Always late? Disorganized? Prone to blurting out your thoughts? You may have ADD

Sept. 18 is "National AD/HD Awareness Day"

September 14-20 is AD/HD Awareness Week, a time when we are encouraged to acknowledge Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) as a serious condition that is largely kept under wraps when it comes to adults with AD/HD.

Up until very recently, the school of thought was that children with AD/HD "grow out of" this condition.

In fact, a more accurate explanation is that adults have simply adopted various coping strategies, and have learned to hide their issues, so it appears they no longer have AD/HD.

People with AD/HD - which is now believed to have six different subcategories and isn't always accompanied by hyperactivity - also tend to be quite bright and are often very creative, and are capable of tremendous productivity (but may suffer from inconsistency).

They usually gravitate toward jobs where they work independently, so that they have more flexibility to work with or around their symptoms. (Ty Pennington, carpenter, designer and host of Extreme Home Makeover, is one of the more famous examples of someone who found work that is a good fit with his AD/HD symptoms.)

Thus, it seems as though as adults these people no longer suffer from AD/HD.

In fact, adults with AD/HD often feel shame and embarrassment, especially should they choose to "come out" at their place of work or to friends and family who weren't aware of their condition and they are met with ridicule or dismissal - as in, "You're just making excuses for being lazy/ disorganized/ always late."

They may have to listen to people make jokes about their problems, such as, "Gee, I forget where I put my car keys all the time, maybe I have ADD!"

Is it a "made up" condition?

People with AD/HD very much struggle with the stigma attached to this "childhood" condition, particularly when there are some psychologists and medical doctors claiming there is no such thing as AD/HD.

And yet, there is plenty of research that links AD/HD to the brain's inability to produce enough of a neurotransmitter called dopamine.

Dopamine is like the local bus that transports incoming information to the appropriate locations in the brain where it can be synthesized and stored for future retrieval - but if you have AD/HD, the bus has a very unreliable schedule.

Sometimes the bus is on time and everyone gets to their destination. Sometimes the bus shows up late - anywhere from an hour to a week to three months late... suddenly, something a person said to you and the expression on their face as they spoke - and your response (possibly very inappropriate) - "registers."

And sometimes, the bus never arrives at all. Prompting the angry spouse or employer to complain, "You just don't listen."

Jobs, marriages, finances suffer

For someone with a so-called "made up" condition, people with AD/HD face enormous daily struggles with profound consequences.

They may struggle with their relationships - especially as a spouse and parent - if their AD/HD has affected their ability to pick up on emotional cues or to fully connect with another person.

They struggle with jobs where they are surrounded by distractions such as conversations and ringing phones that others are able to mentally push to the background.

It is not uncommon for adults with ADD to work well into the night, after everyone else has gone home to enjoy their families, just because it is the only time when it is quiet enough to focus enough to complete their tasks and meet deadlines.

They may be constantly called on the carpet by their employer for being late, for forgetting assignments, or for focusing on one assignment (the one they find most interesting) while neglecting others that are of more importance or more timely.

They may not be very popular with their co-workers if their form of ADD includes poor impulse control, which can lead to blurting out inappropriate comments (which, to the person making them, seem to make complete sense within the matrix of their thoughts) or to talking "at" people about something they find absolutely fascinating - barely pausing to take a breath - but is boring the listener to tears, or if they over-react to criticism or other emotional triggers.

Finding some answers

If you are someone newly diagnosed with AD/HD, one good source of information is a publication called ADDitude Magazine (also online at www.additudemag.com ) where you can find links to resources for many of the issues with which adults with AD/HD struggle.

There also are many excellent books on the subject of adults with AD/HD, including groundbreaking books by Edward Hallowell, author of Driven to Distraction and Delivered from Distraction.

Thom Hartmann, who also is a well-respected radio talk show host, has written several useful books, including ADD Success Stories.

Books such as You Mean I'm not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy, ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life, and What Does Everyone Else Know that I Don't Know? (about social skills), are good choices available from www.addwarehouse.com

One source of information about new technology for diagnosing and treating AD/HD is Dr. Daniel G. Amen's Clinic, which has a Web site at www.amenclinic.com

Other interesting Web sites include www.livingwithadd.com and www.addadhdblog.com

You may wonder how I know so much about this topic. I was diagnosed with ADD at the age of 47, and recently chose to be "out" about it, so that I can help others understand, grow and in some cases, even embrace the gifts that also come with this condition. There are many famous and successful people throughout history (Thomas Edison, dubbed the ADD-poster child) and in the news today (Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps) who are proof that living well and even excelling with AD/HD can be done.

[NOTE: U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Oregon) and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) created a bipartisan Senate Resolution designating September 18, 2008 as “National Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Awareness Day.”]

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