is adhd a learning difficulty?

[Cheryl93]

mmy psychiatrist says it's not but I asked another doctor and he said that some years ago it was considered a learning difficulty

[JustMentallyLazy]

It depends.... annoying answer right 😅

Andrew Huberman did a nice podcast on adhd and how the brain works.

Its important to remember that we constantly get better at measuring and scanning the brain. Many things available today wasnt available 20 - 30 years ago.

From what I understood it isnt as such a structural issue but a path way issue.

Huberman compares our brain to a class room or an orchestra.

The pre-frontal cortex plays a huge part in controlling or conducting the brain activity.

So with adhd, you are like a teacher and the different areas of the brain are your students. Except your students dont wait for you to choose who gets to speak, they just speak... or the trumpets go off at the same time as the leading violin etc.

Dopamine is partly responsible for transmitting signals between nervecells. If you are spending 75% of your transmission due to uncontrolled thoughts or outside stimuli, leave less for the "important" things.

This matters to learning, because it makes it harder to channel the experience down to long term memory.

For some this is not the case if we are doing something that really interests us, then we just go into hyperfocus and learn something in no time.

But yes, it can make learning difficult. Especially if you perceive that you are being told to learn it, instead of wanting to learn it.

Can you gamify it?

Lets say you really went above and beyond on what you needed to learn and everyone was like "how the heck did you learn that so fast?!"

[ADHDinCa]

Are you asking for yourself or for a child? I am a teacher in California, and ADHD by itself would not be considered a learning disability, but it can definitely affect learning. Students with ADHD can sometimes qualify for Special Ed services under "other health issues" (I can't remember if that is the official wording, but something like that) meaning that they don't necessarily have a learning disability, but that their ADHD is keeping them from learning. That is one reason it is very helpful to get an official diagnosis, so that the student can get any educational help or classroom modifications they need.

[Cheryl93 in reply to ADHDinCa]

since when it is not considered a learning difficulty?

[STEM_Dad in reply to Cheryl93]

I think it depends on whether the individual student with ADHD is having difficulty learning, or not.

As a kid, I was very interested in school and in learning, and usually made to for my distractibility or forgetfulness by hustling to do my work quickly. I had also tested into the "Gifted and Talented Education" program (GATE, G/T, G&T) in elementary school. So, despite my struggles, I wasn't considered to have a "learning difficulty", even though I had performance difficulties.

Now, it is better understood that student can be both gifted or advanced, yet still have ADHD or ASD or specific learning difficulties.

The term for this is "twice-exceptional" (2e).

[STEM_Dad in reply to STEM_Dad]

By the way, the kid with ADHD who manages to get good grades STILL STRUGGLES!They still need to know that their struggles matter, and that there is help available.

Not having my struggles recognized made be feel like I was all alone. So when I struggled as an adult (in college, career and in my marriage), I felt like I had to figure it all out on my own, or else I was a failure.

I wound up with persistent anxiety and poor self-esteem.

---

So, to the teachers and parents of kids with ADHD who don't have recognized learning differences, let me just tell you that we do.

The WAY that we learn IS different, even if we still get good enough grades. We might have to put on a lot more effort and deal with a lot more anxiety than neurotypical peers.

But WHAT we learn that's worth holding onto depends on what our parents and teachers teach us. It's okay to admit that we are struggling. It's okay to ask for help. Even if you're "smart enough" to do well, it doesn't mean that it was without struggle.

I think that it is important to determine how a student is impacted by their ADHD, because they might need help in specific areas. I really remembered to do my homework at home...I did it at the end of class when it was assigned, and in passing periods between classes. But what worked in high school didn't work in college, and I ended up struggling even more.

Not having my struggles with memory and distraction as a youth led me to struggle in each job I had, until I went through an emotional breakdown and finally got counseling for severe anxiety, plus an ADHD diagnosis, at 45.

You might make the difference between someone struggling for 30 years, or learning to understand themselves and knowing that no matter how "smart" or talented they are, they can still admit when they need help.