diagnosis

Attention Deficit Disorder Diagnosis

SUGGESTED DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR
ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER IN ADULTS

cont.

l) impulsive, either verbally or in action, as in impulsive spending of money, changing plans, enacting new schemes or career plans, and the like.

This is one of the more dangerous of the adult symptoms, or, depending on the impulse, one of the more advantageous.

m) tendency to worry needlessly, endlessly; tendency to scan the horizon looking for something to worry about alternating with inattention to or disregard for actual dangers.

Worry becomes what attention turns into when it isn't focused on some task.

n) sense of impending doom, insecurity, alternating with high-risk-taking.

This symptom is related to both the tendency to worry needlessly and the tendency to be impulsive.

o) mood swings, depression, especially when disengaged from a person or a project.

Adults with ADD, more than children, are given to unstable moods. Much of this is due to their experience of frustration and/or failure, while some of it is due to the biology of the disorder.

p restlessness

One usually does not see, in an adult, the full-blown hyperactivity one may see in a child. Instead one sees what looks like "nervous energy": pacing, drumming of fingers, shifting position while sitting, leaving a table or room frequently, feeling edgy while at rest.

q) tendency toward addictive behavior.

The addiction may be to a substance such as alcohol or cocaine, or to an activity, such as gambling, or shopping, or eating, or overwork.

r) chronic problems with self-esteem.

These are the direct and unhappy result of years of conditioning: years of being told one is a klutz, a space shot, an underachiever, lazy, weird, different, out of it, and the like. Years of frustration, failure, or of just not getting it right do lead to problems with self-esteem. What is impressive is how resilient most adults are, despite all the setbacks.

s) inaccurate self-observation.

People with ADD are poor self-observers. They do not accurately gauge the impact they have on other people. This can often lead to big misunderstandings and deeply hurt feelings.

t) Family history of ADD or manic-depressive illness or depression or substance abuse or other disorders of impulse control or mood.

Since ADD is genetically transmitted and related to the other considerations mentioned, it is not uncommon (but not necessary) to find such a family history.

2. Childhood history of ADD (It may have been formally diagnosed, but in reviewing the history the signs and symptoms were there.

3. Situation not explained by other medical or psychiatric condition.

It cannot be stressed too firmly how important it is not to diagnose oneself. From the information and examples presented here, it is hoped that your suspicion may be raised, but an evaluation by a physician to rule out other conditions is essential.

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