99% sure I'm ADHD & now I have to circumnavigate getting diagnosed?? Cruel joke!

The best specialists ask the questions you’d never think of asking, at least that’s what happened for me.

Shootingallery, try the quiz on this site. If you score high, look into it further. But keep in mind there are other conditions that can appear to be ADD. It’s a hard one to nail down by yourself.

KrazyKat: you might want to mark down a list of questions to bring to your appointment. I did that, and made a list of all of the things I had noticed that lead me to realize I might have ADHD as well. I was sure I’d forget otherwise (in itself, somewhat of a symptom!). That way you might not be as worried.

Oh, and it helps to bring a pen and a pad in with you as well, to make notes when the doctor answers you.

(And if you’re like me, and you think this is a good idea, your best bet is to get them out and ready now, and place them in a “speed bump” location so that you don’t forget. Otherwise – if you’re like me – you will. “Speed bump location” for me is putting them on my shoes so that I have to see them before going out)

@stash: I just realized: even through my adult life I was injuring myself one way or the other too. And it seemed always to be stupid stuff: falling down a short flight of stairs that didn’t pose a problem for anyone else; I even broke my leg getting *onto* a bus if you can believe that. Like you said: “clumsy incidents”. Never put two and two together before your last post here, but it makes sense. Every time something happened, I *know* my mind was far off somewhere else instead of concentrating on what I was doing.

Most embarrassing adult incident: it was a sunny day and I was out for a walk at noon hour. I was wearing a long coat, and my hands were thrust deep into both pockets. Once again – my mind was busy playing games with itself, and having a lot of fun. My foot caught something on the sidewalk, and down I went. Only, because my hands were so deep into my pockets, I couldn’t get them out in time.

A car stopped and someone asked if I was OK. I told them I was, but I really wasn’t: the entire right side of my face was scraped raw and bleeding, and I think I got a black eye out of the deal too. My boss was horrified when I got back, and she asked me if I had been in a fight. When I told her what happened, she didn’t believe me. I know this because she said “it’s OK. You can tell me. You were in a fight weren’t you?”

I can laugh about it now. But back then – not so much.

I really thought I had Asperger’s before I read more about ADHD. I took the AQ test (Asperger Quotient) test and scored just a point below where they consider you a “clinical” case. Now I see there is a lot of overlap. I am 68, a former school teacher, mother of six, grandmother of three, married 48 years this month–to the SAME GUY, which I consider a miracle, because I know a lot of guys couldn’t have lived with me for a year, let alone 48. My most overwhelming feeling is one of disappointment in myself and shame. I’ve always known I was different, but just didn’t know how/why. I will see my family dr for routine physical in another week and I’m going to bring up ADHD and see if he will refer me to a clinic in Seattle. I am worrying a lot about what he will say (we have differences in the past) and I’m hoping I don’t talk myself out of talking to him about it. With our insurance, a lot of specialty services aren’t covered unless you’re referred by a GP. Wish me luck!! I’ll report back.

Good luck MonkeyBarb. Funnily enough, I used to wonder if I had something wrong with me that my mother never told me about (and Asperger’s was one that crossed my mind). I felt socially out of step with others for most of my life, and those social difficulties were what made me think of Asperger’s. ADHD never crossed my mind until my son was diagnosed with it. Interestingly enough, my daughter was treated for anxiety issues, and the psychologist who treated her said that she came very close to an Asperger’s diagnosis, but didn’t quite meet the diagnostic criteria (but not by much). My daughter’s teacher also agrees that she skirts the edge of the autism spectrum disorders. So my poor girl will struggle through life, without a diagnosis to “support” her and give her teachers guidance.

Stash – I hope your appointment goes well. I am still writing things down, even after my initial appointment. I figure I will be going back for more assessment (as the appointments are all only 1 hour, and more is needed for a full ADHD assessment), so it can’t hurt to continue with my notes. Especially as his questions have helped my brain to dredge up more memories since seeing him. He loved that I had my school reports. Information from another source (rather than the patient), especially for younger years, is highly weighted apparently, and is considered better evidence than what the patient says about the past. My doc took my notes, my ADHD self tests, and my reports to read before the next appointment, rather than reading during the appointment.

Nellie, my report cards had nowhere near the comments that I thought they would. Thankfully a select handful contained good chunks of ADHD-supporting comments (which were the ones I took to the doc), but the rest were depressingly positive. Probably because I did very well in school, but it was DESPITE my issues, and I know I could have done so much better if I had been able to motivate myself to study and pay attention more. I went from a gifted student program in primary school, through to getting boringly average grades in my final year. I guess it’s a matter of hoping a doctor will be able to read between the lines. I certainly hope that my doc will see that a student of my initial promise should have done much better than I did, even though my grades were above average for most of my schooling. My high average grades went to average grades in my final year of high school, and then on to failing two subjects at uni, before dropping out completely.

Stash – You must have posted your post while I was writing mine (I had it up on the screen for ages, while I ate, before I posted it). How did the appointment go? Did you get any results, or do you have to go back again?

My most hilarious failure was the subject Library Studies, that we did in early high school years. I have read large volumes of books through my life, and have been able to use a library since I was young, so I should have been able to pass the subject with my eyes closed, but it was so boring and tedious that I don’t think I bothered to do most of the work – I got 32% LOL!!!