Paying Attention

Interested to find out how a student with ADHD/ADD might experience a classroom when he or she is asked to follow directions or to complete a reading assignment?  The folks who brought you the documentary broadcast on PBS entitled, "Misunderstood Minds," offer simulations on the companion web site that may give you this type of understanding.  While the web demonstrations aim to recreate a grade-school classroom, they offer the types of insights that no book or educational report could reveal.  As the student who brought the site to my attention noted, "It gives me a headache." 

The documentary, "Misunderstood Minds," chronicles the lives of a handful of children and their parents as they cope with the diagnosis and management of a variety of learning differences, with varying degrees of success.  It offers an intimate look into the challenges faced by students and their families.  Interspersed within their stories are comments by the pioneers in the fields of learning differences, including Mel Levine, M.D., who discuss brain chemistry and the ways the brain processes information.  Copies of the documentary are also available for purchase on the site.   (els)