Expert: Dr Billy Levin - 2/16/2009

Question
My 12 yr old granddaughter has always scored low in comprehension, and does poorly in subjects that require reading, such as math word problems, history, reading,etc.  I've reacently read something about ADHD-I and I don't know what that is.  Could you offer suggestions of how we can help her?  She is an extremely intelligent child, but always scores low on her report card, which gets her in trouble at home.  She seems to be grounded more than not.  Thank you for any help or advice you can offer.
Carol

Answer
Your description is typical of ADD (not ADHD).
Punishing her for an inherited condition hardly seems fair and in fact can only do harm to her self esteem.
She needs a neurological examination by a doctor who has expertise in treating ADD/ADHD. He will advise you on medication, motivation,sympathetic acceprence, parental councilling and academic remediation. I advise on <adders.org> Here on this website you can also download some of my articles that will give you more insight. Good luck!