First - a little information about my life now I teach special education in a San Antonio middle school. I have been married for 19 years (still happy I'm married) and I am a mom of two wonderful girls. One is still at home, one is at college. All three of us have some forme of ADD. My poor husband doesn't stand a chance.
Both of my girls have ADD.
My youngest has a lot of trouble paying attention in class. Like me she has has learning differences, mostly in reading/language. My eldest daughter's form of ADD belongs to only 10% of the ADD population. Rather than acting out or finding distraction, she searches for distractions within herself. She would rather curl up with a fantasy novel than do anything else.
My ADD is actually ADHD. ADHD is Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. There are times I take that hyperness off the scale but never as bad as it was when I was a child. Add takes many forms. I have mentioned three of them.
ADD where the primary problem is attention. ADD where the primary problem is hyperfocus - inner escape ADD with the ADDED bonus of hyperactivity! ADHD usually is not found with inner escape. Kids that move around a lot - USUALLY are also looks for distractions
With all the varying degrees of inattention, hyperactivity, impulisivity that can be found in each person, no one knows all the answers from personal experience. It helps to talk to someone who has some experince with it. It really helps to talk to MANY people who LIVE with this! Many of my students have some form of ADD. My experience with this comes from the point a parent, and most important, an ADHD person myself.
This is a problem that plagues many people. Many of them really don't realize that there are things they can do to cope with it.
ADD is a problem in the brain. It is mostly noted in children who cannot pay attention in school. They most often have trouble with staying on task, listening to their teacher (especially one they think is boring), completing any kind of task, staying organized, down to holding on to a thought long enough to say it. ADHD is all of that without the ability to sit still for more than 2 seconds. It's hard to be a kid with this.
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