The Rotational Apporach to Learning

1. Introduction

2. General Information about ADD and ADHD

3. Frequently Asked Questions

4. THE TUTORING CENTER'S 4-Step Program to help children with ADD/ADHD

INTRODUCTION

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common disorder in children. This booklet has been developed to educate parents regarding the causes, symptoms, and issues associated with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and to give you detailed information on how THE TUTORING CENTER can help your child academically.

How many students have ADD or ADHD?

It is estimated that from 2 to 4 percent of all children have ADHD. This translates into about two million hyperactive children in American classrooms at any given time. The percentage at THE TUTORING CENTER is obviously much greater since the problems these children experience in the classroom lend itself to a referral for strategic intervention. Although estimates about the size of the non hyperactive ADD population vary depending on the diagnosis criteria, many additional millions of children clearly fall into this category.

The purpose of this next section is to give you a general understanding of ADD/ADHD. Finally, the last section will answer some important questions parents often ask when they think their child is having a problem in school:

1. "Can THE TUTORING CENTER help my child with ADD?"

2. "How do I find out if my child has ADD?" or,

3. "Should I find out if my child has ADD?"

4 "My child has ADD. What should I do to help my child"?

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ADHD

Causes of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been clinically researched for over thirty-five years. Various labels have been utilized to reflect two basic themes - the predominant symptom of hyperactivity and the clinical assumption that ADHD is related to a neurological dysfunction. Thus, early labels such as "Hyperkinetic Reaction in Childhood", "Minimal Brain Damage", and "Minimal Brain Dysfunction" were used to describe the condition. As research accumulated and better neurological assessment equipment surfaced, professionals began to understand the complex nature of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), its' symptoms, and how it can be treated.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is caused by neurological rather than parental, social, or emotional causes. The cause of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been linked with the brain's chemical system, not it's structure. Thus, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a problem with brain chemistry - not brain damage or injury.

The brain uses multiple chemical substances for operation, regulation, and communication. These chemicals, called "neurotransmitters", serve various functions in the brain. Three neurotransmitters have been linked to behavioral and emotional conditions: Dopamine, Serotonin, and Norepinephrine. If we imagine using a "dipstick", like the dipstick used to check oil/transmission fluid levels in our automobile, we might be able to check the neurotransmitter levels in our brain, finding which neurotransmitters are low, within the normal range, or high. Low levels of Serotonin, for example, are linked with clinical depression and for that reason, modern antidepressant medication increases the availability of the Serotonin neurotransmitter in the brain.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) appears related to two neurotransmitters - Dopamine and Norepinephrine. Neurotransmitters are used by the brain to stimulate or repress stimulation in brain cells. To pay proper attention, the brain must be adequately stimulated. To have proper control of our impulses, areas of the brain must be adequately controlled, repressed, or slowed down. In ADHD children, both systems of stimulation and repression are not working correctly. Some studies suggest that ADHD Children/Adults may have only ten to twenty-five percent of these two neurotransmitters found in the normal brain.

Inattention and distractibility appear to be related to low levels of Norepinephrine. ADHD Children/Adults can't judge which things in their environment are important and which should be ignored. ADHD Children/Adults often feel the flight path of a fly in the room is as important as the teacher's algebra lesson. To the ADHD Child/Adult, everything on the desk is equally interesting and worthy of attention. Low levels of Norepinephrine also make it very difficult for ADHD Children/Adults to sustain their focus on a task, plan ahead, and understand such concepts as sequence and time.

The impulse and behavior problems found in Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) appear related to low levels of Dopamine in the brain. When dopamine levels are normal, we can repress the urge to do or say something in public, grab something interesting on a desk, blurt out our opinion, or touch/poke someone who has just walked within our physical range. Low levels of dopamine in the brain makes control of impulsive behavior almost impossible in the ADHD Child/Adult.

In treatment, medications effective with ADHD Children/Adults are those which alter levels of Dopamine and Norepinephrine. Stimulate medications (Ritalin) are known to increase the production of these two neurotransmitters - boosting their levels into the normal range and producing increased attention and decreased impulsivity. Other medications with similar actions, such as antidepressant medications, can also be of use in the treatment of ADHD Children/Adults.

The many symptoms and behaviors found in ADHD Children/Adults are linked to the various levels of these two neurotransmitters. ADHD is diagnosed in children and adults by recognizing the patterns and symptoms found in the condition. This booklet will explore the symptoms associated with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Diagnosis of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

The essential features of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (1994), is the presence