Reply To: "You know how I know you have ADD?" – My Story

[Rick Green – Founder of TotallyADD]

I cannot read everything here, but wow some great sharing and ideas.  I keep being reminded what a great community we have.

Medication is soooooo tricky.  We’re working on a huge video about it. Probably close to 4 hours altogether, covering everything.   We interviewed almost 20 adults with ADHD about their experiences on medication.  And that’s on top of the 30 to 40 experts in the video.  And there is such a range.

But not only is finding the right medication tricky, but then finding the right dose.

As for the issue of remembering and reminding, I’m currently using my cell phone to prompt me all the time. And though it took a while for it to become a habit, one of the strategies we talk about in our video ADD & Mastering It?!  is to ‘leave every room like a good Catholic.’  In other words, like you’re crossing yourself, you touch your pockets, glasses, etc.. to make sure you have everything.

After we interviewed one doctor and we had finished packing up the cameras I did that as I approached the doorway–taping my pockets, combined with a 360 degree spin to glance over where I’d been sitting, where we had put things, and scan all the flat surfaces.  And the doctor’s face lit up, “Oh that’s such a great strategy.”

I get how painful it is when people feel like they can’t count on you, and worse, when you start to believe you can’t count on yourself. Especially as a parent. So disheartening on some level.

The only way I’ve managed to get around that is to write it out.  Write it on my hand. Wrap elastics around my finger to remind me.  Post it notes put in a place where I can’t miss it.  Right at eye level.  And different places each time, otherwise I get used to seeing it.

And since I can’t trust myself to even remember to brush my teeth at night, I make everything into a checklist.  One that sits in the middle of the table I walk by to get anywhere it the house. (Which is also our office.)

I did up a checklist for when we go out of town to make sure everything gets done, from packing passports, to watering plants, to letting the neighbours know, to cancelling the paper.  My wife thought it was kind of dumb. Now she loves it. Check, check, check…

Advice to EVERYONE with ADHD:  Don’t trust your memory. Write it down. Or if there’s something you have to do, write it on a post it and stick it on your computer keyboard so you can’t log on without seeing it.  And stick it to your forehead until you’ve logged on and done it.  This sounds ridiculous, but it works. It’s called “Externalizing.”  Even stuff as simple as putting everything you need to take with you tomorrow morning in front of your door so you literally can’t miss it.

And hey, doing all these things…  I still miss a whole bunch of stuff.  Which I used to hate. But now, I just kind of acknowledge a

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