If you are an Adult and
Suspect that you have
Attention Deficit Disorder...
It is not too late to get treated. While everyone has some of the symptoms of ADD/ADHD,
some people have a great number of symptoms or struggle to a much greater degree than others.
We used to think that by the time that a person
reached adolescence or young adulthood, they had outgrown ADHD. However,
we have learned that while many of the hyperactive symptoms may not be so
obvious (most adults no longer are jumping on the furniture!), many deficits may
still exist. Problems with boredom, poor organizational skills, difficulty
focusing or paying attention are still often a problem for people who had ADHD
as a child. It is now believed that at least 50% of the people who had ADHD as a
child will have significant symptoms into adulthood.
Typical
Problems of
Adults with ADHD
Serious Consequences of Adult ADHD
How Is Adult ADHD
Diagnosed
How is Adult ADHD
Best Treated?
A New Medication for
Adult ADHD-Strattera
A good resource at chadd.org deals with adults:
Adults with ADHD
Adults may have many, but not necessarily all of these symptoms
Easily irritated
Forgetful
Become bored easily
Difficulty understanding written directions
Difficulty remembering verbal
directions
Have to read things several times to remember what was read
Become frustrated easily
Become disorganized easily
Burdened by too many
projects
Lose or misplace things
Difficulty in school or work
Daydream or space out
Feel out of control
Feel on the verge of losing control
Do things too quickly
Procrastinate (put things off)
Inconsistent effort or productivity
Full of ideas
Poor follow-through
Difficulty with time tests or time lines
Feel tired, sleepy,
not alert
Feel like an underachiever
Anticipate failure or inadequate performance
Become
distracted easily
Do not stick with tasks until they are finished
Make careless mistakes
Talk
rapidly
Talk or act first, think later
Have difficulty concentrating on boring tasks
Overactive
Get careless and make mistakes when task is demanding
Do not listen carefully
Feel
restless
Short attention span
Poor short-term memory
Over focused
Tense
Have low self esteem
Feel or act "driven"
Impatient
Seek stimulating experiences
Mood swings
Do best with deadlines/pressure
Jumpy, pace, fidget, drum, hum
Stir things up
when bored
Seem to get in arguments a lot
Many people think that there are
only minor annoyances with adult ADHD
However the following are often
very serious consequences, and can often impact the quality of life. Adults with
ADHD may experience the following.
1. More speeding tickets, more car
accidents, more serious automobile accidents, more license suspensions. A recent study that
compared the accuracy of those with untreated ADHD on a driving simulator
indicated that they performed at about the same level as those who were legally
intoxicated. Both those with the ADHD and those who were alcohol impaired both
thought that they were "driving very well." And then add alcohol to those
who have ADHD, and you get really terrible driving performance.
2. Poor relationships because of
poor impulse control, more arguing
3. More alcoholism and substance
abuse.
4. More anxiety and worrying,
feeling of being out of control.
5. More job changes, poor
relationships with bosses or fellow employees
6. Poor academic success,
more likely to drop out of high school or college.
7. Poor planning in your life,
drifting along.
The diagnosis of Attention Deficit
Disorder has several important parts:
1. Taking a history of the person,
the length of time that there has been a problem
2. Identifying various people's
perception of the difficulty. This is important, since a diagnosis of ADHD
requires the problem to occur in most areas of a person's life, such as home,
school and work. This is done with scientifically constructed checklists.
3. Computerized assessments are
used to help give an objective measure of problems with attention. Swank
Counseling uses the
Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA).
This is an extremely helpful test to identify various aspects of
problems of attention.
4. Identify other problems that may
interfere with problems of attention. For example, sleep apnea or
depression may cause problems with attention.
There is no single test to identify
ADHD. That does not make it less real. There is also no single test
to identify almost any other similar problem such as learning disabilities,
depression, or anxiety.
All such disorders including ADHD
are continuum disorders. Everyone has some of it, and some people are much
more severe than others.
Aren't there blood
tests or brain scans available?
Presently there is no reliable
blood test to determine ADHD. At the research level, various brain scans
are used to learn more about the function of the brain. These scans have
demonstrated abnormal blood flow and activation in portions of the brains in
people with ADHD. However the cost of brain scans is prohibitive, and
there is some risk in the tests.
Treatment usually requires psychostimulants such as
Strattera, Metadate CD, Concerta, Ritalin, Focalin, Dexedrine, Adderall or Adderall
XR.
Wellbutrin (bupropion hydrochloride) also marketed as Zyban for stop smoking
appears helpful. There are now a couple of blood pressure medications that
have been approved for treating ADHD. One of them is Intuniv.
Intuniv has an effect on certain receptors in the brain.
Studies show that it reduces distractibility and improves attention, working
memory, and impulse control. Intuniv is an extended release medicine that
contains the same active ingredient as Tenex,
a blood
pressure drug
that’s been used as an off-label ADHD treatment for years.
Other things don't seem to work, although there are many people
trying to sell things that they believe help.
Education to help
understand all of the implications of ADHD, and learn adequately about the
medication is also very helpful.
Adults can benefit from counseling
to deal with many issues that have been created by the ADHD. For examples,
career issues may need to be discussed. Help with marriage or relationship
issues may also be needed. And self esteem is often damaged from ADHD.
| 
Swank Counseling
