Symptoms
of Attention Deficit Disorder and Diagnosis and Treatment
Articles
Detailed clinically oriented articles
(i.e., for medical professionals), are here ADHD
Resources for Medical Professionals.
See also What
are Some Common Signs of LD (Learning Disabilities)? 30%
of people with ADD also have LD.
Here's some symptoms of Adult Attention Deficit Disorder from the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1) Symptom Checklist. Created by Harvard University, New York University and the W.H.O. World Health Organization. It's a screener test, it's not a diagnostic test. You don't need to have all of the symptoms to have ADHD.
1. How often do you have trouble wrapping up the final details of a project, once the challenging parts have been done?
2. How often do you have difficulty getting things in order when you have to do a task that requires organization?
3. How often do you have problems remembering appointments or obligations?
4. When you have a task that requires a lot of thought, how often do you avoid
or delay getting started?
5. How often do you fidget or squirm with your hands or feet when you have to sit down for a long time?
6. How often do you feel overly active and compelled to do things, like you were driven by a motor?
7. How often do you make careless mistakes when you have to work on a boring or
difficult project?
8. How often do you have difficulty keeping your attention when you are doing boring
or repetitive work?
9. How often do you have difficulty concentrating on what people say to you, even when they are speaking to you directly?
10. How often do you misplace or have difficulty finding things at home or at work?
11. How often are you distracted by activity or noise around you?
12. How often do you leave your seat in meetings or other situations in which
you are expected to remain seated?
13. How often do you feel restless or fidgety?
14. How often do you have difficulty unwinding and relaxing when you have time
to yourself?
15. How often do you find yourself talking too much when you are in social situations?
16. When you’re in a conversation, how often do you find yourself finishing the sentences of the people you are talking to, before they can finish
them themselves?
17. How often do you have difficulty waiting your turn in situations when
turn taking is required?
18. How often do you interrupt others when they are busy?
Take the full online test for Adult ADHD
Here are some more articles on the symptoms of Adult ADD
What's
It Like To Have ADD?
Good article by Dr. Ed Hallowell. Great to show your
non-ADD friends what life is like when you have ADD.
Signs
and Symptoms of ADD
A narrative version. A chapter from Dr. Gabor Mate's
book about Attention Deficit Disorder, Scattered Minds. Talks
about the symptoms of attention deficit disorder.
Does Your Doctor Know How to Diagnose ADHD?
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adults: A Survey of Current Practice in Psychiatry and Primary Care Faraone SV, Spencer TJ, Montano CB, et al.
A survey of 50 psychiatrists and 50 primary care practitioners
(PCPs) reviewed 537 and 317 medical records, respectively,
of ADHD-diagnosed adults...Among patients who had no prior
diagnosis, 56% complained about ADHD symptoms to other health
professionals without being diagnosed. PCPs were the least
aggressive in diagnosing ADHD."
I've
lost track of how many people I've personally known who have
told their health care professional they "thought they
might have ADD" and were quickly dismissed (often rudely
so) and later (sometimes 10 years later) saw an experienced
professional and got diagnosed with ADD.
Parents
Of Children With ADD Are 24 Times More Likely To Have ADD
Themselves Study Says
ADHD is the #2 genetically inherited condition after
height. "The evidence is dramatic and the message clear:
we need to treat the whole family, not just the child." Pete's comment - I've personally noticed that men tend to be in denial/minimization longer than women.
Assessment
and Management of ADHD in Adults
From The Canadian Medical Association Journal, Dr.'s Margaret
Weiss and Candice Murray, 2003. They review the available
literature, discuss the symptoms of adult attention deficit
disorder, and provide an approach to the assessment and management
of ADHD in adults. 8 page comprehensive article.
AD/HD
and Co-Existing Disorders National
Resource Center on AD/HD
Talks about the different Co-Existing or comorbid disorders
that often go along with Attention Deficit Disorder. The most
common ones are Disruptive Behaviour Disorders, Mood Disorders,
Anxiety Disorders, Tics and Tourette’s Syndrome and
Learning Disabilities.
Ethnic
Attitudes and Experiences with ADHD
More than 3,300 adults of varying ethnic backgrounds expressed
their attitudes toward, perceptions of, and experiences with
ADHD in the nationwide Cultural Attitudes & Perceptions
About Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder survey
While
the survey demonstrates a great deal of similarities and common
beliefs about ADHD among people of different ethnic backgrounds,
it also reveals a number of barriers that may be keeping children
who suffer from ADHD from receiving proper diagnosis and treatment,"
said Christopher Griffith, M.D., a child, adolescent and adult
psychiatrist
Overview
of Executive Dysfunction
4 page article on executive functions,
areas in which people with ADD often have problems by Leslie
E. Packer, PhD.
•
planning for the future
• the ability to inhibit or delay responding
• initiating behavior, and
• shifting between activities flexibly
Hunters, Explorers and Dreamers... Different Ways to View
Your ADD Traits
An alternative model from the negative 98% pathology only oriented view
of ADD. Here are some of the models that she goes into detail
in.
*
Hunters
* Explorers
* Spatial/Visual Thinker (or "Right-Brained")
* Minority Temperaments
* Creative
* Gifted
* The Edison Trait: Dynamos, Discoverers and Dreamers
* Overfocused
* Lateral and Divergent Thinkers
* Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)
Inaccurate
Gender Stereotypes Preventing Best Possible Treatment
Inaccurate assumptions about how Attention Deficit Disorder
affects boys and girls could be preventing some teens from
getting all the help they need to deal with AD/HD and related
complications.
The
ADHD Ebook
14 chapters on ADD. Good overview of Attention Deficit
Disorder, meant for kids, is useful for adults as well. It's
online and it's Free.By Dr. Martin L. Kutscher, M.D., Departments
of Pediatrics and Neurology at New York Medical College
MRI
Visualizes Anatomical Abnormalities in ADHD
Medscape free login required. For those who want to know
exactly which sections of the brain are affected by ADHD
Myths
about ADD/ADHD
This article was written to rebut uniformed media articles
on ADD.
If you think you or someone you know might have ADHD, take the 5 minute Harvard screener test for Adult ADD.
If you do have Adult ADD and want some practical, customized help in managing your ADD, contact Pete for a free sample session of ADD coaching.
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