Help For Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

By Sue Roberts

Jaws drop in surprise and sometimes relief with a suspected diagnosis of Inattentive and/or Hyperactive ADD. It helps explain several long-term personal and learning problems. If we were all village cobblers or farmers, there would be no talk of child or adult ADD. Some of us would just be more spacey, fidgety, bored or disorganized. The complex demands of our society cause difficulty for those who learn slower or faster than the norm.

Some learning disorders accompany ADD such as problems with math, handwriting, technology and language. These can include repeated short-term memory loss for topics that hold no personal spark or meaning. Life is made harder by ignorant admonitions—"You just need to try harder!!"—and scapegoating labels—"stupid,""lazy," "stubborn," "never-get-it -right." "Inattentive" ADD is common but gets far less press coverage than the "hyperactive" type" but it's just as serious. It's often not understood or picked up because the person isn't so disruptive and problematic to others. They're in their own dreamy world, invisible but odd. A teacher recently told me, "I didn't think he had ADD because he wasn't hyper, noisy and all over the place." Often girls and women have been underdiagnosed for inattentive ADD. "Why can't I be organized like most women I know, no matter how hard I try?!"

Having ADD often means being disorganized and needing very custom-made methods to cope. Homes are littered with paper calling for decisions, and unfinished projects that went dormant when their newness wore off. Chronic lateness results from literally not thinking of all the things one must do to get out the door UNTIL the adrenaline of having a deadline kicks in. ADD medication—stimulants, nonstimulants, Welbutrin— is sometimes helpful, sometimes not. Treatment can include therapy, coaching and advocacy. Today it can include brain feedback techniques, body alignment training and meditation. Aerobic exercise is vital for circulation and removing mental "cobwebs."

Nutrition plays a big part, with an emphasis on natural food, a push for a high protein breakfast, and taking supplements, especially Omega 3 fish oil.

Attractive, fun characteristics of many folks with ADD include being inventive, spontaneous and funny. They can be extraordinarily insightful from the habit of trying to get the whole picture of a situation and then filling in the pieces. They can be playful, gloriously creative and adventurous. The lucky ones have the ability to super hyper focus on an interest or passion. Even then, they often have a hard time switching attention over to another agenda or lobe of the brain. Having a romantic partner with ADD can be both a joy and a great frustration, as the book Honey, Did You Hear What I Said!? can attest.

A good beginning self-diagnosis exploration can be found in Hallowell's two books, Driven to Distraction (especially the l00 questions), and Delivered from Distraction. Also good is Soden's Women and ADD. And check out CHADD, Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, the resource and self-help organization.