Why would a young person who is drug and alcohol free have a decline in mental function? As in, they used to?

have an excellent memory, but now can't memorize. Despite putting more effort into schoolwork, they can now barely pass when they used to be a straight A student without much effort. They constantly lose things and are very disorganized.
Answer:
A (woefully incomplete) list of possible problems would include:metabolic/endocrine: hypothyroidism, hypoglycemia
psychiatric: depression, attention deficit, psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
infectious: Epstein-Barr, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Reye's Syndrome, Syphilis
congenital: Kearns-Sayre Syndrome, Werner syndrome
toxins: drugs, alcohol, medications
autoimmune: Rasmussen's Encephalitis
trauma: Traumatic Brain InjuryAs you can see, based on this small sampling of potential problems, expert advice should be sought (i.e. see a physician/pediatrician). It is not a wise idea to try to figure this out on your own.you'll read dozens of diseases that "fit you symptoms to a T"

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This could be stress, depression, a learning disability or maybe just a lack of sleep. Try discussing specific changes with a doctor or guidance counselor.

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You don't say how old this 'child' is. If he/she is a teen - there's a lot of hormonal stuff going on.. and it's all part of the growing process. All of a sudden, things become more important than school.. social life becomes number one...Of course, there can be real physiological problems - but if it's a teen - I'd give it some time.

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maybe the skull growth has squashed the brain, as it slightly does to the eyes, making nerds appear everywhere, muahaha...jkProper sleep is needed in a quiet environment and keep the mind stimulated with thoughts and challenging things. Sleep enables us to repeat thoughts and remember them. We remember things by repeating them over and over again. I guess the young person has lost the enthusiasm as they once had as when they were a child. Stress must be handled as "good stress" ie. motivating stress, and "bad stress" ie. too much.

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could be due to a number of reasons, such as decreased levels of thyroid hormone, lead poisoning, genetic abnormalities (ie. having turner syndrome), changes in diet (not getting proper nutrients), or just form being tired and burnt out!

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Practice makes perfect. Practice memorizing, reciting, etc. You can retrain the brain even with the effects of aging-- unless there is some underlying medical issue.

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the most common cause would be mental illness. schizophrenia or major depression. there's lots of other things that can cause those symptoms in a young person- drugs would have to be the top reason, but if you were to exclude that, then i'd have to say mental illness.

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