This is NOT terribly important. But it’s something I have wondered about since I started researching this whole world of learning issues. And I wonder what you all think.
Why is ad/hd predominantly referred to seperately from all the other ld’s? Isn’t ad/hd simply another ld? At least generally speaking, right? Ad/hd is not so different from central auditory processing disorder, discalculia, dyslexia, at least in how a person is delt with in schools, how parents go about finding resources to help their kids, how college students deal with it.
Maybe it’s because you can take a pill (ritalin) for adhd. Nothing has been discovered yet to chemically treat dyslexia. Maybe it’s because since the 80’s adhd has been discussed in public to a much greater extent than the other learning issues.
What do you think?
Re: Your opinion about "LD" vs. "AD/HD"...
Nah, you’re showing your obvious bias agains folks with add! ;-D
Thanks for your clear thoughts!
ADD is a behavioral issue (of sorts) that can impede your learning. However, with the right medication and treatment one can do things like the three R’s with no trouble.
If you have dyslexia or dyscalculia there is no medicine nor treatment one can go through that will magically enable you to read swiftly or do your math swiftly. Even though, practice makes perfect! I am not trying to be negative.
The thing is that ADD and learning disabilities are not the same blessed thing. A lot of schools put those two things in the same category and that is something very unfair. For example, at my University the students with ADD and learning disabilites are put in the same categorisation. That results in statistics showing that someone with dyscaculia who makes the deans list (like myself) is getting the same services with someone who has ADD. What results from that is there are folks who #1; think that ADD and LD are the same blessed thing and #2 the folks think that the effects of ADD as well as LD are all inclusive. Meaning, that they are…wait for it…you guessed it…the same thing…which they are not.
However, folks can have ADD as well as an LD. But, they are not the same thing and have to always be put apart from one another unless you have both, eh?
That is what is bad for ADD is not like an all inclusive learning disability because ADD is first and foremost a behavioral issue that has a neuropsychological basis that can be treated with medication.
********Please note, that I have nothing against folks with ADD. *******
I support all of my brothers and sisters in the struggle (if you will)*******