IQ and Potential

Originally posted on Themestream
My report cards from school usually had comments like this:
“A smart girl, but doesn’t finish assignments.”
“Highly-intelligent, but disrupts class.”
“Reads well above grade level, but doesn’t work up to potential.”
My grades were pretty high through early elementary school. By junior high, my best quarter was one where I got straight C’s. The summer between my freshman and sophomore years in high school I spent learning how to diagram sentences. I nearly had to do the same after my senior year – same teacher.

Not all people with ADD have problems in school. There are a lot who actually do quite well in school, getting better and better with each passing year, even excelling in college.

I’m not one of those.

The scary thing is people with ADD tend to have higher-than-average IQs. Teachers generally know this. Many kids do work up to their potential, or at least closer to it. The ADDlet (child with ADD) generally does not. The hard thing for teachers and parents – and oftentimes the kids – to understand is why such an intelligent being can’t handle a spelling assignment or math test.

ADD has many behavioral patterns. The most familiar is ADD with Hyperactivity (also ADHD), the hyperactive boy, always in trouble, always fighting, always disrupting class, never staying “on-task (teacher-ese for not doing assigned work at the assigned time),” and doing poorly in school. It seems that girls who are diagnosed early generally exhibit these same behaviors. Easy to notice, easier to say there’s a problem.

Then there’s ADD without Hyperactivity, usually referred to as Inattentive. This is most often the daydreaming little girl, staring out the window in class, off in her own little world, hearing nothing going on in class, seeming to be trying so hard but not accomplishing much, and doing poorly in school. It seems that boys who are diagnosed later generally exhibit these same behaviors. Harder to pick out, harder to determine there’s a problem.

Some have a combination of the two, both hyperactivity and inattentiveness. This would be me. I would sit at my desk, disrupt class by fidgeting endlessly while staring out the window. Basically, I could bounce off the walls and leave the room at the same time.

School offers special challenges for ADDers. For those who have organizational issues, there are classes and assignments to track, homework to manage and math and English rules to follow. Behavioral issues, class rules to obey and social cues to learn and follow. Attention issues, reading assignments to finish and lectures to hear. It’s hard to read when the words on the page won’t hold still. It’s hard to hear when the birds outside the window are chirping.

How much lost potential is related solely to ADD, and how much to an antiquated educational system that benefits very few? Better question, since the educational system is unlikely to change significantly any time soon, how can these students survive or even excel in school?

Medication is one way. It’s not the only way, but it is one. Some children have had amazing turnarounds in their behavior after starting on Ritalin or Adderall. If medication is chosen, remember that skills still need to be learned. All the Ritalin in the world won’t teach good study habits.

Behavioral modifications are another way. Rewarding positive behaviors while punishing or ignoring negative behaviors can be quite effective particularly for a child who’s ADD doesn’t affect the behavior as strongly.

Diet can help some, but only if there are food allergies involved. Behavior may improve, the child may get a better night’s sleep and his grades may improve, but if it’s ADD, diet will not cure it, diet will not make it go away. Diet can make it more manageable, however, making it easier to use behavior modifications or medications, or both.

Some parents have elected to homeschool their children, providing them with one-on-one support. Kids do benefit from homeschooling, provided the parents have done their research. If my mother homeschooled me, I think I would have been miserable. That has more to do with the relationship between myself and my mother than anything else.

There are ways to make education useful and enjoyable for an ADD child. Many of the instructing methods best suited for an ADDlet would work well with most children, allowing them to learn how to learn instead of learn how to regurgitate answers on demand.

But that’s another story.
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Learn More About It
One of the best resources on the net for ADD and education is the ADD on About site.
Teaching the ADD/ADHD Student – Links for instructors
Special Education and ADD/ADHD – Links for parents, including how to be an advocate for your child.
College and ADD/ADHD – Links for college students.