Tracy Packiam Alloway, PhD

Students with ADHD often have average or even high IQ. Yet they struggle with learning. I was quite puzzled by this for some time. Then I noticed a similar pattern of behavior problems, such as fidgeting, highly distractible, and lacking motivation, coupled with high IQ in an entirely different group—gifted students. Although their behavioral profile is similar between these two groups, they are driven by different reasons. The ADHD student has difficulty controlling their behavior and inhibiting inappropriate actions, while gifted students ‘act up’ out of boredom or being insufficiently challenged. )
Here is a case study of a boy from my research collaboration with the National Association of Gifted Children in the UK.

Joseph was very articulate and our assessment with him took longer than usual as he asked questions frequently. He loves English and History and tried to begin many debates and discussions with us during the assessment. His mother says that he spends hours and hours researching topics that he finds interesting – these might not be related to school. However, his pattern of behavior on the Conners Rating Scale indicated a very high ADHD. When asked about his motivation levels, he was very apathetic and negative about his school and learning in general.

These two groups of students—ADHD and gifted ones—had similar behavioral patterns and IQ scores. Yet they had very different learning outcomes. Why? When I looked more closely at their scores, I found their working memory profiles were very different. As you would expect, the gifted students had excellent working memory, which was linked to their above average academic outcomes. In contrast, the ADHD students’ poor working memory was linked to low achievement. Average IQ does not suggest average grades. If a student has a working memory problem, they will struggle academically even though they have average IQ ability.

EXCERPT FROM Improving Working Memory

I see some students in my class who are daydreaming, looking out the window, just not really paying attention to what I am saying. How can I tell whether they have poor working memory , or are just unmotivated?

Mary, Ohio

Currently, working memory is not identified as a problem in the classroom, despite leading to learning difficulties. There are very clear signs that a student will show in a classroom if they have poor working memory. Some of them include:

• Failing to follow instructions
• Raising their hand to answer a question but forgetting what they wanted to say
• Sitting quietly at their desk but not doing the assignment because they can’t remember what it is
• Difficulty in writing tasks, for example, writing the same letter twice or missing out words

The main difference between an unmotivated student and one with poor working memory is that the student with poor working memory struggles in all areas of learning. They have a hard time coping in the classroom with even simple tasks because their working memory is not ‘big’ enough to keep in all the information. In contrast, the unmotivated student can do well on some days when they try hard. This means that their working memory is good but sometimes they don’t want to put out the effort.

If you are concerned that a student may have poor working memory, click here to find more on testing working memory.