Hi Hester,
In the articles and books I've read on LD, the general consensus is that people with either LD or ADD are very likely to have more than one condition. For example, a person with Dyslexia has a 50% (roughly) chance of also having ADD. Another person with ADD has a good chance of also having one or more LDs.
I was diagnosed with severe ADD and a little known condition called Mixed Receptive/Expressive Language Disorder. This was discovered by a Psychologist who specializes in assessing cognitive discrepancies. Just before that I went to the VA for a complete psychological evaluation, but their tests were not designed to identify learning/cognitive disorders. They came up with OCPD. Furthermore, they said I do NOT have ADD.
I've been working at a college degree for the past 3 years, and I've had enormous difficulty sustaining myself through the lengthy process. I've also come to believe that I have some form of discalculia, because I have great difficulty remembering math processes, and I struggle to grasp concepts in math that I see others getting with little or no difficulty. And yet, because I came to the school with a diagnosis of ADD and not a specified LD, they refuse to test me for LD. If you ask me, ADD is a learning disability, especially if it's severe like mine!
Personally, I think ADD should be classified as a learning disorder because it clearly effects a person's ability to learn. Why they distinguish ADD from an LD is a mystery to me. I'd really like to see that change, especially since the chance of having one or more LDs with ADD is so high.
A great book about LD by Larry Silver is The Misunderstood Child. While it focuses mostly on comprehensive examination of LDs in children, it addresses the problems in adults as well. It's been an illuminating source of information for me. What's hard about it is that is makes me so aware of the types of problems I have, I feel furious that there is so little support for the difficulties I have in life. All I want to do is get the help I need to overcome my weaknesses and be a contributing member of society (I'm on permanent disability), but it seems like everywhere I go for help I encounter ignorance, predjudice and apathy, and sometimes even incompetence. And this is from departments and agencies that are supposed to be there to help people like me! It's amazing and sad.
Sorry for the rant.
I think ADD IS an LD.
All the best
"This will be the worst disaster NASA has ever
experienced!" Arnie Aldrich, Director of Flight Operations
"With all due respect, Sir: I believe this will be our finest hour!" Gene Kranz, Apollo 13 Flight Director; from Apollo 13, the movie.
