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The ADD Adult Group meets on the third Tuesday of every month, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. The purpose of the group is to provide mutual support and education about a variety of issues related to Adult ADD. There is no cost, but attendees may make a donation. For many years, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder was thought to be a condition related only to childhood, and people were assumed to grow out of it during adolescence. One reason for this belief was that one of the primary symptoms of many children with ADHD is hyperactivity. Most hyperactive children do become less physically hyperactive when they reach adulthood, although they may retain a verbal hyperactivity or impulsivity. Over the past fifteen years, it has become clear that many of the other problems encountered by children with ADHD remain with most of them throughout their lives. Adults with ADHD continue to struggle with a wide range of problems, including problems with organization, concentration, procrastination, distractibility, impulsivity, forgetfulness, or inability to remain on task. Adults with ADD have many different presentations. They may be the executives who are always late to meetings, the housewives who always lose their keys or can't organize the photo albums, or the workers who impulsively challenge their boss, put off longer tasks or can't organize their workday. There are a number of jobs in which ADD adults can be very successful - particularly jobs that are flexible, creative, and present varied challenges. There are also jobs in which ADD adults are not typically successful, especially if they are repetitious or require high levels of organization. Complicating the situation is that many of today's ADD adults were not diagnosed as children. Twenty years ago, children with ADHD were likely to be diagnosed only if they were very hyperactive and disruptive boys. Children who were not hyperactive were simply labeled as "daydreamers" and told they were "not living up to potential." Girls were not diagnosed (and continue to be underdiagnosed). Children with ADHD who were very intelligent or good students were not usually diagnosed. Cultural differences in the understanding, definition or acceptance of ADHD may have made diagnosis impossible. The result is that these adults may have grown to adulthood knowing that they struggled with problems their peers seemed to be able to easily master, but blamed themselves for not trying hard enough. Often, they labelled themselves as "lazy," or "flaky," or "inadequate." Without an understanding of why they continually failed to complete simple tasks or failed to organize their day or acted impulsively, these ADD adults suffered ongoing blows to their confidence and self-esteem. In addition, as recently as ten years ago, professionals in the helping professions (such as doctors and psychologists) were unlikely to correctly diagnose adult ADD. Instead, they often said that these adults had a "fear of success," or were "self-defeating," or showed "borderline traits." In other words, because ADHD was thought to disappear after childhood, professionals searched for other answers to explain the ADD behaviors in adults. And often, of course, there were other explanations: after a lifetime of feeling inadequate or getting into trouble at school, home, or work, many adults suffered from low self-esteem, generalized anxiety, or depression. Some had become rebellious or angry, while others grew up to be the "immature" spouse who was always being nagged to become more "responsible," to plan ahead or get organized or be on time. Relationships suffered as the spouse took on the role of parent. Many ADD adolescents and adults turned to drugs or alcohol as a way of coping with their feelings. For many ADD adults, by the time they reached adulthood their ADD symptoms became lumped with many other psychological symptoms and simply seemed to add to a general picture of dysfunction. It is often quite exciting to watch those who have just realized that many of these problems may be due to ADHD. As they educate themselves about ADHD and its symptoms, and as they speak to other adults who have encountered the same problems, they begin to realize that the problems related to ADHD do not make them weak or bad or "useless." Instead, they may learn to celebrate their gifts - both those that are individual to them and the flexibility and creativity that are common to people with ADHD. They may enjoy trading strategies for overcoming problems with organization or impulsivity, and they may learn from others about the benefits and drawbacks of medication as a strategy. Our newly formed ADD Adult group hopes to facilitate such interactions and to bring in experts to address specific issues of interest. If you believe that you or someone you care about may be an adult with ADD, please feel free to join us. |
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Blurton | Professionals | Services |