because I am not an expert. Just as an example of what helps someone who is a visual/print learner, but not an auditory learner (myself!), my comprehension of what someone is saying is improved TREMENDOUSLY by taking written notes. That's a simple strategy. There may be similar little things your son can try to help himself, IF you know what his specific learning needs are.

Conferring with an independent reading expert (not school affiliated) might really be helpful.

Good luck.

i dont know about anything else i have four children oldest never learnt to read has add and behavioural problems , second child is dyslexic, and third child is adhd and borderline dyslexic, youngest well shes average

so before you get worked up get tested for dyslexic there are lots of ppl that have this out there, and add/adhd some famous ppl

Katheryn, I think part of my emotional to this issue stems a great deal from how I was treated as a child by parents and teachers. It is not as much about the fact that he struggles with something. As for dyslexic, I do not believe this issues support this condition. I believe his difficulty fluency is more related to only taking the time to see the first few letters of a word and impulsively making an assumption about what the word is without looking at all of the letters. Also, I think he just has trouble keeping his eyes moving on the line of text he is reading. I know when I read mind sometimes gets out of sync with my eyes or as I am reading it will float off on some tangent. I will say that I taking the Adderall has helped a lot with this issue and given me the ability to sit for longer periods of time. I just really don't want my 9 yr old on medication.

Sunrise, yes I think my son has some characteristics of ADHD and I worry that I am just resistance to accepting that he has ADHD, in the same way that I resisted my own dx. Having said that I by no means think that he is disabled or in need of labeling by the school district. He is currently in an advanced placement classroom, he struggles a little to keep pace, but overall he is doing great. His fluency scores have remained staggant for the past few assessments, and I guess now he has moved into the at risk level. I am not a reading specialist, but I've recognized his difficultly in this area for several years now. I've raised my concerns but was always told....he is above the benchmark so he doesn't have a problem. Unlike, me who was monitoring his lack of progress over time, I guess his teachers just cared about some benchmark cut-off.

Anyway, over the years I have done my own intervention; maybe that is what kept him above their radar for so long. I've enrolled him in reading enrichment activities outside of the school system and spent a lot of time working with him at home. Unfortunately, he is to the age where he doesn't just accept what mom signs him up for. He started asking, "why do I have to go to reading class on Saturdays, none of my other friends have to go?" This year in particular it has been difficult for me to provide him with additional support, without making him aware that he might have a problem. I don't want him thinking he has a problem or that he is dumb. I would much rather have him thinking: I can handle any academic challenge. I may just need to be more creative and work a little harder than others to do it, and that's OK. Unfortunately, the school system doesn't seem to promote this belief. I am afraid they are going to simply tell me to move him to a lower ability class and let him feel good about getting 100s on his tests. I believe most children are capable of much more than than the marginal level work they are given.

Sorry this post seems to have gotten off the ADHD topic. The bottom line is ... I'm a successful professional who happens to have ADHD. Dispite my childhood teachers' expectations and what my SAT scores predicted, I've earned degrees, published maniscripts, presented in my field, and done many things that I was told I couldn't do.

BWT, one very simple technique that has helped with maintaining eye focus while reading is to use a ruler to keep your place on the page. Neither of my kids can tolerate following along with the finger. But for my youngest the ruler method is tolerable and doesn't add yet another distraction.

I used to have a much harder time with staying focused while reading than I do now. Skipping paragraphs, reading and re-reading sentences repeatedly, and not following through the reading until the very end. This became a huge problem when it came to college-level coursework. It also affects writing of course. I have been able to overcome most of that over a two year period of time (which was only after I started taking medication for ADHD). I always carry a grammar book to help with writing for assignments and such. I have dictionaries and a thesaurus with me, which I carry with me on campus if needed. I use the online dictionaries a lot, and every single word I don't understand or don't quite get how to spell I look up.

There is a program called Kurzweil 3000 that provides software for all ages (adults too) and different types. I think it is expensive if your school doesn't have a program for paying for it though. I have a trial version that I experimented with, and it's not bad from what I can tell. I haven't played with it very much, so I can't evaluate if it would make a huge difference for me. I might try it again next semester. Is your child enrolled in an IEP (Individual Education Plan)? Those came along too late for me, so I don't know if they are really great or not. My personal experience in elementary and middle schools were that the special programming they had was usually only designed to gear students with LD or ADHD or whatever toward certain occupations, instead of helping them to excel--but maybe it is different now. As I understand it, IEP's are now mandatory for students discovered to have academic problems related to disability, ADHD, and health issues, and that the state/school pays for their implementation.

Does he have ADHD and/or a specific LD? Has he been tested for dyslexia and other learning disabilities? The other thing to look into is if he has a hearing and/or speech problem. I had speech difficulties that were related to my inability to pay attention (which also meant I didn't listen). I went to speech therapy in grade school, and that really helped. Sometimes it might be due to lack of interest... maybe something can your son so fired up about his reading topic that he is able to be engaged and enjoy reading about it?

You too huh? Made me very passionate about education though. It's a really good thing I didn't believe a damn thing they told me though, as I knew better. Mostly it made me an angry child and teenager though. I'm better now--at least I'm not breaking things anymore

If your son does have ADHD, medication can make a gigantic difference if symptoms severe enough to warrant it. There is also the option of therapy for the social issues and low self-esteem and/or anxiety that might be present. Do you have a specific It's worthwhile to get him assessed for any learning disabilities or ADHD while he's still young. Stigma is one thing and can be dealt with, but if undiagnosed and untreated, it can cause more problems as time goes on, especially when it comes to college.

That said, I am not a fan AT ALL of the public school systems approach to issues like ADHD and LD. I do not believe that just because a program for ADHD/LD EXISTS, that it is useful or worthwhile. In fact, some of them do nothing more than label, classify, and segregate school children that they have identified as having "problems". My elementary school experience with that was very disinheartening, but that was in the 1980's. I think it's always worth giving a program/treatment/IEP a fair shot though. Some schools will be better than others, and you as a parent have the ultimate control anyway. My parents were very uneducated and uninvolved when it came to such things, but your son is VERY lucky in that you are highly educated about ADHD and related issues, and quite proactive. I wish I was so lucky!

I wish more people thought as you do. People are so self-limiting at times, so willing to simply accept mediocrity and take whatever label some "authority" figure pins on them as evidence of their "inability" to do well. I'm not surprised that more of us don't go to college or are "low achievers" with the way our educational system is set up. They will likely never consider themselves/the system as part of the problem though. That takes a kick in the arse from people like us.

I think what you've posted is VERY relevant to the ADHD topic!! More people need to address how we view and treat ADHD and it's related LD cousin in the school system (and beyond). If I forgot to mention, I highlight, circle, underline, and bookmark the heck out of my textbooks, but your son might not be able to if they belong to the school. I spent hundreds on my overpriced college books... I do what I want with them, lol.

I think I am going to try and set aside my issue with the labels and revisit some of the literature so that I am well prepared to discuss this at his upcoming P-T conference. I don't know yet what his most recent standardized test scores were, I can't imagine they were too bad since the grades he is bring home are all in the A-B range. I've been meaning to raise this issue with my T, but just haven't for some reason. I think next session I will ask her if she or others in her practice do diagnostic screening for ADHD in children. When I ask the ped doc, he really dismissed my concerns and referred me to a neurologist what would see my son until he had an EEG and stuff. I wasn't ready to put him through all that before I had more reason for concern.

Thanks again everyone for you responses. If I find any good tips for helping early readers with ADHD, I'll post them.

I just wanted to provide a quick follow-up on this thread. I tend to be a bit negative when writing about the school system and teachers...and a bit defensive.

I recently met with my son's teacher and a reading specialist at the school. Both were incredibly positive, seemed to have the best interest of my son front and center in all that they were doing, were not judgmental or looking to limit him in any way. The exchange was very positive and after the exchange, I left feeling like my son is well cared for at school. I am very glad that my paranoia was not reinforced this time.