Hello All. Sorry this posting is a bit long. I’m a college student and I’ve been diagnosed with ADD inattentive within the last year. I have struggled with memory problems most of my life. I have always done OK in school but I have definite issues in and our of the school environment. I have trouble remembering people, events and things I have done. I am horrible at geography and pretty bad speller. I have A LOT of trouble with directions and often get lossed when I’m only a few blocks away from my house. I even have difficulty getting to places I’ve been like 20 times. People say I’m the worst driver they have ever met. It takes me a super long time to memorize schedules. I know I have something wrong with my memory or processing, but i can not get an explanation of what condition could be the cause of my problems. I feel like my problems stem from a visual dsyfunction of some sort. I’ve seen a few phsychiatric docs with little to show except a ADD diagnosis, that I question, based on a doctor Amen survey and TOVA test results. I’ve had westler III IQ testing done and my results were interstesting. My results were above well average (128) but I have a 22 point split between verbal(135) and performace IQ(113). The subset scores are listed below. My SAT was pretty decent as well. I think I scored 620 in both verbal and math. Regardless, I have always felt something was different about me, which others have verified… I have been depressed for a while about my condition and also have anxiety issues. Both those things combine to make me pretty shy and akward aroung people, and probubly make my memory worse. I was thinking I should begin a congntive training program to help with my areas of dificulty which I assume are with visualization, visual memory, long-term memory, and attention among others. I was thinking of getting either Audiblox2000 or Brainskills. I don’t know which program is more proven, and since i’m 20 years old I don’t know which program is more age appropriate. I live away from my family and would have to hire a trainer or something to administrate the testing I guess. I would rather try a computer based program so I could do it independently and on my own time, but i haven’t been able to find anything worthwhile. I was hoping that someone might have a suggestion as to a possible underlying and undiagnosed condition or an applicable cognitive training program I might try. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read all this junk… if anyone does…
Fullscale IQ= 128
Verbal IQ= 135
Performance IQ=113
Information 14
Similarities 16
Arithmitic 10
Vocabulary 18
Comprehension 19
Digit Span 14
Picture Completions 11
Codeing 13
Picture Arr. 11
Block Design 13
Matrix 12
Patrick
the ADD could be the root of your memory issues
especially with the memory issues because if you are easily distracted and not paying close attention to those pesky little details… you won’t remember things. The Anxiety probably occurs because you are trying so hard to keep it together but you feel overwhelmed at times.
Have you thought about trying meds? A friend of mine who was diagnosed ADD-Inattentive in college did so much better on meds than off meds. She could never finish college, she would start out great in classes at the beginning of the semester and then start dropping them before the semester was over. I graduated 2 years before she did and we started at the same time and did our graduate project together but I got credit for it because I did all my paperwork on time and the professor is still waiting for her to turn in her paperwork!! She finally got help with meds to stick through things and finish and always got frustrated at herself because she knew that she was capable but she couldn’t keep the momentum going for very long.. and then she suffered from depression.
Trying meds may help you more than a cognitive training program in the long run. I have seen ADD-Inattentive people use the cognitive training programs as adults and it doesn’t “fix” the way their brain is working. They may be ok for a short while after the cognitive training program is finished but in time the old ADD-Inattentive behaviors come back because the way their brain works against them.
Hi
My son has similar issues. He went through vision therapy and most of those issue are vastly improved. He could not read maps or spell. He just couldn’t visualize things like that. He could visualize stories and always had wonderful comprehension.
Vision therapy has made a definite impact. We did get our insurance to cover it, cigna ppo.
One part of the program we did on the computer. I think many of the exercises you could do yourself if you were told what to do by the developmental optometrist/vision therapist.
My son looked very add before we started but just does not look add anymore. I just had him retested and the discrepancy between visual and auditory disappeared. He doubled his scores in some of the visual areas from the first time he was tested several years ago.
He is still a slow processor but he is better than before.
You can either identify or rule out vision problems by getting a developmental vision evaluation. See http://www.childrensvision.com for more info http://www.covd.org to find board-certified developmental optometrists in your area. It would be a good idea to look for a developmental optometrist who is listed on both teh COVD site and http://www.homevisiontherapy.com .
I am not an expert in this area, but it sounds as if you might fit the profile for NLD (non-verbal learning disability, also known as NVLD). NLD people tend to have problems with visual-spatial skills. Websites with more information are http://www.nldontheweb.org and http://www.nldline.com
Audiblox and BrainSkills both require one-on-one training. That is, you need someone else to spend one-on-one time with you doing the exercises. You cannot just do them yourself.
Hope this helps!
Nancy