Posted on 07/17/2004 11:43:25 PM PDT by neverdem
Other disorders, such as Asperger's Syndrome, can sometimes look like ADD/ADHD, particularly in children.
toughtomater wrote: "On a very basic level, if a child is raised by a television in a family where both parents work, and taught by government schools, one would expect an otherwise healthy child to develop all the symptoms associated with ADD/ADHD." This is a true statement based on what I've seen in the behavior of my non-add kids v. the one who has it.
For the "blowhards" (Neal Boortz among them, though I otherwise enjoy his show) a number of clinical studies have found clear differences in brain functioning between brains of people with and without ADD. Here is a link to one such study: http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:hdZPWWUFJE0J:www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/11/981124063106.htm+ADD+AND+%22brain+chemistry%22+AND+difference&hl=en
We've also more recently been able to establish a nexus between classes of behavior/symptoms and differences in brain chemistry, with the more sophisticated and revealing imaging diagnostics.
A lot of ADD people can "hyperfocus" really well, where a bomb could go off in the room and they (almost literally) wouldn't notice. In fact they might do this sort of thing for hours. That alone wouldn't mean you have it, but just to say that you being able to focus on certain things doesn't mean you don't have it.
It can also mimic some of the symptoms of Tourette's syndrome.
I guess it could be MAADD-DAM or DAM-MAADD.
Nice post. The above is my keeper. I don't trust the Psych orgs (apa, etc.) to draw the lines. Drawing a line between normal and a disability or disorder or disease (in a legal sense) is too powerful to be left to a bunch of liberals - the courts, lawyers, and psychologists/psychiatrists. Unfortunately "invading academia" by liberals has really bad ripple effects.
On a more positive note, in my professional opinion, you are suffering from CDD - Chat Deficit Disorder. You don't like to talk to people as much as, say, a normal person like myself does. Please seek treatment tomorrow at the latest (or preferably this evening). There are new drugs coming online, and many new therapy modalities that can help you work through this. Admitting CDD publicly was a brave first step - congratulations! Soon you will be back as a fully functioning adult, working for the state. Please keep us posted of you progress.
People with ADD often cannot focus on something unless it is a highly stimulating topic/activity.
I think there is a lot to be said for being realistic with a job search. What CAN you do, instead of what you really, really WANT to do. People who are chronically late or disorganized are only kept around if what they do accomplish is done very well.
But I won't do business with a company which cannot get done what I need done in a reasonable manner.
Yeah, I had that problem too. Learning self-discipline solved it.
Adult ADD? Now that's just silly. We used to call people like that scatterbrained.
ADD, ADHD, Global Warming, the Easter Bunny, an honest Democrat- all fictional....
"I guess it could be MAADD-DAM or DAM-MAADD."
If I was a madam, I would be dam mad!
Inability to pay attention at all would be rare and for cases like this girl you describe -- a true learning disability. Much of what is wrongly called ADD is really just inability to pay attention to a particular teacher or the ability to pay attention to several things at the same time --- which looks like not paying attention. A child can be sitting at his desk, paying attention to the eraser on his pencil, paying attention to the kid sitting behind him, and to what is going on outside the window, and to his plans for after school, and to the fly on the wall, and not paying too much attention to the teacher. This child is bored but doesn't really have a learning disability --- sometimes this type might also be paying attention to the teacher and learning just fine but the teacher doesn't think he's paying attention because he's a multi-tasker --- capable of paying attention to several things at one time.
That's just it. For children it's hard not being completely average and not being molded exactly the same --- but for adults it's much easier because there are many different kinds of jobs --- a job that might be boring means you need to look for another kind of job. If you can't focus on one thing but are better at multitasking, then find a job that suits your personality.
I know a woman who used the ADA and her "depression" to manipulate it so she only had to show up to work when she felt like it. Often times she claimed she was too depressed to even get out of bed for the day --- so of course didn't go into work. She held a full time job but they were lucky if she showed up 2 days a week and she'd be somehow less depressed on lighter work days and would manage to come for those.
"Ann? ANN?!?"
<|:)~
(where ya been, bro?)
Very interesting about the hyperfocus - that is the way I am with reading. I read 3 or 4 books a week normally, but I am ADD.
I'm fortunate that I have been aware of it for a long time and try to work with it. It is the greatest source of my creativity - an unending curiosity to learn how to do everything then set it down and go on to learn the next thing that catches my eye.
I can teach dance, make my own soap from scratch, sew complicated figure skating dresses, knit, crochet, paint and do enough carpentry to do things around the house my husband doesn't get to. This year I took the Master Gardening Certification class just to prove to myself I could commit to a semester long program and finish it. Who knows what will catch my eye next.
In my professional life it has been a disaster. I'm lucky that we have our own business now and I haven't fired myself :).
Thru trial and error I found a combination of medications that work for me and I order those online. I haven't tried the Straterra yet to it sounds tempting if it would work.
My little brother was a poster child for ADHD and this was back in the mid 60's before the disorder was well known.
Everything he did was X50. He didn't walk into a room - he burst into a room. He talked loudly and quickly and was in 10 different directions at once. He was one of 4 and while I am moderately ADD (self diagnosed in my adulthood) none of the rest of the kids in the family was anything like our brother.
It has followed him into adulthood - I wish I could take any non believer of this disorder and make them spend a day with him.
I'm not replying specifically to you, neverdem. First, I'm a conservative, and probably agree with 99% of the opinions of those who have commented on this topic. But you're way off base here.
First, there's not doubt that ADD exists. There are brainscans of people with it and without it, and they are consistently different in the same way.
http://www.brainplace.com/bp/atlas/ch12.asp
There's lots of other research into this area, and the scientific evidence is piling up and allowing the study of ADD to go in new directions of understanding about the brain.
Second, as someone with ADD, I know from personal experience that it exists and is devastating if untreated. I'm going to give you a quick bio sketch, but I hope you can read between the lines for what I don't say, but which is implied.
I have a PhD in Electrical Engineering. I work for NASA. I put myself through engineering school working at night, and it took 15 years to go from freshman to PhD. I never took a dime in loans, and never got help from anyone. I work, on average, 12 hours/day, and have since I was 19. I'm now 50. (you can see why I'm a conservative veering towards Libertarian :-) ) I won't list my accomplishments, but I'm no slacker.
I was diagnosed with ADD last year. I had no idea what it was. I was at the end of my rope, and went to see a shrink to see if I was crazy because I couldn't seem to work like the people around me. My life was a disaster and I couldn't seem to fix it. I forgot to pay bills regularly, I couldn't keep track of what I had to do, I was always on the edge of, or in the middle of, a major crisis. I got my phone, my power, and other utilities turned off regularly. I overdrew accounts regularly. I forgot to pay parking tickets which I got regularly by forgetting about parking meters. I had huge piles of papers on my office floor. Everyone I knew was always mad at me for things I said I would do and then forgot, even though I would write them down (I would lose the paper). I progressed in life because it seemed that I could only function when the world was about to collapse on my head. I've been in jail for forgetting to pay a speeding ticket, and I've been in trouble with the IRS my whole adult life. My wife left me because she couldn't take it anymore. This in no way covers, but is only a brief sketch, of what my life was like. I was a screw-up in every area of life.
I tried everything I could think of to get on track. I attributed my condition to the fact that I was lazy (working 12 hour days), undisciplined, a n'er do well, programmed for failure, you name it. I never whined, or tried to find a reason outside of myself. I bought every book, tape, CD, or program I ever heard of that promised some help for someone who was as disorganized and out of control as I was. Right now from where I'm sitting I can see around 25 self-help books and the complete set of Tony Robbins tapes that I bought in 1990 and have listened to around 7 times since then. I have books on improving your memory, self-hynosis tapes and CDs for memory and procrastination. I have books on goal setting, books on organizational systems, books that have titles like "Psycho-Cybernetics" on how to reprogram yourself. I've spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on trying to figure out how to function normally. Two years ago I started to pray every morning for help. My prayer was, "Please God, help me to focus and work today."
Since I've been diagnosed, my life has changed completely. I'm almost normal, and my life resembles a normal life. Most of my messes are cleaned up, and I feel hopeful about life for the first time since I was a teenager. But it's not easy. Here's what people who have ADD have to do if they want to have a normal life.
1) medication (I hate medication. but the difference between me on and me off medication is huge. Most ADD people I know hate medication and would stop immediately if there was an alternative).
2) Health: We have to eat a very strict and healthy diet. No or low sugar, bread, alcohol, junk food, etc. We have to very carefully watch what we eat. I have to exercise a lot. Not just to help my body, but to increase the blood flow to my brain. I run for an hour 5 times a week and do yoga every day. No exceptions.
3) Structure. My life is regimented in a way now that is excesive compared to my old completely unstructured life. Every minute of every day is structured in a routine I worked out with my shrink. I have a complicated work system of lists, inboxes, reminders, files, to keep everything flowing smoothly. I have regular calls with family members and friends so I can keep up and not forget.
This is only the outline, but you can see that having ADD is not a get-out-of-work free card. It's a serious condition that is hell to have undiagnosed, and hard to deal with diagnosed. I've had to come to terms with the fact that I'll never have the same type of life as most people. But what I have now is a million times better than what I used to have.
I didn't go into all this for sympathy, I don't want sympathy. I don't want help. I don't want special favors. But I won't have people who don't know what I've been through make silly and ignorant statements that insult my diginity and my character.
We all have our burdens. This is mine. I hope you handle yours with as much character and fortitude.
ping
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