Simplify steps to learning so your child becomes a successful, life-long reader. Simplicity is a biological need of the ADHD brain. To understand the importance of simplicity, stop thinking of the brain as one organ. Instead, compare it to the digestive system, which includes several different organs that work together to process food. Likewise, the brain is comprised of several different regions, each of which processes different types of information.

The frontal cortex is the organizing center of the brain. It orchestrates everything — from your five senses and feelings to the thoughts you generate in response to them. All regions of the brain communicate through a massive network of wires called neurons. These wires create pathways for every thought and movement you make.

Although the brain has billions of neurons, any one of those neuron connections is like a string of holiday lights. The first bulb is your frontal cortex. It receives information, determines what to do with it, and then sends directions to the rest of your brain. Imagine what happens if you cut the circuit between the first bulb (frontal cortex) and the second bulb (the rest of your brain)? The power goes out!

Look at it this way:

ADHD is not caused by bad parenting, too much sugar, or too many video games. It is a brain-based, biological disorder. ADHD brains exhibit structural and functional differences. the brains of children with ADHD mature more slowly than do those of children without the disorder.

ADHD is a chronic condition of power outages caused by a shortage of norepinephrine and dopamine. With a weak power supply, the frontal cortex sends weak signals to the rest of the brain. Sometimes the signals connect. However, many signals never reach their destination. A deficiency of dopamine within this brain region might cause inattention, problems with organization, and/or impaired executive functioning in the frontal cortex; restlessness, inattention, or emotional volatility in the limbic system; inattention or impulsivity in the basal ganglia and RAS. These four regions interact with one another, so a deficiency in one region may cause a problem in one or more of the others. ADHD results from problems in one or more of these regions.

Simplify steps to learning!

This causes less strain on your child’s underpowered frontal cortex. Look at the traditional method of teaching. It requires a sequence of multiple steps in the brain’s circuit to complete a task.

Every step is an opportunity for the ADHD brain to lose power. It is more effective to simplify the steps. Now, it takes only a handful of steps to do the task.

Simplifying things sounds too simple to have such a big effect on your child’s performance. But it will. Taking pressure off your child’s frontal cortex will allow the rest of her thinking to shine through!