Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Concentration Problem

How would you advice someone who reads but then their mind wanders with other thoughts? The reader can bring their thought back to the book but, then loses the focus repeately. Does this mean they have a learning disability?

I'm a complete layperson but if the book is something the person was actually wanting to read and the wandering is involuntary, and it's a chronic pattern rather than just being temporarily stressed out/tired/etc, then I'd imagine inattentive ADD is a possibility.

Polly

How old is this person? Is there a history of thyroid problems in the family?

I would check with a Behavioral Optometrist just be be sure that it is not a visual problem that is causing an issue. www.covd.org has listings of Behavioral Optometrists and other vision and learning related information.

This is for a friend. She is 50. She said growing up she always had trouble studying. She was considering going back to college but studying will be hard with children.

As far as she know thyroid is not in their history. I'm curious how throid could be related.

Oh, trust me, hypothyroidism will make you feel like you are losing your mind. You can't focus on anything with the brain fog that comes with it. At 50, I'd get it checked, just to see. Tell your friend her TSH should be between 0.3-3.0 and to check it herself because some labs haven't changed their values. I had all the symptoms for 6 years because I was right at 5.0 and the lab still considered that adequate. I can't function well with a TSH above about 0.40.

My daughter sometimes complains of this at 9...she has hypothyroidism...weird.