05-26-2004, 11:54 AM
All my life, I've had trouble with "reading"-subjects at
school, meaning science, social studies, history, etc,
where you have to absorb a lot of written material, in
contrast to math and language which deal more with
rules and not so much large volumes of text; at least at
the beginning of school. During the last couple of years
at college, I've noticed a disturbing trend in my
studies.
1. I can't seem to read books. Obviously I can read the
words and sentences of a text, but unless I cram the
material, there is no way it's sticking with me. I have a
tendency to forget too easily.
2. Reading takes forever. I'm not a slow-reader, but
when I count how many pages I've read in the last
hour, the number is always the same: 10. Ten pages in
1 hour. How is that even possible? I should be reading
3-4 times as many pages within that timeframe.
3. Lately, I find I'm having difficulties concentrating and
focusing on the work at hand. I have an exam in late
Norwegian history tomorrow (Thursday), and I've been
studying all morning. Once every minute I tend to slip
away into some sort of dream-like condition. I stop
reading and daydream about a topic only vaguely
connected to a word I just read.
An example:
I was reading about how the Norwegian economy
changed in the 1980s and how people started
demonstrating their wealth by having "low cars and tall
steaks." At the sight of the word "steaks", I drifted far,
far away into the future, where I imagined myself 10
years from now making my lunch for work (I was a
teacher at a high school). I was making a roast beef
sandwich (the steak-reference) and I was thinking if I
should bring my own fork and knife from home, or
borrow the utensils from the school cafeteria.
This is typical. One single word will trigger some sort of
daydreaming which I have no control over, and when I
"return" I am aggrevated and irritated because I know
it's disturbing my studies, and because I fear it may
become a more serious problem than what it already is.
I've suspected ADD for a while now. I also have the
memory span of a goldfish, and I seem to lack a
fundamental Norwegian vocabulary (I tend to use
English words where the Norwegian counterpart is lost
to me), all signs of Alzheimers. I can remember things
that happened 10 years ago, but I sometimes find
myself getting up from my chair for no apparrent
reason. Apparently the reason was forgotten between
the time I decided to get up, and when I actually got
up. ADD, Alzheimers, or something else?
I found a websitewhich dumbs it down pretty conveniently for me:
ADHD is a diagnosis applied to children and adults who
consistently display certain characteristic behaviors
over a period of time. The most common core features
include:
1. distractibility (poor sustained attention to tasks)
2. impulsivity (impaired impulse control and delay of
gratification)
3. hyperactivity (excessive activity and physical
restlessness)
I know I suffer from the first problem; as do you know.
I don't know about impulsivity. I'm the type of person
who has to think everything through 4-5 times in order
to make sure everything runs smoothly. Not exactly
impulsive. As for #3, I am quite certain I'm not
hyperactive.
"In order to meet diagnostic criteria, these behaviors
must be excessive, long-term, and pervasive."
So it may not be ADD after all then?
"These criteria set ADHD apart from the "normal"
distractibility and impulsive behavior of childhood, or
the effects of the hectic and overstressed lifestyle
prevalent in our society."
"Normal distractability". What do I know what's normal?
I only have myself as base of reference. I guess that's
where you come in. Would you say I have a serious
problem, or is this kind of thing prevalent among
"normal" people?
school, meaning science, social studies, history, etc,
where you have to absorb a lot of written material, in
contrast to math and language which deal more with
rules and not so much large volumes of text; at least at
the beginning of school. During the last couple of years
at college, I've noticed a disturbing trend in my
studies.
1. I can't seem to read books. Obviously I can read the
words and sentences of a text, but unless I cram the
material, there is no way it's sticking with me. I have a
tendency to forget too easily.
2. Reading takes forever. I'm not a slow-reader, but
when I count how many pages I've read in the last
hour, the number is always the same: 10. Ten pages in
1 hour. How is that even possible? I should be reading
3-4 times as many pages within that timeframe.
3. Lately, I find I'm having difficulties concentrating and
focusing on the work at hand. I have an exam in late
Norwegian history tomorrow (Thursday), and I've been
studying all morning. Once every minute I tend to slip
away into some sort of dream-like condition. I stop
reading and daydream about a topic only vaguely
connected to a word I just read.
An example:
I was reading about how the Norwegian economy
changed in the 1980s and how people started
demonstrating their wealth by having "low cars and tall
steaks." At the sight of the word "steaks", I drifted far,
far away into the future, where I imagined myself 10
years from now making my lunch for work (I was a
teacher at a high school). I was making a roast beef
sandwich (the steak-reference) and I was thinking if I
should bring my own fork and knife from home, or
borrow the utensils from the school cafeteria.
This is typical. One single word will trigger some sort of
daydreaming which I have no control over, and when I
"return" I am aggrevated and irritated because I know
it's disturbing my studies, and because I fear it may
become a more serious problem than what it already is.
I've suspected ADD for a while now. I also have the
memory span of a goldfish, and I seem to lack a
fundamental Norwegian vocabulary (I tend to use
English words where the Norwegian counterpart is lost
to me), all signs of Alzheimers. I can remember things
that happened 10 years ago, but I sometimes find
myself getting up from my chair for no apparrent
reason. Apparently the reason was forgotten between
the time I decided to get up, and when I actually got
up. ADD, Alzheimers, or something else?
I found a websitewhich dumbs it down pretty conveniently for me:
ADHD is a diagnosis applied to children and adults who
consistently display certain characteristic behaviors
over a period of time. The most common core features
include:
1. distractibility (poor sustained attention to tasks)
2. impulsivity (impaired impulse control and delay of
gratification)
3. hyperactivity (excessive activity and physical
restlessness)
I know I suffer from the first problem; as do you know.
I don't know about impulsivity. I'm the type of person
who has to think everything through 4-5 times in order
to make sure everything runs smoothly. Not exactly
impulsive. As for #3, I am quite certain I'm not
hyperactive.
"In order to meet diagnostic criteria, these behaviors
must be excessive, long-term, and pervasive."
So it may not be ADD after all then?
"These criteria set ADHD apart from the "normal"
distractibility and impulsive behavior of childhood, or
the effects of the hectic and overstressed lifestyle
prevalent in our society."
"Normal distractability". What do I know what's normal?
I only have myself as base of reference. I guess that's
where you come in. Would you say I have a serious
problem, or is this kind of thing prevalent among
"normal" people?
