Skip to main content

ADD: The Game Plan

Discover an assessment tool that can help you evaluate the challenges associated with your child's ADHD.

School life

School Life
Children with ADD are most often evaluated in this area because the symptoms are commonly first noted by teachers. Too often teachers assume that the child with ADD would learn in the same manner as other students if not for the symptoms. I strongly encourage parents to investigate how their children best learn and to make certain their difficulties in school are truly related to ADD rather than other factors. Parents have to serve as advocates for their children because teachers and school officials are more likely to focus on their own needs and the needs of a class or a school instead of the individual needs and circumstances of ADD children. Although the schools may have the responsibility to assess each student, especially those with learning difficulties, resources are limited. It is also true that in many school systems, ADD is poorly understood and the reflex response is to demand that children be medicated to control their symptoms in class. I urge parents to seek expert advice and counseling before they medicate their children, whether from a psychologist, psychiatrist, neurologist, or rehabilitation therapist.

The list below contains the major areas of challenges for children with ADD sypmtoms.

Auditory Memory (Immediate, Recent, and Remote).
This is an assessment of how well your child remembers items told to her, such as numbers or words.

Ten-Point Dimensional Scale of ADD Impact on Auditory Memory

Fine Motor and Pacing Coordination.
This area of learning relates to how well the child can perform skills such as writing, drawing, and producing appropriate outputs.

Ten-Point Dimensional Scale of ADD Impact on Fine Motor and Pacing Coordination

Visual Memory.
This assesses the areas in which the student is required to remember what she was taught in visual presentations such as reading, observing concepts on the chalkboard, and understanding spatial relationships.

Ten-Point Dimensional Scale of ADD Impact on Visual Memory

Embedded Audio Acuity.
This skill is usually very difficult for children with ADD because it calls for a person to listen to a wide variety of signals and pick out the important ones, as in listening to a story and hearing the main points of relevance.

Ten-Point Dimensional Scale of ADD Impact on Audio Acuity

Arithmetic Sequencing.
Although simple arithmetic problems usually represent no obvious challenges, they do require the student to remember to sequence the operations correctly, such as adding the columns in proper order or maintaining the numbers in proper arrangement.

Ten-Point Dimensional Scale of ADD Impact on Arithmetic Sequencing

Listening Concentration.
Probably one of the most difficult for children with ADD, this assessment requires the student to grasp the theme of a story and maintain the memories of characters and circumstances imparted by auditory presentation.

Ten-Point Dimensional Scale of ADD Impact on Listening Concentration

Reading Concentration.
This learning skill enables the student to remember the facts, characters, and themes of stories imparted by visual presentation.

Ten-Point Dimensional Scale of ADD Impact on Reading Concentration

Auditory Abstraction and Logic.
This skill enables a person to organize facts and questions in her head by receiving auditory information.

Ten-Point Dimensional Scale of ADD Impact on Auditory Abstraction and Logic

Visual Learning Capacity. These tasks measure how quickly a student can remember important visual information and reproduce the information in appropriate ways.

Ten-Point Dimensional Scale of ADD Impact on Visual Learning Capacity

Abstract Tolerance.
This is the measure of the level of tolerance and endurance a student has in pursuing a solution to a problem that requires long-term commitment (the answer requires some long-term processing, similar to a mystery).

Ten-Point Dimensional Scale of ADD Impact on Abstract Tolerance

Join the Family

Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning.

Subscribe