diagnosis Archives - Patterson Educational Therapy

HSP – Highly Sensitive Person

Sometimes common words are used to describe medical conditions. “Overweight” is actually used as a measurement, between “normal” and “obese”. By contrast, sometimes exotic words are used to describe common experiences, such as PreMenstrual Dysphoria Dysfunction (PMDD). (Yes, you can read between the lines on that one.) There are lesser-known diagnoses or descriptions of behaviors that are outside the norm. We’ve all heard of “Gifted”, “Gifted and Talented Education” (GATE), and possibly “Highly Gifted,” but there are actual criteria for meeting this designation, such as scoring above 130 on an intelligence test such as the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children

It Just Sounds Cool: Hemispheric Asymmetry

We take a lot for granted during our waking hours: our bodies’ automatic breathing, automatic walking, automatic speech production. In fact, a problem for people with ADHD is the automatic speech production — words get blurted out that they wish had some filtering before exiting their mouths. Both automatic and volitional actions start in our brains. While we often cannot “sense” this, when there is damage to the brain, we see the actions are impacted. A common trauma to the brain is a stroke. Depending on where the injury happens in the brain, different actions — speech, walking, memory recall

Diagnosing ADHD with Brain Imaging

Diagnosing ADHD with Brain Imaging In a related field, autism research, new findings show a brain-scanning measurement of “grey matter (GM) volumetric data, to assess whether individual ADHD adolescents can be accurately differentiated from healthy controls based on objective, brain structure measures…” from Autism Speaks, https://asdresearchinitiative.wordpress.com/2013/05/24/grey-matter-adhd-autism/ While this study is looking for biological measurements to identify people with autism spectrum disorders AND ADHD, it explains that the screening mechanism is a good way to detect ADHD. Rather than compare brain waves (see my blog post here), it looks at actual structures of different parts of the brain. Many doctors and psychologists say that

Twice Exceptional Learners Are “2E”

The term “2E” refers to being Exceptional, as in gifted, and Exceptional, as in having special learning needs. Many children who have learning differences/disabilities are also gifted, perhaps in math, the arts, or other areas. A thought-provoking theory about giftedness is that these special traits or talents are “intensities”. I like this description for many reasons, one being that it honors the basic abilities that most people have to create, to think mathematically, to understand literature, to relate on some level to the creation they are witnessing. For example, most people shudder at the thought of public performance, but they

Brain Screening Can Help Diagnose ADHD

This technology, called electroencephalogram (EEG) or quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG), has been around for many years. It can help diagnose ADHD by detecting brain-wave patterns that are distinctive to people with ADHD. People with ADHD have areas of their brains that are *under-aroused* or hypoaroused. When the ratio of under-aroused brainwaves is greater to active brain waves, it may indicate a disorder that responds well to stimulant medication. As stated by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey in Delivered from Distraction(2006), “New studies have shown that people who show the characteristic pattern of cortical hypoarousal are likely to respond well to stimulant medication. This provides