ADULT ADDers: TO TEST OR NOT TO TEST

I am a clinical psychologist with a coaching practice. Most young and older adults who contact me have already been diagnosed with AD(H)D. Whether or not they take stimulant medication, they seek strategies to help them in the realms that interfere with optimal functioning. But what about the ADDers who have not been tested? Do I do a screening, a short-evaluation or a complete neuropsychological evaluation? Many experts feel that a complete neuropsychological evaluation is necessary, while others indicate that a developmental history, self-report inventory, and a thorough clinical interview of the individual's work or school status, relationship issues, and social life, to name a few, is sufficient.

As for me, I take the latter approach, including the following areas: 1. developmental and school history, 2. the presence of any known learning disability,3. the coexistence of other psychological and medical issues , 4. the responses on various self-report questionnaires. If an adult has just completed high school or college and has high SAT's or GRE's, I only need to do a screening. However, recently a young man came in with a previous psychological evaluation that suggested dyslexia. I'll have to check that out, to determine if his attention problems result from that, or whether his ADD slows down his reading speed and ability to sustain attention on a reading task.

Many adult ADDers have done very well in their primary and high school years, since they were very bright and could 'wing' it. Then in later life, the demand for self-initiation of tasks and the effort involved became overwhelming. Thus, in these cases a developmental history would not reveal ADD unless there was a hyperactive component(ADHD). I therefore emphasize individualizing the assessment of ADDers, to determine how thorough the testing needs to be. Of those of you who have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, how was it determined?

WHY DO ADDERS SEEK COACHING?

These days, many ADDers take stimulant medication but find it is not sufficient to accomplish their challenging tasks. I see ADDers who are seeking out coaching for ADD in my office for the first time. A few, who have been diagnosed ADD, are found to have problems not associated with ADD. They may have chronic illness or a recent trauma or Asperger's syndrome, which are more challenging for them, than the ADD they have, so that coaching for ADD would not be useful.

Of those who have ADD, there is tremendous variability in terms of which symptoms or behaviors they need help with. Some like me are less concerned about impulsivity( because I am spontaneous at the same time) than initiating a task. Others have problems finishing a task even though they have many other ADD behaviors. Still others are easily distractible or easily bored with tedious tasks, so strategies like studying with environmental stimulation ( such as music are e recommended And then there are the self-destructive risk takers who take drugs and do other risk-taking activities.All ADDers may have a similar cluster of symptoms, but they want to work on those that are interfering with their functioning. So coaches must individualize strategies.

To Be Successful, You Need Coaching for ADD

http://addressingyouradd.com/

A BAD DAY IN AN ADDER'S LIFE

Unless you are an ADDer, you can't imagine how differently one can function in a structured versus an unstructured environment. At work, where I coach ADDers and treat a variety of clients, I am so focused and not easily distracted, that no one would guess I'm an ADDer. It seems that I must exhibit my positive ADD traits, such as spontaneity and humor.

However, on an unstructured non-work day such as today, many negative facets of my ADD brain style become evident. For example, I bought a book for a friend about how to stay young even through your 80's. Thank goodness I looked more carefully at the cover before mailing it, and read ' if you're in your 50's'. She's only 37, so I'm glad I finally paid attention to that detail. Then, I pulled out of a parking space, and someone yelled to me that the splash cover in front of my car was dragging on the ground. Evidently, when I pulled in I didn't notice that I had run over a stone barrier. I had to find a gas station with a mechanic (not an easy matter) and call the lawyer I was supposed to meet, that I'd be delayed (Of course he charges for the time slot).

After the lawyer, I stopped off at my house; and without paying attention, I left my pocketbook (which is generally kept in the trunk of my car) in the house. I rushed off to a coffee shop to relax with my latte. But I couldn't pay for it because my pocketbook was home, so I went home, retrieved it, and then went back.These are only a few of my highlights of an unstructured day. They happen to non-ADDers as well, but usually not frequently, and usually not in a series of inattentive events. If you are an ADDer, do you have a series of'?spacey' experiences on an unstructured day? Do you avoid this pattern with stimulant medication?