Second in a series on learning disabilities.

I was at wits' end. Yet another letter sat before me, warning that my son was at risk for repeating a grade. We'd been getting those letters at the end of every school year since the fifth grade. This spring, at the end of his eighth-grade year, was no different, and I was at a loss.

Eighth grade had been particularly difficult for Nick, who has always struggled academically. Years of tutors, remedial reading sessions, summer school and lessons on organization had been of little help.

Prompted by a memory of his fifth-grade teacher suggesting that Nick might have attention problems, I hit the Internet in search of answers. "Attention deficit disorder symptoms," I typed in the Google search bar.

I looked at results from the most reliable source I found: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tears ran down my cheeks as I read the list of symptoms. Among them:

• Often does not give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities.
• Often does not follow instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior or failure to understand instructions).
• Often loses things needed for tasks and activities (e.g. toys, school assignments, pencils, books, or tools).
• Is often forgetful in daily activities.

Check. Check. Check. Check.

My son had every single symptom of attention-deficit disorder, as listed by the CDC. I felt both afraid and relieved. Afraid because I worried about how we would treat it if, indeed, this was my son's diagnosis. Relieved because what Nick was dealing with might finally have a name.

Attention-deficit disorder falls under the umbrella term "attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder." According to the National Institutes of Health, there are three subtypes of ADHD: the hyperactive-impulsive type (does not show significant inattention); the inattentive type (does not show significant hyperactive-impulsive behavior), sometimes called ADD; and the combined type (displays both inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms).

My son's symptoms fit the predominantly inattentive type, which, according to the NIH, is the most difficult to diagnose because children with this type often are labeled as lazy or unmotivated.

I immediately made an appointment with our family doctor. I cried as I told the nurse what I'd found in my Internet search. The nurse offered reassurances. Nick is not the first or only child our doctor treats for ADHD, she said. In fact, the NIH reports between 3 and 5 percent of children have ADHD, or approximately 2 million children in the U.S. In a classroom of 25 to 30 children, it is likely that at least one has ADHD.

Our family doctor confirmed what my research had indicated. Nick, indeed, has ADHD. Finally we had our finger on the problem. Now what?

Next:  When it rains, it pours.