Killian’s ADHD difficulties
Killian was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age and his mom, Anne, had tried everything – ADHD medication, counseling, tutoring and behavior management – but none of it was helping.
Maybe you’ve been in her shoes and experienced much of the same.
- Homework regularly ends in tears or frustration
- Your child can’t stay on task even for subjects they enjoy
- You’ve tried every reward system you can find, but nothing changes
- Seemingly easy assignments take significantly longer than they should
Struggling to focus is a brain skills problem — not a motivation problem
If your child is:
- Starting tasks but rarely finishing them
- Easily distracted by any commotion
- Not retaining instructions or struggling with multi-step directions
- Having difficulty with impulsivity and emotional regulation
- Shutting down when tasks feel overwhelming
- Having difficulty multi-tasking
The root issue may not be attitude or effort; it may be due to weak cognitive skills.
Peer-reviewed research provides insights
Peer-reviewed research published in the Journal of Mental Health and Clinical Psychology reveals that, when looking at cognitive profiles for individuals struggling with attention, surprisingly attention is not their weakest cognitive skill. Other skills like processing speed, working memory and auditory processing are weaker.
This research provides helpful insights as it identifies why the usual attention interventions are not having the hoped for success. They are not focused on the root cause of attention issues but treating the symptom. Instead of working hard to “control” attention, getting to the root cause can result in real improvements like it did for Killian.
Managing Attention Issues vs. Working on the Root Cause
It is important to note that sustained attention, working memory and processing speed are not habits. They are skills, and these skills need to be strengthened.
Strategies like reward charts, school interventions or behavior management can help a child cope with attention issues, but these strategies are not building these skills.
LearningRx Training and Attention Issues (including ADHD)
LearningRx Savage one-on-one cognitive skills training focuses on the skills required to develop strong attention skills. ADHD is the most common diagnosis we work with and past clients have seen significant improvement with attention skills. The key is identifying and addressing the root cause.
Attention issues start in the brain and to truly address these difficulties, the solution must address these brain-based issues.
Results are from past clients. You or your loved ones may or may not achieve the same outcomes, but you can learn more about our research and results here.