ADD/ working memory issues

[GooseyLoosey]

DD is 7 and we have thought for some time that she has problems with attention or processing instructions. She performs around the average and her teachers last year said she was just a bit dreamy. However, it became apparent when looking through her books that dd relied on other children telling her what to do as she could not understand instructions from the teachers. As a result, we moved her to an independant school at Easter with a class size of 10.

Her new teacher has now said that dd has problems following instructions given to the group as a whole and always has to ask for them to be explained again to her. She also has difficulties with problem solving style tasks as she cannot work her way through the written instructions either.

At her teacher's suggestion, we are now going through the process of trying to work out what, if anything, the problem might be.

The intial thought is that she may have ADD or working memory issues. Does anyone have any effective strategies for helping children who have attention problems take in more complex instructions? The school will help if they can but have no more idea what might be useful than we do.

DS2 (5yo) struggles with instructions but can remember other things forever (and then some!!). It is an odd mix tbh. He has comprehension problems and seems to do much better when instructions are broken down in to small easy to follow bits, and not given all at once (and any distractions nearby during instructions are lethal as well... he's a bit like an etch a sketch - if you shake it in the middle of something, you then have to start all over again with a blank screen ).

He does have ADHD, ASD, among some other letters and such. His memory is truly a mystery sometimes - ironclad in some things and utterly not there in others.

To help stuff like this you need a neurodevelopment therapy.

I recommend Tinsley House - but there are plenty of others.

Indigo - is this a programme like Jungle memory or do they do different things?

Wondered if trying to get her to write down things would help her focus on what is being said?

Also wondered about a rewards system for when she has followed instructions - but then was worried that she would pretend to have followed things when she had not. However I read that incentives worked well for kids with ADD.

No, I am not talking about jungle memory. That wont help.

Well at least reviews of it on MN are mixed. It didn't work for my DD and many others, but there are also a few posters that liked it. (although I don't think their kids had SEN)

No a neurodevelopment therapy improves your brain. For example you'll be given an exercise to improve the cerebellum.

Read the Tinsley house support thread to find out more.

My ds was diagnosed with asd aged 4. He's high functioning. Good reader. Arty. Good vocabulary. For his statement, he had his working memory tested and it was given as 4. Very low, I'm told, so it's no wonder he needs one instruction at a time and forgets stuff almost immediately. He also, like your child, struggles to follow instructions and I believe that's why he can't do even simple maths....he's forgotten the "formula" within seconds of having been reminded.

However, being aspergers, he can remember facts on his subject of interest, in astonishing detail. It's a funny one!

He's never had anything "special" to my knowledge, in terms of memory. Is it the norm to get help individually for this?

Good luck to you OP in trying to sort this. It sounds like you have good school staff who want to do what they can to assist you.

Alongside techniques to improve working memory and support ADD, auditory processessing problems there are a number of practical things that can be done in the classroom - google IEPs for these issues - regarding seating, repetition, visual prompts etc but it may be difficult to have each teacher (not just the current one) implement these unless it is written down and there is a 'reason' eg provided by an EP report. The less 'obvious' the problems the more likely that different teachers will have different theories (which may include blaming you or the child).

In DS's case his class teacher's desperation to claim 'progress' has meant that medical assessment for ADHD/ADD has been blocked - has to be seen in two environments and school have claimed everything is OK. This has not been picked up again despite a later EP report putting him on the 4th percentile for distractability and assessment results indicative of co-morbid ADD.

Its great that your school are supportive at present but independently pursue matters. At age 7 DS performed above average but at age 11 his achievement is well below average.

Thanks again for the responses.

Dd now has an EP appointment on 15 August. Is there anything specific I should be asking do you think? How practical can I expect the EP's report to be. I don't just want a label, I want approaches to deal with anything he might find.

My biggest problem at the moment is that I lose patience with her. It always seems as though she is not really trying and could do things if she put her mind to it. Apparently this is quite a common perception of children with things like ADD. I know I need to change my own approach, but am usually wise after the event. Maybe a diagnosis would help me to be a better parent too.

My ds has similar problems remember things to your dd, but when tested on the WISC IV by an EP was found to be a high percentile on working memory (just into the above average group iirc) but very low for processing speed.

He has problems ordering and structuring his work and planning complicated tasks, as well organising himself, his time, his equipment etc and in his case this has been put down to poor executive function.

As for making sense of written instructions and copying things off the board or from a book, his issues here are most likely down to visual motor co-ordination problems, which were also identified by the WISC and corroborated by the OT and classroom observations and to some extent picked up by a normal optician. To my shame, getting his eyes sorted has been on the list for the longest time, but always tends to end up taking a back seat to other things. I am determined to get it sorted before he starts secondary in 2013 though.

Another thing that has to be factored in for ds is the environment where he is being asked to carry out these tasks. He needs a low stimulus environment with little noise or movement or he gets overstimulated and can't filter out all the extra sensory information.

I would ask the EP what assessments he/she can do that will give a clearer idea of where your dd's difficulties lie and what support you can expect - and from who/where, once you know what you are dealing with.

To some extent a label is irrelevant, what you really want to know is what the problems are and what can be done to help and support your dd with them. That said, labels are very useful for gaining access to external/professional support and also for helping the child understand why they have difficulties in some areas, which can become important to them as they get older.

Don't be hard on yourself for losing patience, we all do sometimes, it's incredibly hard to keep up the level of support and prompting 24/7 and it's easy to forget for a moment when you are busy or just to reach a level of exasperation where you can't keep it in any longer. I had a big bust up with my ds this morning before school and have been feeling horrible about it all day. On one level I know I'm only human and can only take so much, but on another I know that he is really struggling with the last few days at school and just isn't coping, so the last thing he needed was me getting cross with him before he starts his school day.

Thanks - I too always feel horrid afterwards but I do struggle to be patient sometimes.

I will ask about the range of possible assessments. You are right that I don't care about a label, would just like some idea of what to do to help dd. I am not sure that it is a working memory problem - I have always thought it is more of a failure to process than to remember, but this is only my feeling.