Misdiagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – WrongDiagnosis.com.

So much of my reading lately and connections to new users have to do with the misdiagnosis of ADHD. There seems to be no other “disability” that generates more difficulty in accurate diagnosis and more ways to address the symptoms than ADHD. For a rather good look at the topic, a doctor friend sent me the link attached here. The language may be a little loose but the point is that there are many paths to a misdiagnosis and it is something for all of us, therapists, teachers and parents to be aware of that I thought it would be a good share.

Dr. Edward (Ned) Hallowell, ADHD expert and best-selling author, announces making the Learning Breakthrough Program available at the prestigious Hallowell Centers in both Massachusetts and New York.

Dr. Hallowell’s inclusion of Learning Breakthrough’s proven balance and sensory remediation program is a welcome addition to the therapy options offered at his US centers. Learning Breakthrough will be critical to his positive, multidisciplinary, “strength-based” treatment aproach and is being used to help solve the challenges of ADHD, Dyslexia, CAPD as well as other cognitive needs. The program’s value lies in enabling clients to further their developmental and academic objectives as well as social, behavioral and self-esteem ones, which is exactly why it has been so valuable as a complementary treatment in similar clinics for decades.

Use It or Lose It: The Theory and Practice of Brain Exercise and Fitness for Cognitive Health – 1252th Edition | Health Blog.

When we exercise our brains, we put our Neurons and connections between neurons in action.

Given the diversity of functions outlined above, it is clear that different activities are going to activate different brain areas, which scientists now know thanks to neuroimaging techniques. There is no one magic bullet that is best (either crosswords puzzles, or computer-based programs, or physical exercise): we do need a variety of mental stimulation or “brain exercises”.

Learning Breakthrough was developed to address foundational brain processing and strengthen the weak cognitive skills of students who are not meeting the demands of classroom work or adults that have struggled with learning challenges (or are involved in TBI or stroke rehabilitation) as well as those working to reduce the natural cognitive declines experienced as they age.  The recommended starting age for the program is six (6) years old and challenges such as Dyslexia and ADD/ADHD (attention deficit), Dyspraxia and Auditory Processing Disorder are among the range of classic diagnoses that therapists and physicians have used Learning Breakthrough to address for three decades.

Learning Breakthrough activities are physical, balance and sensory integration exercises that improve cognitive and literacy ability as well as motor skills and dexterity.  This integrated approach is used to strengthen underlying brain processing skills necessary for simple, efficient resolution of the following problems:

Reading difficulties
Poor or sloppy handwriting
Below average academic achievement
Inadequate verbal fluency
Inability to pay attention and stay focused
Poor memory and comprehension
Poor athletic performance
Difficulty following instructions
Low self esteem

Learning Breakthrough sessions are performed at home and become part of each client’s daily routine. Daily program use along with the precision of the equipment and movement exercises is what delivers benefits to each user.

Program attributes include:

Vestibular challenge and development – precise and individual adjustability enable calibration by all of the body’s sensory processing centers.
Sensory motor work – bean bags, eye-tracking exercises, pendulum ball routines, super ball tossback skills, fina and gross motor skills development and refinement and thorough sensory integration work sessions.
Grapho-motor – handwriting, drawing, writing, and fine motor “eye-hand” skills
Auditory training – analysis, segment work, blending with decoding and spelling issues, auditory reception difficulties, auditory expressive issues and lingual motor control integration.
Visual Processing skills – training and development through each activity segment.
Attention, focus, and concentration training—focus is on divided attention, sustained attention, and increasing frustration tolerance.
Memory training—call, recall, assessment, evaluation, validation and finally: calibration.
Neurofeedback and proprioceptive feedback – self-regulated motor control processes are refined through iterative work with specialized equipment referencing the common sensory input of gravity.
Logic and reasoning—skills improvement in seeing patterns and sequential processing challenges are developed in a critical sensory mapping model of the physical space in which our senses operate.

View the program’s neuroplasticity-enabling equipment along with a detailed description of each component’s design and attributes.