Merrida

I agree, there are numerous tests and "symptoms" and "behaviors" which must coexist, and he must suffer from most or all of them, not one or two, and be evaluated by a physician specializing ADD/ADHD. It isn't something you can assume or diagnose over the phone or in an instant or base on such activities as inattentiveness, hyperactiveness, or little or low patience. Those are like puzzle pieces. Diagnosing involves how the pieces fit together.

My physician has studied ADD/ADHD and lectured all across the country, he's gone out of his way to learn how this works and (this is the coolest part) how it affects people's lives and their family's lives. He sees this as a whole person issue, not a "mental disorder." He also sees and encorporates into his testing methods various inquiries concerning how your home life, personal life, academic life, family life, etc., are and can be affected. He's lectured and taught to other physicians as well as given lectures to students and parents.

So if you want him diagnosed, choose a physician familiar with this diagnosis in all its capacities.

It does make it difficult for an adult because most of the time this is viewed (erroneously) as a condition which affects children (either exclusively or mostly) and makes it a little more challenging for adults to be diagnosed or taken seriously. Part of this is because it develops in childhood, but may go ignored, denied, untreated, or not fully manifested. What this also means is that very often the specialists you'll find will specialize in treating and diagnosing children. While many of the symptoms are similar, their manifestations are varied.