Who Has it? I do ......I have grown up with it and now that I am an adult I am still dealing with it. This Disorder is something that 3 out 5 people grow up with. For me I have had trouble in school and had to take meds for it but in a Chicago Public school what teacher cares that some students have problems in there life. So I never tell the teacher that i have this disorder. I know that some of you may think this is funny but i dont think it is a laughing matter. The only reason that I a posting this is because the only way that I express my self is in writing so here is an article about what I am going through.......
Life with ADD
Attention deficit disorder affects an estimated 6% to 8% of the general population, according to the national Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) -- and as many as half of them are never diagnosed. ADD may continue over a lifetime; the ADDA says about half of children with the disorder will develop strategies to compensate, while others, like Smith, will continue to struggle into adulthood. "People pay a high price for doing so," says Craig Liden, MD, who has worked with more than 8,000 children and adults with ADD. "Most of these people make living on the edge a way of life, and they pay for it physically and emotionally."
But the diagnosis of ADD is itself controversial, says Leslie Rubin, MD, director of developmental pediatrics and associate professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine. He believes ADD is the "diagnosis of the day." If such large numbers of people in fact have the condition, he says, it is either an epidemic or a variation of the norm. He wonders if the symptoms called ADD aren't in fact personality traits that while advantageous in certain situations, don't fit well into a life that requires sitting at a desk eight hours a day. "Unless someone's life is severely affected, I don't recommend medication," Rubin says. Instead he suggests they consider these traits positives and find a way to work them to their advantage. "I bet a lot of those people who work on the floor of the stock exchange have ADD," he says. "I don't like to label it as a bad thing."
But after 39 years of erratic behavior, Smith's life was severely affected in nearly every area. When asked about life with ADD, he says he doesn't remember a lot of his own behavior, except a general feeling that things seemed to run more smoothly for others. Life was lived in the moment, with little awareness of how past experiences connected to present ones. "If I got a parking ticket, for example, I would obsess over it for weeks," he says. "I always felt like everyone was out to get me." Looking back, Smith feels that his own behavior -- like parking in a no-parking zone -- led to such consequences. But at the time, he couldn't make that connection. When others were upset with him or his actions, at work or at home, he couldn't understand why.
"It's like if I needed glasses to read," says Liden. "And then I was put into situations every day where I had to read without my glasses. Pretty soon I would become frustrated and angry. That's what life is like with ADD. The ability to pay attention and sustain concentration is a prerequisite for almost every life task."
But with ADD, paying attention, especially to something not particularly interesting but critical like keeping track of the balance in the checking account, can be a major challenge. Those with ADD also may have trouble with impulsiveness, self-monitoring (knowing when behavior is inappropriate), distractibility, sleeping too much or too little, and a short attention span. However, when interested in something they can stay highly, almost obsessively, focused, according to the ADDA.
Liden says for the most part, life can be molded around the ADD, but when expectations rise -- an important report is due at work, for example -- that's when the ADD comes to the foreground. "It is often others who notice it," he says. "The person with ADD is usually the last to know."
Consequently, those with undiagnosed adult ADD may struggle to keep a job, sustain a marriage, control finances, and even avoid trouble with the law, says Leon Zacharowicz, MD, MA, a neurologist at Nassau University Medical Center in Long Island, N.Y. "If someone has poor impulse control, they might mouth off to a police officer when pulled over for running a traffic light," he says, making the situation far worse. For many, it is just such a life crisis -- a car accident, a run-in with the law, a pending divorce, the loss of a job -- that finally draws attention to the disorder and leads to a diagnosis.
I used to take ritalin in elementary school for that. I don't anymore. I need something cause is a b*tch trying to focus on the simple things I need to focus on. I can't even maintain an orderly desk or keep on top of important tasks. I remember with ritalin, I was a boring little kid that was making the honor roll ALL the time. I was making A's left and right. I thought I could do that junk with out the meds. Fooled the hell outta me....
There should be an alternative. A lot of the meds out have too many side effects. I'm still a little bit too mellow and relaxed toward certain things.
I got it. I've had it since the 7th grade or that's when they diagnosed it. I was on ritalin until 10th grade when my hair dresser said that it might be causing the thinning of my hair. Her grandaughter was on it and it happened to her so she thought that would be the answer. I was getting As and Bs with ritalin but as soon as I stopped, it was downhill from there. Now I'm in college, freshman year was pretty easy. Everything went downhill after that. Still can't focus except if I am actually interested in it. Not seeing a psych right now although I know I need to. What I do know is that the last time I saw a psych he was like you don't have it anymore, you have a NVLD (non-verbal learning disorder). I personally think to heck with that, I still have ADD.
