A-D-D
It’s estimated that between three and ten percent of the population in our country is correctly diagnosed with attention deficit disorders, which you may know as ADD. And generally it shows up more often in boys than it does in girls. But there are some other very important facts about this disorder that you should also know and some of them may surprise you. SOMEONE IN THIS CLASSROOM HAS ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER. A-D-D IMPACTS ATTENTION SPAN, IMPULSE CONTROL AND MOTOR ACTIVITY. YOU MAY EXPECT THIS STORY TO BE ABOUT A CHILD — BUT IT ISN’T. THE PERSON WITH A-D-D IS ACTUALLY THE TEACHER, MIKE PHILLIPS. ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER AND ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER KNOWN AS ADD AND ADHD ARE COMMONLY THOUGHT OF AS CHILDHOOD CONDITIONS. IN FACT, DOCTORS USED TO BELIEVE THE SYMPTOMS DISAPPEARED IN ADOLESCENCE. BUT NOW, EVIDENCE SHOWS TWENTY-FIVE TO SEVENTY PERCENT OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE ADD OR ADHD WILL CARRY IT INTO ADULTHOOD. IT EFFECTS ALL ASPECTS OF AN ADULT’S LIFE. Dr. Charles Scott: “This might be somebody at work and they look out the window and they see a cloud and they start looking at the cloud. Then there’s a squirrel on the tree, well isn’t that nice — suddenly thirty minutes has gone by, their work is untouched and they realize they are having problems focusing.” DON’T BE WORRIED IF THIS SOUNDS LIKE YOU. WE ALL EXPERIENCE TIMES WHERE WE CAN’T FOCUS OR ARE DISTRACTED. BUT DOCTOR CHARLES SCOTT, A PSYCHIATRIST AT THE UC DAVIS MEDICAL CENTER, SAYS ADULTS WITH ADD AND ADHD WILL HAVE TROUBLE WITH ATTENTION AND FOCUSING ON A CONSISTENT AND DAILY BASIS. EVERYDAY TASKS BECOME VERY DIFFICULT. Mike: “I started working different jobs, and I’d work at a job and eventually get fired because of mistakes or whatever happened. I’d work another job same thing would happen, this happened about four times in a row and it starts wearing on your self-esteem, I mean what’s wrong with me? Why does this keep happening? MIKE HAS ADD, BUT AT THE TIME HE DIDN’T KNOW IT. HIS WIFE AMY READ ABOUT ADD AND REALIZED MIKE HAD MANY OF THE SYMPTOMS. OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS ARE USUALLY THE ONES WHO RECOGNIZE ADD IN AN ADULT. IN TRUE CASES OF A-D-D OR ADHD AS AN ADULT, YOU WOULD HAVE HAD SYMPTOMS PRIOR TO THE AGE OF SEVEN. DOCTORS EXAMINE YOUR CHILDHOOD, YOUR ACADEMIC AND BEHAVIORAL HISTORY. MIKE WAS A SHY AND WELL-BEHAVED CHILD, SO UNTIL HE WAS THOROUGHLY EVALUATED HIS CONDITION FELL THRU THE CRACKS. THIS CAN BE THE MOST DIFFICULT ASPECT OF A-D-D. IT CAN BE IGNORED FOR YEARS. SO HOW IS IT TO LIVE WITH AN ADULT WITH A-D-D? Amy : ‘Very hard. There are words that you say that are very difficult to use, but often times I felt very burdened.” BURDEN COMES IN THREE CLUSTERS OF SYMPTOMS FOR THOSE WITH AN ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER. THE FIRST SYMPTOM IS A LACK OF ATTENTION. A PERSON WILL HAVE PROBLEMS FOCUSING OR WILL BE INATTENTIVE. THE SECOND SET OF SYMPTOMS INVOLVE HYPERACTIVITY. NOT ALL ADULTS HAVE THIS SYMPTOM. IN FACT, MIKE DOESN’T, BUT ADULTS WHO DO BEHAVE IN A SPECIFIC WAY. Dr. Charles Scott: “Those who are hyperactive and fidgety, these are the individuals who can’t sit still in their chairs — they are squirmy — if they are at their desk they are kind of tapping their pencil, moving around.” IMPULSIVENESS IS THE THIRD SYMPTOM… Dr. Charles Scott: “This may be the person who has difficulty waiting their turn, for example, in a conversation. They’re blurting out the words, if they’re playing a game they have difficulty waiting their turn.” THE CAUSE OF ADD AND ADHD IS COMPLEX AND CONTINUES TO BE STUDIED. THE CONDITION MAY BE LINKED TO BRAIN CHEMISTRY. IT SEEMS SPECIFIC CHEMICALS CALLED NEUROTRANSMITTERS COULD BE LACKING IN PEOPLE WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDERS. PEOPLE WITH THE DISORDER ARE OFTEN VERY CREATIVE OR INTELLIGENT, BUT CONCENTRATION, PLANNING AND ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS ARE WEAK. MIKE AND AMY ARE GETTING READY FOR A FAMILY DAY OUT WITH THEIR DAUGHTERS. A SIMPLE EVENT LIKE THIS CAN BE VERY DIFFICULT FOR AN ADULT WITH ADD, AND THE SYMPTOMS AFFECT HOW MIKE INTERACTS WITH AMY IN MANY WAYS… Mike: “It’s getting into a routine, that’s what helps for me.” AFTER MIKE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH ADD. HE WAS PUT ON MEDICATION — A STIMULANT THAT HELPS CONTROL HIS SYMPTOMS. Mike: "It just helps me focus so much better, I mean I’m feeling more assertive, and I am able to do what needs to be done." Amy: "Maybe it was wishful thinking but I can say I noticed a difference that day-right away." MIKE HAS ALSO CREATED A SYSTEM TO KEEP HIM ORGANIZED AND FOCUSED AT HOME AND AT WORK. AND IN DISCOVERING HIS CONDITION, HE’S MORE AWARE OF ITS POTENTIAL IN HIS CHILDREN BECAUSE A-D-D CAN BE GENETIC. Dr. Scott: "If your father, for example, and your child has ADHD and you’re male, there’s about a four to five time chance that you will have ADHD when compared to the population. Now have we identified an ADHD gene, not that specific." WHAT THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY HAS IDENTIFIED IS THAT ADD AND ADHD AREN’T CONDITIONS WE ALWAYS GROW OUT OF. BUT WITH EDUCATION, MEDICINE AND BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION -THERE IS HELP AVAILABLE. One more note here. It’s important not to self-diagnose attention deficit disorders. Dr. Scott reminds us that other conditions can mimic the same symptoms and so a medical and psychiatric exam is really the first step you should take in determining whether, in fact, you might have A-D-D.
