ADHD in adults

[zoom-zoom]

One of my son's preschool teachers told us that Dane couldn't be ADHD, since he could hyper-focus on things he enjoyed to the exclusion of everything else.

Duh, that is one of the hallmarks of ADHD! We went another 2 years without pursuing any sort of diagnosis because of that woman's "assessment."

Then kindergarten screeners recommended we hold him back...because he had no focus during the session (put a little car/truck-obsessed boy in a room full of his favorite toys and what do you expect, people?).

This is the same boy who now scores advanced on state standardized tests. Holding him back would have been a disaster. Instead of being just ADHD he would have been bored to tears and ADHD. Bucking their recommendation and enrolling him in an Montessori kindergarten (and subsequently a Montessori Elem. school) was the best thing we ever did for our kid. It was at that kindergarten that the school director recognized instantly that our kid was perfectly ready for kindergarten. She also worked with us and our son's pediatrician through the diagnosis process. Rather than writing him off as a "problem child," as previous educators had.

[WindingRoad]

So I've seen my psychologist now a couple of times. I am told I have moderately severe ADHD symptoms. I asked where I rank to others who have ADHD and he said I was in the "upper echelon". Apparently this has been a much bigger problem than I ever realized for a very long time. I'm in the process of getting on some type of drug therapy. I'm a little worried about side effects and all. I hear that each drug reacts differently in each person so there's no way to know exactly what will happen.

[indysteel]

Wow; that's pretty heavy stuff, WR. I'm just glad that you finally pieced it together and sought professional help. Hopefully your doc will keep a close eye on your meds and help you deal with any side effects. Is conventional talk therapy also recommended. Good luck with dealing with this.

[myjas]

My son was diagnosed with severe ADHD by a pyschologist years back. As he was diagnosing him I seen similarities in the symptoms in me. I mentioned it to him and he said that women cope with it better because we can multi task. He also explained how the meds work if you do have this disorder compared to if you don't. And it can be seen on a special scan of the brain.

[Crankin]

Winding Road, I am glad you are on your way. You will notice an immediate effect with the medication. It might take awhile to work out the dose or even which one is right. And these meds don't seem to follow the usual rules of dosage by weight. It's a very individual thing.
Women don't get diagnosed because they are nice little girls, sit in the back of the classroom and daydream. Then people wonder why they can't read, etc. But, sometimes they act out in other ways. If you looked at the stats on girls who have a substance issue, cut, or are sexually promiscuous, you might find a pretty high # of them have untreated ADD. All of those things are self medicating/soothing. Sometimes people can focus themselves on one thing they really love (like riding), but it doesn't help with all of the symptoms. The women/multitasking thing has no real basis in neuroscience. The evidence is very contradictory. You can make it look that way if you want to.

[Jolt]

The women/multitasking thing has no real basis in neuroscience. The evidence is very contradictory. You can make it look that way if you want to.

I also don't think the multitasking thing is accurate...either that or I just didn't get a copy of that gene! Trying to do more than one thing at a time usually makes me crazy.

[zoom-zoom]

I also don't think the multitasking thing is accurate...either that or I just didn't get a copy of that gene! Trying to do more than one thing at a time usually makes me crazy.

I'm suspicious of that, too. I have not been conclusively diagnosed, though everyone who knows me and is familiar with ADHD is pretty convinced that I am (and having a kid and a sibling with it makes it very likely). I can't multitask to save my life. Waiting tables was really a rough career for the few years I did it.