ADHD medication can help people focus, but doesn't necessarily make them smarter. Claire Advokat and Sean Lane, professors in the Department of Psychology at Louisiana State University, want to find out why.

"Given their well-established benefit for increasing attention and concentration, it seems counterintuitive that ADHD medications are not more effective in improving academic and occupational attainment," Advokat said in a release that was posted on the LSU website "It is time to address this question and clarify the cognitive effects, as opposed to the activating, arousing and energizing actions of these drugs."

A grant from the Spencer Foundation will fund Professors Advokat and Lane as they determine whether ADHD drugs have real academic benefits.

Labels: academics, focus, medications, research

The Edge Foundation, a national non-profit personal coaching organization, has partnered with GlobalScholar® to make online coaching services available for ADHD students.

The following details are from a PRWeb press release announcing the ADHD coaching program:

The customized, private label coaching platform powered by GlobalScholar technology, creates an engaging, comfortable, and secure environment where student and coach can work together to help the student develop key skills for academic success.

Skills [to be developed include] scheduling, goal setting, confidence building, organizing, focusing, prioritizing and persisting at tasks.

Students with ADHD are more likely to have lower grade-point averages and be put on academic probation than are their non-ADHD peers. One-on-one coaching can give ADHD students the added help they need to reach their full potential.

Labels: academics, coaching, schools

A new study has found that attention problems which begin in kindergarten can cause academic struggles through high school. The study is based on behavioral and academic information collected on nearly 700 children.

Compared with other childhood psychiatric problems, including depression, anxiety, and disruptive behavior ... attention problems -- including symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) -- had the strongest impact on a child's future academic success. -- Source: WAVE 3 News (Louisville, KY)

Researchers are hoping the study's results will compel school administrators and parents to be more proactive in identifying attention issues in younger students, and developing programs to meet their specific learning needs.

Students whose attention problems and learning disabilities are not properly addressed in their younger years may benefit from enrolling in a private boarding school such as Cedars Academy, where they will receive comprehensive academic support and behavioral guidance, as well as the structure and supervision they need to achieve success in school and prepare for a more fulfilling future.

Labels: academics, Attention_Deficit_Hyperactivity_Disorder

Researchers from the University of California at Berkeley have found that students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder fared better on math and reading tests if they were taking medication. The study followed 600 kids with ADHD from kindergarten through fifth grade.

Children's scores on several standardized math and reading tests taken during those years were examined. Compared with unmedicated kids, average scores for medicated children were almost three points higher in math and more than five points higher in reading. The difference amounts to about three months ahead in reading and two months in math, the researchers said. (Source: The Associated Press)

The researchers were quick to note that medication is not the only effective treatment for ADHD, and the study simply indicates that kids who are treated fare better than those who are not.

Even though they are capable of achieving significant results, many students with ADHD have histories of academic frustration and other school-related problems. For many of these students, private boarding schools have been able to provide the intensive support and structured guidance that can lead to considerable improvements in both performance and behavior.

Labels: academics, Attention_Deficit_Hyperactivity_Disorder, boarding_school, schools

"Executive function" refers to the brain's ability to take in and organize information in ways that allow a person to accomplish goals - whether short or long term. A helpful analogy might be to think of executive function as performing the same tasks for the brain as a conductor does for an orchestra - organizing and guiding different instruments to play alone or together, loudly or softly - to accomplish the goal of playing a certain piece of music. Deficits in executive function may cause academic problems for students with ADD or ADHD.

"Although the impact of executive function deficits on school success is profound, this fact is often unrecognized by many parents and teachers. I learned the hard way with my own son that a high IQ score alone is not enough to make good grades."

In particular, poor working memory - one attribute of executive function - affects a student's ability to recall past events, prepare adequately for upcoming events, remember instructions, or memorize facts. Students with ADD or ADHD will greatly benefit from modified lessons that take executive function issues into consideration. Writing demonstrations, active learning techniques, and modified testing are just a few.

Cedars Academy is a specialized boarding school for non-verbal learning disorder (NLD) and Asperger's. Learn how they can help your child today at CedarsAcademy.com.

Labels: academics, organization, schools

The program is called CogMed Working Memory Training™. It was originally developed in Sweden, and is based on a discovery that improving a person's working memory helps reduce attention deficits. The Swedish company CogMed has worked with more than 1,400 children and adults in Europe who struggle with attention deficits, and found that 80% achieved significant improvement in attention, impulse control, problem solving skills and academic performance.

"Working memory is a function of the brain that holds information 'online' for a brief period of time, typically a few seconds. In daily life, individuals use working memory to perform numerous tasks such as remembering instructions, solving problems, controlling impulses and focusing attention."

The program lasts for five weeks, during which the "patient" participates in 30-minute working memory "training sessions" once a day, five days a week. The training can be done in the patient's home, and led via phone or internet by a trained coach. Read more online.

Labels: academics, memory, skills