Where/how to be tested? - ADD / ADHD Message Board

rohanan · 04-25-2002, 12:43 PM

Do I see a GP, psychologist, what? I'm sure I'm ADD, I've read dzs of bks on it and have struggled all my life with distraction and a racing mind. I am an artist, very creative, but cannot harness my thoughts long enough to finish one project before I'm off on another. I did terrible in school, yet I knew everything- I could wiz through tests, I just couldn't stay focused on homework or reading long. Thx for advice. I've tried diets w little success. I think I'm ready for Ritalin.

mlgable · 04-26-2002, 07:31 AM

See you regular doc and asked for a referral to a clinic that tests for ADD/ADHD. Be aware though that ADD is so much more than just not being able to stay focused. It invloves not being able to stay on task in the fact that if you get distracted by the least little noise or someone walking past you when you look back at the page you were reading or the math problem you were working on you have no clue where you were and quite literally often need to start all over again. Small motor skills are often poor in someone who has ADD/ADHD. Go ahead and get tested and should you test positive for ADD then learn techniques to help you either via reading books or sessions with a counselor/psychologist. Medication is fine should it be needed but it should not be the ultimate solution.

rainbow32 · 04-26-2002, 12:47 PM

i agree with malgable, you must get tested by ADD/ADHD specialist. A lot of things can mimic ADD and also a lot of children and adults have co-morbid (means along with the ADD) disorders like anxiety, depression, bi-polar, etc. It is absolutely essential to get a very thorough evaluation from professionals who really have a solid understanding of it. Get on the phone in your community and ask for a list of professionals. See if you have a CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder) in your community. They may very well have a list of not only ADD doctors, but also counselors, (which is actually equally important in dealing with it during medication!) Many bigger cities do. But if you have insurance, call different providers and find out. Usually a psychiatrist can diagnose ADD, especially if they have many other adults that they treat for it. Word of warning: Don't listen to any doctor who tells you ADD is outgrown after adolescence and it's a lie, that there's no such thing. Don't let them WASTE your time!!! As you have wrote, ADD is all very REAL and usually affects young adults and adults more and more as life grows in complexity!!! (It's not uncommon, also, for adults to NOT have been diagnosed, esp if you grew up in small town or something) So, listen to your gut and don't put this off! Trust me, you'll be glad you didn't. Please report back later, i'm curious what you found out! Good luck to ya!

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rohanan · 04-27-2002, 10:14 AM

Thank you. I'm certain I fit the mold and will be tested. I would not have been tested as a child- disinterested, separated parents, and no family that would have cared even had they noticed. I would do school as described above- an interruption and I had no idea where I previously was, my mind can take one word from a page of text and go off into an entirely different story so that I have no idea what I'd just read. I'll decide to finish one area of housework and find myself working on a project completely unrelated to the room I'd set out to clean. It's a frustrating way to live.