Troubled Teens or Late-Onset Learning Difference? Podcast
When the child who did fine in elementary school is suddenly struggling, it could be a sign of a previously undetected learning difference. Find out how to get a diagnosis and help your teen.
Jason P. of Princeton, N.J., was a kid who didn’t have to study to make straight As, which he did through the 8th grade. But as the work became more difficult in high school, as he was expected to work more independently, things started to unravel. He got a few Cs in the 9th grade. His parents wondered if he was hanging out with the wrong crowd. Drinking? Doing drugs? Just lazy?
“But it wasn’t like he was watching TV and playing video games,” according to his mom, Susan. “He was sitting in his room studying, but he couldn’t focus.”
Jason’s parents took him to a psychiatrist who, to their surprise, diagnosed their 15-year-old son with attention-deficit disorder, or ADD. Fifteen to 20% of the U.S. population has a learning difference such as ADD, dyslexia, or any number of processing difficulties. While most kids are diagnosed during the elementary years, some are so good at coping, the issues don’t become apparent until they’re teens.
Jason’s parents became detectives, trying to determine the best route through the educational, medical, and social system for their son. Because there are almost as many versions of learning differences as there are kids, parents play the most important role in solving this puzzle.
“I’ve come to believe you can have seven kids and each one of them learns differently,” Susan says.
True. Which is why all this is so tricky.
Joyce Thomas 12/07/07
This article was very helpful to me. I have noticed a big difference in my son since the beginning of this, his freshman year, and was really suspicious of his friends, his computer, and just about anything and everything else causing the problems. His teachers tell me he’s trying, and he protests that he is, too. But I think I’m going to have him tested.
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