Although I've met persons who were
pretty good candidates for the dx
They are usually not the ones
who bring up the subject
Adult attention issues are
much more likely to be related to:
1. Poor Sleep hygiene / sleep apnea
2. Substance Use / Abuse
3. Undiagnosed mood disorders
4. Caffeine overuse / Prescription drugs
Poor Sleep hygiene?
How about C.A.P.D.? Very real and much more likely triggered by the technology advances the past several decades. Judge we live in the same area. I spend 7th and 8th grade in a now closed rehab school in your city. Back then {late 60's & early 70's} they thought I might have had ADD ADHD but my symptoms were more complicated.
CAPD stays with you for life and the Vestibular and Visual sensory processing system is damaged. A good Audiologist and even some Occupational therapist can pick up on it. Shrinks usually can not however.
For what ever the reason the initial damage was done be it chronic ear infections or birth defects many times concentration is limited and the behavioral symptoms in a classroom can mimic ADD ADHD. But C.A.P.D. is actually senosry processing damage which can be auditory, visual, or both effected. The behavioral symptoms are in effect a result of sensory overload even though the person may not be aware of it.
The thing of it is caffeine won't change the symptoms as they will in ADD ADHD. But a TV show with high action and flashing or strobing special effects can trigger it. These show up a lot more in TV cartoons, some video games, or even certain enviromental noises like high or low frequency sounds can trigger it. These kids will often have poor eye-muscle coordination as well and things like their feet will become deformed from an off balance gait in some cases. Playing baseball rather than swing and hit they often duck away, swing late, or too early. They can not track the ball and react.
Going to D.A.R.C. a couple of years bought me about 20 years more before disability. But modern psychriatrity about killed me till I found the answers based on my life long medical history. In general ADD ADHD is very over diagnosed and C.A.P.D. is often never considered. If I had a kid with learning and attention issues I'd take them to an Audiologist for C.A.P.D. first and a shrink the very last.
I've had these issues all my life and I'm in my early 50's now. In my case for some reason seizure activity also comes with it and that was when I finally had to take disability. What may seem a fad epidemic of ADD ADHD may well be simply a modern technology induced enviromental sensory overload for some.