I am 24 y/o and did an ADD test w/ a psychitrist today...*read more*?

Question

and part of the test I had to memorize words and numbers, the numbers in sequences. I COULD not memorize all the words and I really could not memorize the numbers AT ALL. I know I failed the numbers part. Does this mean I have ADD? If I do, how can it be treated? I wanted to be tested for it in the first place because I've failed college Anatomy and Physiology 6 times. Isn't that excessive? Expecially since I study and study and study !

Answer 1

That sounds less of an ADD problem and more of just a memory retention problem.

Answer 2

Actually, this doesn't necessarily diagnose ADD. There are many learning disabilities and you could have one or two. Were the words and numbers read to you or were you allowed to look at the numbers and then asked to repeat them?

It sounds to me like you have a memory deficit. Memory deficits come in several different areas. These include visual immediate memory, auditory immediate memory, visual long term memory and auditory long term memory.

With short term memory deficits, this causes you to be unable to see or hear information and be able to manipulate in your mind and draw a conclusion. With either of the long term memory deficits, it means that you have difficulty either storing information in long term memory and or retrieving it when required.

Most people have a greater deficits in auditory memory than they do in visual memory. However, since you are having difficulty with Anatomy and Physiology, which are memory intensive, you are probably not getting information into long term memory or you can't retrieve it.

My suggestion is that you go to your student services office and ask to be tested for learning disabilities, though you psychiatrist should have done this already. At any rate, you may be able to get some accommodations if you are found to have a learning disability.

One thing that has helped my students over the years is to try to remember things in an organized way. One way of doing this is to use graphic organizers to group ideas together. Put "graphic organizers" in your search engine and you will find a world or free ones that can significantly impact your learning.

You also might want to research learning disability on the 'Net and find out about the various learning disabilities and see if any of this applies to you. Forget the word "dyslexia" because it is a term that doesn't pinpoint what could be wrong, such as visual motor integration deficit or as in your case, memory deficit.