Adult with ADD - ADD / ADHD Message Board

02-21-2002, 02:08 PM

How do you get tested for ADD? I've suspected that I have it for quite some time now. I have problems focusing and paying attention and also handling multiple tasks. At work I am constantly disorganized, always forgetting things and having to make three to four trips to accomplish a task that my coworkers manage with one, because I keep having to go back and do something that I forgot. Sometimes I feel like they think I'm a complete scatter-brain and this bothers me. They always seem to know whats going on 10 minutes before I do and they seem to always know just what do do. When an item is missing they notice it right away. They always seem to be able to remember to "do something later". I remember too. The only problem is I "remember" it 10 hours later after I've gone home. I've been at my job three months now and I'm still almost as disorganized as I was when I first started.
Is this ADD? I mean I know I'm not an idiot. My I.Q. tested in the low end of the Superior range. I'm no genius certainly but I'm definately not stupid either.
I was always accused of "daydreaming" in school. I usually managed to get decent grades though. I hate driving in the city because I'm afraid my mind will wander and I'll run a red light or have a wreck. I really have to concentrate when I drive in a crowded street.
I guess I'd like to get tested as "proof" that I'm not stupid or lazy or making excuses, because no one believes me even now when I even suggest that I might have ADD. No one in my family, not even my mother. They say "Oh pshh...there's nothing wrong with you. You just don't try hard enough." or something along those lines. I do try... and then I end up messing up anyway. Does any of this sound familiar to anyone?

mlgable · 02-22-2002, 07:39 AM

Make an appointment to see your regular doc and tell them what has been happening in your life and ask them to refer you to a clinic that does testing for ADD/ADHD. Be aware though that being disorganized and a wandering mind is not necessarily a sign of ADD. Think about this example and see if it applies to you. A person with true ADD when writing a paper or reading something will have no clue where they were on that page after they have been interrupted. When they try to go back to what they were doing they don't have a clue. They also often have poor small motor skills and poor handwriting due to the poor small motor skills. In ADD tendencies though you often have many different thoughts running around in your head that causes you to be distracted and seem like you have ADD when in fact you don't. I have one child of each and can easily see the difference in the two. Go ahead and get testing set up and let us know how it turns out.

nuttygirl70 · 02-23-2002, 05:55 PM

mag-when i read your post i realized it sounds just like me. i also did quite well in school, but was always known as the "daydreamer" and was oftentimes reprimanded for not paying attention. i struggle with this even now on a daily basis. i am beginning to suspect that i may have add, but i just don't know. my husband has it and my son has it. i believe my father and my brother have it also, although they have never been tested. all of these men in my life did poorly in school and all have failed a grade, even my son. all were very hyper as children, except for my dad, i think. i've been reading the book "driven to distraction", about add and adult add and i do have the same problems that you mentioned and more. looking at my family history my guess is that the chance is good i may have add.

02-23-2002, 07:03 PM

I don't know if anyone else in my family has ADD. Also, I was never hyperactive but I've read that people with ADHD are more likely to get noticed and treated whereas those with plain old ADD usually slip through the cracks. I wonder if there's a connection between ADD and certain learning disabilities. I have always had extreme difficulty with math and I still cannot learn to do division problems. I couldn't learn to do multiplication problems until after I left high school. It was like all of a sudden it "clicked" and I could do it. Did you have any learning disabilities?

nuttygirl70 · 02-24-2002, 10:55 AM

magenta-i have always been poor at math too. to this day i still cannot subtract! i was getting f's in business math in college..it was awful! then again this may just be an area that we are really poor at. i've never seen it as anything but that. most other subjects i really had no problem, although i had to work hard to do well in school. but my son has adhd and has been coined "learning disabled". he has been in special ed classes since 1st grade for math and reading/writing. he is in the 5th grade(should be in 6th)and he can barely multiply, much less divide. it's real tough for him. you really should see a doctor and get it checked out if you think you may have add. they can put you on medication and it can save you much heartache in the future. my husband went to the doctor about 3 mos ago and finally got diagnosed with it. good thing because it almost ruined our marriage. you should check out the book i mentioned in my previous post..it's really informative.
talk to you later.

melissa

melissa