ADHD diagnosis

[kevyn]

Interesting. Today I was informed by the school psychiatrist that she thought I was showing clear signs of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. After stabilizing the depression over the past few months, she did something no mental health worker had done in over 25 years of care by various mental health systems: She asked to see all my report cards, going back to Kindergarten. I provided them.

Bingo.

All the evidence was there. Notes from teachers, inability to get along with peers, inability to finish tasks, low self-esteem...

I was skeptical, but then I read the symptoms, and it was like reading a textbook about me, especially Adult ADHD predominantly inattentive type.

I learned a new word today: Hyperfocus. Is that what it's called.

It explains a lot.

Still gotta find a job, tho.

Comments

[detailbear.livejournal.com]

Didn't I give this diagnosis about 5 years ago?

Ahhh. You were probably focused on something else at the time.

[kevynjacobs.livejournal.com]

Ooops. You probably did.

[mathan.livejournal.com]

Scott was diagnosed late last year with ADD as well. So, it may not be far off.

[man-of-snows.livejournal.com]

I am glad to hear that you are making progress with your therapist. FYI Justin and I are back in town, so go ahead and give us a ring. Let's catch a drink or something soon. (360) 752-0599

[kadyg.livejournal.com]

Mssr Curley has a feature on one of his piddly little websites that you would probably enjoy: http://specials.washingtonpost.com/onbeing/. Look for Monica Livingston in the archives. (He's got some of the new-fangled Flash shit going on, so I can't lonk directly.) She talks about having ADHD as an adult and "flunking" the test because she kept getting distracted.

At any rate, glad you're getting some clairity. What's the next step - aside from a job, that is.

[bluebear2.livejournal.com]

It can be so strange sometimes but also good to know that you were just acting normally to the situation of what you "have" and what they were doing in response.

We all got some sort of thing that makes us different from others. This is important that we're not all the same. This is what gives us (human race) the ability to adapt to changing environments. The problem is that society and institutions became more rigid and narrow after World War II and many people got left out that who's natural disposition didn't coincide with the desired one.

I know teenagers who have been given drugs for so called conditions, in my opinion they were just normal enthusiastic artistic young people who just happened to be in a distracting environment. They should be teaching them skills on how to work with their minds instead of pills. But then this all assumes that they have our best interests in mind. Maybe things are set up for us to fail and that's part of the design of the system.

[backrubbear.livejournal.com]

Still gotta find a job, tho.

Computer programmer. :-)

[kevynjacobs.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, I flunked out of the computer science program. Couldn't maintain focus.