7/31/2019 EDUC 701 CR #3

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Kevin Fisher

October 10, 2012

EDUC 701

Critical Reflection #3

Out of the two articles that were assigned as reading, I would like to reflect on

Article 16. This article is entitled “Working Memory Weaknesses in Students with

ADHD: Implications for Instruction”. Immediately, this title jumped right off the page

and hit me square in the face because I am a student dealing with ADHD. I have been

diagnosed since I was in elementary school but did not start medication until middle

school. In high school, I came off the medication completely before resuming the use of 

Adderall in college. As there are different levels and degrees of ADHD as stated in the

DSM IV, my problematic focus primarily has to do with hyperactivity.

In high school, I had a difficult time memorizing music for my college auditions.

As I was not taking medication at this time, I found it nearly-impossibly to memorize

even small phrases of piano pieces. Today, I am struggling with a similar issue. This

memory issue may have to do with practice and rehearsal time, but even when I would

slowly and precisely attempt to memorize a section of music, I would find myself 

forgetting the parts I had successfully memorized just a few hours later. I have always

done well in school, but I was that kid that had to study for hours upon hours to

memorize information that I did not find interesting or useful to my life. My written

expression skills are fine, as are my mathematical methods for solving problems. My IQ

examinations when I was younger always went well, as I was usually placed in the

“advanced” sections of classes.

7/31/2019 EDUC 701 CR #3

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I absolutely agree with the article in that it states individuals with ADHD have

weakness in working memory. I always became overwhelmed if teachers assigned twenty

or more vocabulary words to memorize for the following day of class. In order to

successfully engrave these words into my mind and perform well on an exam or quiz, I

would have had to study a week in advance. One passage I find extremely interesting in

the article is in the Scaffolds for Organization and Time Management section. The article

states “finds suggest that students with ADHD with poor working memory exhibit

weaknesses in planning and organization” (71). My organization skills are fairly decent,

but when it comes to time management skills and planning, I am the worst culprit of 

procrastination. I am able to process the organization well – I make timelines,

spreadsheet, and use planners, white boards, schedules, etc. But when it comes time to

sitting down and doing the work, I am usually up until three o’clock in the morning

completing the task that is due the next day.

But is this just a problem for students with ADHD. I believe many students suffer

from procrastination – it is just worse for students with ADHD. And sometimes, taking

medication does not help the situation. If I sit down to work on a project a few days

ahead of its due date, and I open up Facebook or ESPN, I soon realize that two hours

have passed and none of my project has been completed. The medicine does not motivate

me to complete homework, it just assists in the focusing on too many things at once.