Adult Attention Deficit
Disorder
Attention Deficit Disorder
(ADD) is an illness in which people have difficulty holding their attention on
one thing for very long. They are easily distracted and have trouble finishing
tasks. Although this was originally understood as a childhood disorder, we now
know that it persists into adulthood. It is estimated that Adult Attention
Deficit Disorder (Adult ADD) affects
between 4-7% of the population.
(Note:
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is sometimes called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). They are the same thing.
For simplicity's sake, this site uses only the Attention Deficit Disorder,
or ADD.)
While it would be possible
to create a list of all the symptoms, what Adult ADD looks like is probably better
illustrated by some examples.
The Struggling Executive:
One
patient I saw, James, was a very bright, articulate man in his mid-30’s.
When he came to treatment he was on the verge of losing another job.
His boss was frustrated that James never finished his assignments on time. Although quite bright (while
still in High School he
had finished college calculus
in
just half a
year), he was constantly getting fired or asked to quit. The problem
wasn’t laziness. In fact, he was quite active at work. He just
couldn’t finish the tasks he started. He attacked new projects with
vigor, but after a short time he forgot them and they would end up amidst
the mess
of paperwork on his desk. Although an enthusiastic employee, he just
couldn’t seem to stick with projects to completion. James’ problem: his
ADD made it difficult for him to maintain interest after the initial novelty
of a situation wore off. This made him
appear lazy to others and took a great toll on his career.
The "Procrastinating" Student:
Susan arrived
25 minutes late for our first appointment. She thought she had taken
the scrap paper on which she scribbled my office address when she left her
apartment. In her rush (she was already five minutes late
walking out the door) she had grabbed the wrong paper. Organization was
always a big problem for Susan. When we first met she was having trouble completing her
Bachelor’s degree because her disorganization made it virtually impossible
to get her assignments done on time. In addition, Susan's attention
span was such that her mind wandered while she was reading.
She got to the bottom of the page and realized she didn't have any
idea what she had just read. She would start the page over,
only to have the same thing happen again! Finally, although she loved
discussing the new ideas she learned in class, the tedium of writing long papers
was so unpleasant that she put work off until the
last minute. By then she was unable to do the quality work of which
she was capable. For Susan, like many people with ADD, organizing,
focusing, and working with deadlines were seemingly overwhelming obstacles.
The Stimulation Seeker:
Lawrence and his wife, Sharon, came in for couple’s counseling.
Sharon
was “fed up” with
Lawrence’s apparent selfishness. She said that
Lawrence hardly seemed to pay attention to her when he came home from work.
He seemed more interested in the reading the paper or watching TV.
The same was true at restaurants. If they were out for dinner
and a TV was in the room,
Lawrence seemed to want to watch that rather than talk to her.
Lawrence admitted that he did these things, but insisted that he loved
Sharon very much and wanted their relationship to work. As I got to
know them it became clear that he was telling the truth. What also
became evident was that Lawrence had ADD. Like many people with
ADD, he found his eyes almost irresistibly drawn to the bright, flashing colors
of the television screen. Although deeply in love with
his wife, his response to his environment got in the way of spending
time with her in a
mutually satisfying way. This is one of the ways ADD can interfere with
relationships. Unfortunately, there are many more.
The good news is that there are many effective treatments for Adult Attention Deficit Disorder. These include medications, behavioral therapies or a combination of the two. Of course, in order to get effective treatment for Adult ADD, the first step is to determine whether you have the disorder. Like any medical condition, ADD is best diagnosed by a specialist (although there is a questionnaire which can aid in this assessment.) If you think that you might have it, seeing a psychiatrist with experience in this disorder can be the best way to start on the road to improvement.
[What Makes ADD Worse?] [About Nicholas Schwartz]
© copyright 2006 Nicholas Schwartz, M.D.