Help with Dyslexia and ADHD
Parker was really struggling and his parents were looking for help as he was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. His school experience was difficult as he had a hard time focusing and staying on task and reading was a struggle.
His parents had tried several tutoring options, and Parker had an IEP where he was pulled out of the classroom to receive extra reading help.
Despite these extra efforts and accommodations, Parker continued to struggle. His parents were concerned as the academic expectations were increasing and Parker was falling further behind in all areas – reading, reading comprehension, math and writing.
When a child is diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD, it can be difficult to decide on a plan to help students improve. Reading tutoring is a common option. Many dyslexia or reading tutoring options will more accommodate the reading issues vs. build reading skills. LearningRx cognitive skills training, however, identifies and addresses the root cause of reading difficulties. By building the core skills that are causing the reading struggle – like long-term memory, visual processing and/or auditory processing – students with dyslexia or reading difficulties become more confident and fluent readers.
For those struggling with attention and looking for ADHD help, the common options are similar. Accommodations via an IEP often give students with attention issues more time to complete their work or allow them to complete their work in a quiet space. ADHD medication is also a common strategy. Parker had been taking ADHD medication and also received these accommodations via his IEP. Although those strategies can reduce the difficulties and stress levels, it is not actually addressing the issue. Recent LearningRx peer-reviewed research published in the Journal of Mental Health and Clinical Psychology shows that for students diagnosed with ADHD, attention is not usually the weakest skills or the main issue. Weaknesses in other cognitive skills areas like processing speed, memory and auditory processing are lower. What this tells us is that any strategy that does not also account for and train these root cause issues of ADHD (weak cognitive skills), that strategy will be much less effective in improving focus and attention.
Parker’s family decided to enroll him at LearningRx. He worked 1-on-1 with his cognitive skills trainer who challenged him and individualized the training to Parker’s specific needs.
Parker completed his training a few months ago and is now several months into the new school year. His parents are thrilled as he is now excelling. He is able to focus, his reading is much stronger, and they were even able to take him off of his ADHD medication!
If you are looking for ADHD help or dyslexia help the first step is to contact the LearningRx center in Eagan to schedule an initial assessment.
The assessment will identify the root cause as to why your child is struggling and also includes a follow-up consultation to answer any questions you have and share how we can help.
Whether you decide to move forward with LearningRx or not, our goal in the consultation is to make sure you have a much deeper understanding as to why your child is struggling and how to address the reading/dyslexia and attention/ADHD difficulties. Help is just a phone call away!
