My D is very introverted and has a hard time suppressing thoughts that come in to her head. She was diagnosed with ADHD when she was little but it has not appeared to be a problem for the last 7 years. She does exceptional in school, but she often spaces out and does not pay attention to the teacher’s lecture because of this. On the ACT reading, the only section she struggled with, she gets about a 21 and is only able to accurately read two passages, half the test. She tells me that she has some trouble suppressing her thoughts when she reads and often has to reread things several times to understand them. Should I get her evaluated for ADHD or not?
Also, my D’s Lexie is above 1300, about the level of a freshmen in college.
What are you hoping to do with the results?
If you are going to get additional academic and possibly medication help, then it would be a good idea to have her assessed.
Is your daughter’s second language English? If so, even though she may be able to speak English fluently, the impact of English as a second language takes longer to compensate for in reading and writing.
Her first language is English. I am interesting in seeing if she may need medication to help her focus and if she needs testing acomadtions on the ACT or SAT.
Yes. My DD improved on the non-stimulant Intuitive. Get a comprehensive neuropsych eval.
If you suspect ADHD, what is the downside in not doing an eval? – get an eval
I would get her evaluated however she is very unlikely to qualify for any accommodations on ACT or SAT testing at this point. To obtain accommodations one has to have a long term history of being treated for ADHD, documentation provided and verified by the school and teachers that she needs similar accommodations in class to be successful. Typically that starts back in elementary, sometimes in MS. If they make it to HS with relatively decent grades and no accommodations, you can’t get them just for the ACT/SAT.
That said, struggling with reading is a really common issue and the medications, if it is a proper evaluation and diagnoses can really help. My S17 started them spring of his sophomore year, when AP world was killing him. They have helped in school.
If you get her evaluated for ADHD, and she is current on her physical they should check her eyes (and should at school too) but it can’t hurt to check that as well. A full ophthalmologist exam with dilation can show things a regular eye exam cannot, astigmatism in particular.
I figured out that I was ADD my freshmen year of college. When things finally started to get hard I realized I couldn’t actually study for more than 5 minutes. And then I realized I wasn’t paying attention in class after about 15 minutes. And habitually tardy.