Adult ADD

[sweetnpetite]

Jane Pauly did a show today about adult ADD. I don't usually watch her show, but occasionally I do. Today's show was really good. Nothing I didn't already know, but a lot of stuff I needed to be reminded of.

Ok- I should amend that. ONe or two things that I didn't already know. Like for example that the author of 'driven to distraction' also has ADD- and approapriatly enough, so does the inventer of paperless airplain tickets or whatever they are called.

One thing they didn't cover- that i wish that they had was the number of people who will try to convince you that you *don't* have it. Even when you know you do and you're being helped by that knowledge. Even people with there own psychological diagnosis-es (prolly not the right word, lol). For some reason, even people with depression, anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrom, Bipolar disorder, OCD, ect, ect, seem to think that ADD is just some 'flaky' diagnosis and that it's not real. Oh well. (They did have a husband on their who took a long time to accept it about his wife, but eventurally did.)

That's the thing I really wish- that we wouldn't have to 'educate' everyone we talk to about it. That they could just believe a person when they say they have it. I get the feeling that they are trying to help by telling you that there's 'nothing wrong with you' but they are not. Especially when they follow it with something like, "there's nothing wrong with you- you're just lazy" or something stupid like that. It sure seems that that would be 'something wrong with you'

OH well, first post and i"m already off topic. I just think it was really cool that she did a show on the topic of adult ADD. You just don't see that very often. Maybe someday someone will do a show about how difficult it is to parent an ADD child, when you're ADD yourself. All the parenting ADD child books seem to be geared toward 'normal' parents, even though ADD is hereditary.

Here's to progress.

 

[Samandiriel]

You can take a test online to check I believe.

I tried but I couldn't pay attention and went to bake cookies.

 

[Op_Cit]

I'm glad you made this point that just because other people don't agree with you on something doesn't make it NOT true.

Now somebody please tell me what affliction I suffer from. You know the one where I'm convinced -- no that's not the right word, more like "terrified"-- that I'm the only sane person in the world.

megalasanophobia? Delusion of reality? Socrates Syndrome? (there's a cure for that I've heard)

 

[sweetnpetite]

I'm glad you made this point that just because other people don't agree with you on something doesn't make it NOT true.

Now somebody please tell me what affliction I suffer from. You know the one where I'm convinced -- no that's not the right word, more like "terrified"-- that I'm the only sane person in the world.

megalasanophobia? Delusion of reality? Socrates Syndrome? (there's a cure for that I've heard)

Proabably paranoia- it's a lot more than people think. it includes delusions of grandure

 

[wildsweetone]

Perhaps part of the problem with people realising ADD is a serious difficulty for some, is that people have become saturated with bombardments of what ADD and ADHD is and how many kids are lining up at school lunchtimes for their afternoon doses of ritalin. It comes across at times as a very 'common' difficulty which in turn does nothing to help those suffering from ADD.

I am almost finished reading a book by John Gray (the author of Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus). In this book he talks a lot about the hormones dopamine and seratonin and what inconsistent levels of those can do to our bodies and minds. It is well worth reading if you are interested in hearing his opinion.
The Mars and Venus Diet and Exercise Solution by John Gray Ph.D

 

[Quiet_Cool]

You can take a test online to check I believe.

I tried but I couldn't pay attention and went to bake cookies.

They're burning, by the way...

What are you knitting?

Q_C

 

[Samandiriel]

They're burning, by the way...

What are you knitting?

Q_C

Linguine.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Linguine.

Nice seeing you again, Sam.

Q_C

 

[Samandiriel]

Nice seeing you again, Sam.

Q_C

Thank you, I see you're still 'hanging' around.

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

I'm not sure the diagnosis comes with it only positive "I know more about myself" kinds of things. It may end up being a psychological crutch that lazy people use to excuse their shortcomings or lack of willpower. If ADD were ever solid, absolute, definitely a thing (it's just too hard to nail down, right now), it would make them a category of people that, professionally, could have problems.

If I have the choice of hiring the ADD person or the not-ADD person... I pick the one that doesn't have a disorder.

 

[wildsweetone]

It may end up being a psychological crutch that lazy people use to excuse their shortcomings or lack of willpower.

It may also be a crutch for people to use who have no understanding or respect for other's differences. When there is no understanding, there is ignorance and many adults are afraid of things that they don't understand.

If I have the choice of hiring the ADD person or the not-ADD person... I pick the one that doesn't have a disorder.

Reality is that there are a lot of employers who do the same thing. That's their loss.

 

[sweetnpetite]

I'm not sure the diagnosis comes with it only positive "I know more about myself" kinds of things. It may end up being a psychological crutch that lazy people use to excuse their shortcomings or lack of willpower. If ADD were ever solid, absolute, definitely a thing (it's just too hard to nail down, right now), it would make them a category of people that, professionally, could have problems.

If I have the choice of hiring the ADD person or the not-ADD person... I pick the one that doesn't have a disorder.

I knew it was too good to be true.

You have a very bad understanding about what ADD is, I'm sorry to say. It is not a psychological crutch. and it's very hurtful for you to say that it is. That's kind of like saying some one with bipoar disorder is just a bad person.

As to hireing, people with ADD often have some very useful strengths (although we can't always see them ourselves on account of always being told that we are lazy, flighty dingbats with no will power) as well as a fresh and different outlook on many things. So if you wouldn't want to hire us, it would be your loss.

I wonder if you'd say the same though, about hiring somebody with a disabiltiy that you could see. Would you be as eager to discriminate against a person with an actual crutch? Or a person in a wheel-chair, who can do the job but might need a bigger work space, ramps to get in and out of the building, a special stall in the bathroom.? Or a diabetic who might need a few minutes each day to eat a small snack or give themselves some insuline?

When you find someone who's perfect, by all means hire them. But they won't help you solve the problems of the rest of us. (and solving people's problems is generally how money is made)

I had a feeling you'd say something like that. But I'm still disapointed.

 

[sweetnpetite]

some links:

http://www.thejanepauleyshow.com/aboutshow/today.html

http://www.add.org/

http://www.chadd.org/

 

[Op_Cit]

Joe's more straight up than me here. I chose to make a roundabout statement by trying to make fun of myself. But can't you all admit this whole psych stuff is schizoid?

One man's disorder is another's fetish. Pedophilia must be bad, or acting on it always is. Yet circumcision is commonplace in our society: mutilation of an infant who has no say in the matter. Indoctrination into the family's religion before much self awareness is developed is OK, but sex ed not. Making fun of people of opposite politics OK, but not their sexual orientation.

Is it a simple vote? If 51% of people think x is a disorder then it is?

Discrimination is bad and it's OK to use force to make people not...

If there's a fundamental to this it should be this: ADD is only a symptom.

Personally, I think that until a specific common causation can be identified, classifying it is wrong, unscientific, and ... well, maybe you get the idea.

Treating a symptom without even understanding (let alone addressing) the underlying cause is silly and a recipe for disaster.

If you want to get on Joe's case, attack him on his desire to allow personal choice (discriminate when hiring), yet aparent support for the concept of tenure (which would prevent an organization from removing people they no longer want). These are in conflict with each other.

Here's my litmus for ADD existing in someone like a child: put him in front of his favorite video game, and if he can't stay focused on that, then some kind of attention deficit does exist. But if he can focus on that, then there's no disorder involved.

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

I knew it was too good to be true.

I was hoping you wouldn't make assumptions and misinterpret.

You have a very bad understanding about what ADD is, I'm sorry to say. It is not a psychological crutch. and it's very hurtful for you to say that it is. That's kind of like saying some one with bipoar disorder is just a bad person.

I have an excellent understanding of what ADD is. You seem to be ignoring that I said that should ADD become a defnitive diagnosis and disorder--one that is accepted and no longer has the stigma of "urban rumor"--people might use that as a crutch to explain and rationalize and excuse away their own laziness or lack of personal willpower. At no point does that mean that ADD people will use their disorder in that way, only that people in general might be inclined to excuse their inability to make good grades on ADD, or go to work on time, or take care of their kids, or pay their taxes, etc., etc., etc. because there's a convienient excuse floating around out there that people take seriously.

To ignore that as a possible reality is blind ignorance.

As to hireing, people with ADD often have some very useful strengths (although we can't always see them ourselves on account of always being told that we are lazy, flighty dingbats with no will power) as well as a fresh and different outlook on many things. So if you wouldn't want to hire us, it would be your loss.

You're talking about people having different and useful strengths... that's fine. People can have differnt outlooks and whatnot. Ought that I have read of ADD (and I have) doesn't grant it some special insightful abilities. If I have the choice of two people, perfectly identical, one with ADD and one without. I hire the one without. Because that's just smart. Why knowingly hire someone with a psychological disorder that can interfere with their work or the workplace? You say "they have useful strengths", I say "that's besides the point, I wasn't comparing the strength-having-ADD guy to the no-strength-having-non-ADD guy".

Expanding the thought experiment out to "Some ADD people have talents or skills that you'd miss out on" is ignoring the question entirely. I could then say "but then there are non-ADD people with more valuable skills and talents"... and so on... and so on. The comparison was two people with the only difference being a distractive, disruptive, pschological disorder that conflicts directly with ordered workplaces everywhere with deadline demands.

I wonder if you'd say the same though, about hiring somebody with a disabiltiy that you could see. Would you be as eager to discriminate against a person with an actual crutch? Or a person in a wheel-chair, who can do the job but might need a bigger work space, ramps to get in and out of the building, a special stall in the bathroom.? Or a diabetic who might need a few minutes each day to eat a small snack or give themselves some insuline?

I wouldn't hire a guy in a wheelchair to be an errand runner requiring in and out of office and around town speed. I wouldn't hire the blind guy to pick my art. I wouldn't hire a deaf guy to answer phones. I wouldn't hire someone with a clinical lack of ability to pay attention, work on extended project, be reliable with regard to responsibilities, etc. to do very much at all. I wouldn't hire smokers over non-smokers (they don't take smoke breaks). You can find all that distasteful, but to succeed in business you have to respect Human Resources and understand that not all potential employees are created equal... or you go out of business.

When you find someone who's perfect, by all means hire them. But they won't help you solve the problems of the rest of us. (and solving people's problems is generally how money is made)

Money is made by providing what people want, not solving problems per se. I have no idea where I'd find a perfect person, but judging between employee candidates isn't a matter of find the perfect person--it's finding the qualified person that has the least problems.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

It's interesting how these diagnoses develop these days. A lot of these conditions aren't recognized as disorders until a "cure" is developed. Once there's a way to treat these things, suddenly there's an explosion in diagnosis.

It shouldn't be any surprise that the drug companies who manufacture the treatments are the main impetus behind educating doctors and the public about these conditions, and I guarantee you, if you take Pfizer or Glaxo-Wellcome's test to see if you have AADD (and the drug companies are usually the ones who make up the tests), odds are very good that you'll find out you do. Guess why. I took one of the tests and it said I had it too. (Sample questions: I often don't finish things I start. I get fidgety in long meetings. I find studying to be a chore.)

Depression was a much rarer disease 30 years ago before the anti-depressants flooded the market. Now, thanks to the educational efforts of the drug houses, most prescriptions for anti-depressants are written not by shrinks, but by GP's. Those all-expenses-paid golf junket/seminars in Hawaii the drug houses offer MD's do pay off.

There's a new drug available now being touted as the "female viagra", which is supposed to increase sexual desire in women. Problem is, not many women complain about the disorder it's designed to treat, and so the manufacturer is lobbying the editors of the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual (the guidebook for psychological diagnostics) to create a new disease, "Female Anhedonia" or something. If they succeed, you can expect female anhedonia to become the new disease du jour and sales could go through the roof.

I'm not saying the pharmaceutical manufacturers are bad. Let's just say they're very, very enthusiastic about their products. If they had their way, everything would be a treatable disease state: stage fright, social anxiety, too much sense of humor or not enough, anger, whatever. And who's to say they're not right? It is all biochemistry, after all, even character and personality.

 

[sweetnpetite]

Here's my litmus for ADD existing in someone like a child: put him in front of his favorite video game, and if he can't stay focused on that, then some kind of attention deficit does exist. But if he can focus on that, then there's no disorder involved.

It doesn't work that way.

I don't know how many times I've heard people say "you can't have ADD, you can sit down and read a book for hours."

It comes from a misunderstanding of the disorder. It doesn't mean that you can't ever focus on anything. It means that you have a difficult time focusing on the correct thing, much of the time. Many people with ADD have hyperfocus on certain things (video-games, work, or whatever) they can focus on that one thing to the exlusion of all else with amazing ability, and it sometimes serves them well, and sometimes does not. It all depends on what happens to catch their hyperattention. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and ADHD people aren't any different. Although we have an overall disability, we are still better at some things than others. Also, the brain doesn't work quite like, say your legs. A person with alzhiemers or dementia may know your name one day and not know it the next and then know it again a week later. It doesn't mean that they were faking it. ADD is a lot like that too, somedays things come easier, other days nothing seems to make sense or everything takes a lot longer and it feels like you are walking through water.

 

[Virtual_Burlesque]

. . . One thing they didn't cover- that i wish that they had was the number of people who will try to convince you that you *don't* have it. Even when you know you do and you're being helped by that knowledge. . .

I am visualising the scene with the Black Knight, in "Monty Python & The Search for the Holy Grail" . . . only with the dialogue reversed.

. . . Pedophilia must be bad, or acting on it always is. circumcision is commonplace in our society: mutilation of an infant who has no say in the matter. . . .

Well, I didn't need to be circumcised, but I had my tonsils out when I was seven, and my appendix removed when I was ten.

I don't remember being asked if I wished for those operations, but I am certain, at the time, my answer would have been, "No!"

Was that supposed to be a non sequitur, or are you trying to equate surgical procedures to paedophilia?

What did Hannibal Lector’s paper on sadism in clinical surgery, have to say about it?

 

[sweetnpetite]

I was hoping you wouldn't make assumptions and misinterpret.



I have an excellent understanding of what ADD is. You seem to be ignoring that I said that should ADD become a defnitive diagnosis and disorder--one that is accepted and no longer has the stigma of "urban rumor"--people might use that as a crutch to explain and rationalize and excuse away their own laziness or lack of personal willpower. At no point does that mean that ADD people will use their disorder in that way, only that people in general might be inclined to excuse their inability to make good grades on ADD, or go to work on time, or take care of their kids, or pay their taxes, etc., etc., etc. because there's a convienient excuse floating around out there that people take seriously.

To ignore that as a possible reality is blind ignorance.

I could also claim that I have low blood sugar or high blood pressure or any number of things to get more chances to sit down at a job that requires a lot of standing, just because I'm too lazy to stand up. If I were pregnant, I could claim that I was having cramps when I wasn't, or that I had more back pain than I really did. ANYTHING could be used as an excuse for anybody. Lots of things can be used as an excuses without providing documentation.

Trust me, the IRS doesn't give you special breaks if you say "but I have ADD!" not even if you provide documentation. So I fail to see your point? ADD will probably always have a stigma of urban rumour because it's easy for people to beleive that kids just need to be spanked more, and adults need to buck up. Mental health problems are generally harder to prove to a disbelieving mind than a broken arm. Depression- you just need to chear up! Anxiety- just relax! Turret's Syndrom- your just looking for attention. Mildly retarted/low IQ, you just need to try harder.

You're talking about people having different and useful strengths... that's fine. People can have differnt outlooks and whatnot. Ought that I have read of ADD (and I have) doesn't grant it some special insightful abilities. If I have the choice of two people, perfectly identical, one with ADD and one without. I hire the one without. Because that's just smart. Why knowingly hire someone with a psychological disorder that can interfere with their work or the workplace? You say "they have useful strengths", I say "that's besides the point, I wasn't comparing the strength-having-ADD guy to the no-strength-having-non-ADD guy".

Where would you find two people who are identicle to each other save one having ADD? This is just silly. All that I have read does point out strengths that people with ADD tend to have. No, they are not isolated to ONLY people with ADD, *but* the highly creative, high energy, fireball type people are likely to have a lot of difficulty with other more practical aspects of life like remembering were we set down our keys.

Expanding the thought experiment out to "Some ADD people have talents or skills that you'd miss out on" is ignoring the question entirely. I could then say "but then there are non-ADD people with more valuable skills and talents"... and so on... and so on. The comparison was two people with the only difference being a distractive, disruptive, pschological disorder that conflicts directly with ordered workplaces everywhere with deadline demands.



I wouldn't hire a guy in a wheelchair to be an errand runner requiring in and out of office and around town speed. I wouldn't hire the blind guy to pick my art. I wouldn't hire a deaf guy to answer phones. I wouldn't hire someone with a clinical lack of ability to pay attention, work on extended project, be reliable with regard to responsibilities, etc. to do very much at all. I wouldn't hire smokers over non-smokers (they don't take smoke breaks). You can find all that distasteful, but to succeed in business you have to respect Human Resources and understand that not all potential employees are created equal... or you go out of business.

Like I said, it's rediculous to use the example of two people who are identical in skill qualification, ect, eccept for ADD. You may or you may not need the skills that a person with ADD has. If you don't need there skills, then I suppose there would be no need to overlook their disablitiy. I suppose it would be beside the point anyway. If you do need there skills and you don't hire them because they have a disabilty, then it will be your loss. As was said.

Money is made by providing what people want, not solving problems per se. I have no idea where I'd find a perfect person, but judging between employee candidates isn't a matter of find the perfect person--it's finding the qualified person that has the least problems.

People want to fly. (Or need to for business or whatever) Just having an airline won't garantee you make money. Giving them a lot of extra's may or may not attract more customers. Free champain might make me book with you. But what if my problem is that I'm tired of showing up all wrinkled and tired? And I don't like being crushed into a small space and having my elbows banged into by the cart? You will make more money by solving my problems, then just by providing me with a place to fly the friendly skys. Money is indeed made by solving peoples problelms. IN this country- we can generally get what we want and there are more than enough places for us to get it. IF you don't understand your customers/clients and solve their problems, they could go anywhere to get what they want. And they will propbably go to the place that does solve their problem.

I don't feel that I made assumptions or misinterpreted. I feel that I just disagreed. The only assumption I made was that you were not well informed on the topic, not that you hadn't read anything about it. I'm sure you have. But you still don't seem well informed, from your comments. YOu yuorself said you've never read about any special skills or strengths that someone with ADHS would have. If you had read extensively and/or read anything positive about ADHD at all, you should have come accross this information.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, or get upset. In fact, I'm quite calm. But I think you are either misinformed or uninformed on the topic. Just because there are a lot of loud people shouting that ADD is all in our heads doesn't mean that it's just an urban legend.

 

[Op_Cit]

It doesn't work that way.
It doesn't mean that you can't ever focus on anything. It means that you have a difficult time focusing on the correct thing, much of the time.

Who's to say what the correct thing is?

A few weeks ago there was a 60 minutes piece about this nomadic tribe of fishermen in the indian ocean. Nobody from that tribe (spread out all over that area) died from the tidal waves. One group fishing near the shore next to some burmese fishermen saw changes in the water level and immediately packed up and headed out to sea. Meanwhile the burmese guys kept on fishing and later they all died.

If it makes your life better to believe you have a disorder (whether or not it exists) then, great, go for it. But if you make my (or other's) life worse because you have a disorder (real or imagined), that's not OK.

Well, I didn't need to be circumcised, but I had my tonsils out when I was seven, and my appendix removed when I was ten.
Was that supposed to be a non sequitur, or are you trying to equate surgical procedures to paedophilia?

A baby's dick isn't going to fall off and he's not going to die if he doesn't get circumcised. I'm pointing out schizophrenic nature of both morality and psychology

I'm not advocating pedophilia, I'm just pointing out that the act of sex between adult/child is not harmful in itself. It is a situational thing. There may exist some culture somewhere that in addition to circumcising their kids at birth they, have ritualized sex before puberty and everyone is mentally healthy in that culture. There are some that would argue that sex with minors is better than bombing them into non existence. Pedophilia was comon & mostly accepted in greek/roman times, but not everyone did it, and not everyone thought so.

 

[sweetnpetite]

It's interesting how these diagnoses develop these days. A lot of these conditions aren't recognized as disorders until a "cure" is developed. Once there's a way to treat these things, suddenly there's an explosion in diagnosis.

It shouldn't be any surprise that the drug companies who manufacture the treatments are the main impetus behind educating doctors and the public about these conditions, and I guarantee you, if you take Pfizer or Glaxo-Wellcome's test to see if you have AADD (and the drug companies are usually the ones who make up the tests), odds are very good that you'll find out you do. Guess why. I took one of the tests and it said I had it too. (Sample questions: I often don't finish things I start. I get fidgety in long meetings. I find studying to be a chore.)

Depression was a much rarer disease 30 years ago before the anti-depressants flooded the market. Now, thanks to the educational efforts of the drug houses, most prescriptions for anti-depressants are written not by shrinks, but by GP's. Those all-expenses-paid golf junket/seminars in Hawaii the drug houses offer MD's do pay off.

There's a new drug available now being touted as the "female viagra", which is supposed to increase sexual desire in women. Problem is, not many women complain about the disorder it's designed to treat, and so the manufacturer is lobbying the editors of the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual (the guidebook for psychological diagnostics) to create a new disease, "Female Anhedonia" or something. If they succeed, you can expect female anhedonia to become the new disease du jour and sales could go through the roof.

I'm not saying the pharmaceutical manufacturers are bad. Let's just say they're very, very enthusiastic about their products. If they had their way, everything would be a treatable disease state: stage fright, social anxiety, too much sense of humor or not enough, anger, whatever. And who's to say they're not right? It is all biochemistry, after all, even character and personality.

From what I know about you, I wouldn't be the least bit suprised if you did have ADD.

Those questionars don't diagnose, they just give you an idea of weather or not you should get tested. People do get tested and find out that they *don't* have it. However, what makes you so sure that you don't have it and that the questionere you took is 'wrong'?

I agree with many of your points about drug companies. They are very enthusiasitic But lots of people say "well if so and so has it because of such and such then *I* have it too- as if this is somehow unheard of. Lot's of people have it and don't know it. Just as lots of people are clinically depressed and don't recognize it for what it is. ANd lots of people have bi-polar and their family just thinks that they talk to much, shop to much and are purposley irresponsible.

I don't know if that made sence or not. Sometimes I can't tell...

 

[sweetnpetite]

Who's to say what the correct thing is?

.

Who's to ever say the correct thing about anything?

Experts differ in oppion all the time. One might say chemotherapy won't help a certain patient, another may disagree.

Its not qutie the same as suggesting that no body knows anything.

I go by the doctors who specialize in the subject as well as my own experience. That seems to be a pretty good way to go.

Your own experience is important- at least to you. Nothing works for everything. Just because Tylonol may not cure my headache, that doesn't mean I don't have a headache. Just becauase I can listen to music, but people talking makes it hurt more, doesn't mean I don't have a headache. Just because 9 out of 10 doctors recomend perscription x for my condition doesn't mean it will work on me. Just because there are exeptions, doesn't mean that there aren't rules.

 

[sweetnpetite]

What's It Like To Have ADD?

by Edward M. Hallowell, MD
© 1992

What is it like to have ADD? What is the feel of the syndrome? I have a short talk that I often give to groups as an introduction to the subjective experience of ADD and what it is like to live with it:

Attention Deficit Disorder. First of all, I resent the term. As far as I'm concerned most people have Attention Surplus Disorder. I mean, life being what it is, who can pay attention to anything for very long? Is it really a sign of mental health to be able to balance your checkbook, sit still in your chair, and never speak out of turn? As far as I can see, many people who don't have ADD are charter members of the Congenitally Boring.

But anyway, be that as it may, there is this syndrome called ADD or ADHD, depending on what book you read. So what's it like to have ADD? Some people say the so-called syndrome doesn't even exist, but believe me, it does. Many metaphors come to mind to describe it. It's like driving in the rain with bad windshield wipers. Everything is smudged and blurred and you're speeding along, and it's reeeeally frustrating not being able to see very well. Or, it's like listening to a radio station with a lot of static and you have to strain to hear what's going on. Or, it's like trying to build a house of cards in a dust storm. You have to build a structure to protect yourself from the wind before you can even start on the cards.

In other ways it's like being super-charged all the time. You get one idea and you have to act on it, and then, what do you know, but you've got another idea before you've finished up with the first one, and so you go for that one, but of course a third idea intercepts the second, and you just have to follow that one, and pretty soon people are calling you disorganized and impulsive and all sorts of impolite words that miss the point completely. Because you're trying really hard. It's just that you have all these invisible vectors pulling you this way and that which makes it really hard to stay on task.

Plus which, you're spilling over all the time. You're drumming your fingers, tapping your feet, humming a song, whistling, looking here, looking there, scratching, stretching, doodling, and people think you're not paying attention or that you're not interested, but all you're doing is spilling over so that you can pay attention. I can pay a lot better attention when I'm taking a walk or listening to music or even when I'm in a crowded, noisy room than when I'm still and surrounded by silence. God save me from the reading rooms. Have you ever been into the one in Widener Library? The only thing that saves it is that so many of the people who use it have ADD that there's a constant soothing bustle.

What is it like to have ADD?

Buzzing. Being here and there and everywhere. Someone once said, "Time is the thing that keeps everything from happening all at once." Time parcels moments out into separate bits so that we can do one thing at a time. In ADD, this does not happen. In ADD, time collapses. Time becomes a black hole. To the person with ADD it feels as if everything is happening all at once. This creates a sense of inner turmoil or even panic. The individual loses perspective and the ability to prioritize. He or she is always on the go, trying to keep the world from caving in on top.

Museums. (Have you noticed how I skip around? That's part of the deal. I change channels a lot. And radio stations. Drives my wife nuts. "Can't we listen to just one song all the way through?") Anyway, museums. The way I go through a museum is the way some people go through Filene's basement. Some of this, some of that, oh, this one looks nice, but what about that rack over there? Gotta hurry, gotta run. It's not that I don't like art. I love art. But my way of loving it makes most people think I'm a real Philistine. On the other hand, sometimes I can sit and look at one painting for a long while. I'll get into the world of the painting and buzz around in there until I forget about everything else. In these moments I, like most people with ADD, can hyperfocus, which gives the lie to the notion that we can never pay attention. Sometimes we have turbocharged focusing abilities. It just depends upon the situation.

Lines. I'm almost incapable of waiting in lines. I just can't wait, you see. That's the hell of it. Impulse leads to action. I'm very short on what you might call the intermediate reflective step between impulse and action. That's why I, like so many people with ADD, lack tact. Tact is entirely dependent on the ability to consider one's words before uttering them. We ADD-types don't do this so well. I remember in the 5th grade I noticed my math teacher's hair in a new style and blurted out, "Mr. Cook, is that a toupee you're wearing?" I got kicked out of class. I've since learned how to say these inappropriate things in such a way or at such a time that they can in fact be helpful. But it has taken time. That's the thing about ADD. It takes a lot of adapting to get on in life. But it certainly can be done, and be done very well.

As you might imagine, intimacy can be a problem if you've got to be constantly changing the subject, pacing, scratching and blurting out tactless remarks. My wife has learned not to take my tuning out personally, and she says that when I'm there, I'm really there. At first, when we met, she thought I was some kind of nut, as I would bolt out of restaurants at the end of meals or disappear to another planet during a conversation. Now she has grown accustomed to my sudden coming and goings.

Many of us with ADD crave high-stimulus situations. In my case, I love the racetrack. And I love the high-intensity crucible of doing psychotherapy. And I love having lots of people around. Obviously this tendency can get you into trouble, which is why ADD is high among criminals and self-destructive risk-takers. It is also high among so-called Type A personalities, as well as among manic-depressives, sociopaths and criminals, violent people, drug abusers, and alcoholics. But is is also high among creative and intuitive people in all fields, and among highly energetic, highly productive people.

Which is to say there is a positive side to all this. Usually the positive doesn't get mentioned when people speak about ADD because there is a natural tendency to focus on what goes wrong, or at least on what has to be somehow controlled. But often once the ADD has been diagnosed, and the child or the adult, with the help of teachers and parents or spouses, friends, and colleagues, has learned how to cope with it, an untapped realm of the brain swims into view. Suddenly the radio station is tuned in, the windshield is clear, the sand storm has died down. And the child or adult, who had been such a problem, such a nudge, such a general pain in the neck to himself and everybody else, that person starts doing things he'd never been able to do before. He surprises everyone around him, and he surprises himself. I use the male pronoun, but it could just as easily be she, as we are seeing more and more ADD among females as we are looking for it.

Often these people are highly imaginative and intuitive. They have a "feel" for things, a way of seeing right into the heart of matters while others have to reason their way along methodically. This is the person who can't explain how he thought of the solution, or where the idea for the story came from, or why suddenly he produced such a painting, or how he knew the shortcut to the answer, but all he can say is he just knew it, he could feel it. This is the man or woman who makes million-dollar deals in a catnap and pulls them off the next day. This is the child who, having been reprimanded for blurting something out, is then praised for having blurted out something brilliant. These are the people who learn and know and do and go by touch and feel.

These people can feel a lot. In places where most of us are blind, they can, if not see the light, at least feel the light, and they can produce answers apparently out of the dark. It is important for others to be sensitive to this "sixth sense" many ADD people have, and to nurture it. If the environment insists on rational, linear thinking and "good" behavior from these people all the time, then they may never develop their intuitive style to the point where they can use it profitably. It can be exasperating to listen to people talk. They can sound so vague or rambling. But if you take them seriously and grope along with them, often you will find they are on the brink of startling conclusions or surprising solutions.

What I am saying is that their cognitive style is qualitatively different from most people's, and what may seem impaired, with patience and encouragement may become gifted.

The thing to remember is that if the diagnosis can be made, then most of the bad stuff associated with ADD can be avoided or contained. The diagnosis can be liberating, particularly for people who have been stuck with labels like "lazy," "stubborn," "willful," "disruptive," "impossible," "tyrannical," "a spaceshot," "brain damaged," "stupid," or just plain "bad." Making the diagnosis of ADD can take the case from the court of moral judgment to the clinic of neuropsychiatric treatment.

What is the treatment all about? Anything that turns down the noise. Just making the diagnosis helps turn down the noise of guilt and self-recrimination. Building certain kinds of structure into one's life can help a lot. Working in small spurts rather than long hauls. Breaking tasks down into smaller tasks. Making lists. Getting help where you need it, whether it's having a secretary, or an accountant, or an automatic bank teller, or a good filing system, or a home computer - getting help where you need it. Maybe applying external limits on your impulses. Or getting enough exercise to work off some of the noise inside. Finding support. Getting someone in your corner to coach you, to keep you on track. Medication can help a great deal too, but it is far from the whole solution. The good news is that treatment can really help.

Let me leave you by telling you that we need your help and understanding. We may make mess-piles wherever we go, but with your help, those mess-piles can be turned into realms of reason and art. So, if you know someone like me who's acting up and daydreaming and forgetting this or that and just not getting with the program, consider ADD before he starts believing all the bad things people are saying about him and it's too late.

The main point of the talk is that there is a more complex subjective experience to ADD than a list of symptoms can possibly impart. ADD is a way of life, and until recently it has been hidden, even from the view of those who have it. The human experience of ADD is more than just a collection of symptoms. It is a way of living. Before the syndrome is diagnosed that way of living may be filled with pain and misunderstanding. After the diagnosis is made, one often finds new possibilities and the chance for real change.

The adult syndrome of ADD, so long unrecognized, is now at last bursting upon the scene. Thankfully, millions of adults who have had to think of themselves as defective or unable to get their acts together, will instead be able to make the most of their considerable abilities. It is a hopeful time indeed.

http://www.add.org/articles/whats_it_like.html

 

[sweetnpetite]

...should ADD become a defnitive diagnosis and disorder--one that is accepted and no longer has the stigma of "urban rumor"--

Myth #1: ADHD is a "phantom disorder".
FACT: The existence of a neurobiological disorder is not an issue to be decided by the media through public debate, but rather as a matter of scientific research. Scientific studies spanning 95 years summarized in the professional writings of Dr. Russell Barkley, Dr. Sam Goldstein, and others have consistently identified a group of individuals who have trouble with concentration, impulse control, and in some cases, hyperactivity. Although the name given to this group of individuals, our understanding of them, and the estimated prevalence of this group has changed a number of times over the past six decades, the symptoms have consistently been found to cluster together. Currently called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, this syndrome has been recognized as a disability by the courts, the United States Department of Education, the Office for Civil Rights, the United States Congress, the National Institutes of Health, and all major professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, and educational associations.

 

[sweetnpetite]

Myth #4: ADHD kids are learning to make excuses, rather than take responsibility for their actions.
FACT: Therapists, educators, and physicians routinely teach children that ADHD is a challenge, not an excuse. Medication corrects their underlying chemical imbalance, giving them a fair chance of facing the challenges of growing up to become productive citizens. Accommodations for the disabled, as mandated by federal and state laws, are not ways of excusing them from meeting society's responsibilities, but rather make it possible for them to compete on a leveled playing field.

http://www.add.org/articles/myth.html