Expert: Sharon Crandall - 8/16/2009

Question
Hi,
I am a senior in high school and I have ADD. I was just wondering if people with ADD are more likely to have dyslexia. And does ADD ever go away or will it get better or worse throughout the years?

Answer
Dear Ambyr,

I believe that most people with ADD really do not have any disorder at all, but just have traits that make it difficult to learn in the way they are trying to teach all students.  Many children/adults need a very different environment for learning.  They were not created/born to be able to sit down and learn all day in a classroom setting.

Each so-called symptom that they use to judge whether you have ADD or not is also a personality trait that is a gift. This gift will give you an advantage in your occupation as you get older.  For example: people that have the trait of Low Concentration can change focus very quickly and so are gifted in athletics of some kind sometimes, or being in occupations where a person has to overlook a group of people, or a situation that requires you be able to pick up details here and there quickly.  It is the gift to be able to multi-task.  

There are also traits such as body style, Physicalness, and Physical Restlessness. These traits make it very difficult to sit still.  These people have brains that work better when a person is on their feet and not work very well when sitting. There are many occupations that require a person be alert and thinking well when he is moving around, while others have brains that require them to sit down in order to work well.

These are just a few examples of some traits that can be involved in ADD.  

So, your question, are you more likely to have Dyslexia if you have ADD?  I do not have the answer but I do know that people who have learning challenges are often using the wrong hand which causes glitches in the brain. Some people should be left-handed that are using their right hand and that slows the brain down. There are ways to tell if you are using the wrong hand.  When you are using the correct hand the brain is more co-ordinated.

So, does ADD ever go away?  If you could understand your personality you could learn how to use the traits you have to be your advantage and learn how to minimize the negative aspects, which is what we all do.  So, it is not a matter of it going away, it is a matter of learning how to optimize the gift part of your traits and minimize the negative aspects.  We all have both positive and negative aspects of our traits.  Most adults learn how to work with their traits and so find their niche.

If you could describe your challenges to me, I might be able to point out the gift side of the symptoms you display of ADD. This would give you a whole different perspective on your traits and give you more hope, I believe. Feel free to respond with this and I will be happy to help you as much as I can.

Go to my website (I do not have a shopping cart yet) and you can read about learning challenges and ADD that will be helpful to you.  Then write again as stated above and I will respond.

Sharon Crandall
www.personalityconsultant