How is ADD Afftecting your life?

[Anonymous]

Today I went to get my G1 drivers license and because of my ADD brain I misread 2 of the questions on the written test because they were long, like algebra type long, and I tried to read the entire thing but my brain would only scan and I ended up missing an important word in 2 questions, which means I get to go back and retake the regulatory part of the test again, not to mention pay another $10 on top of it.

Thank-you ADD!

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[Patte Rosebank]

Katastrophe, I’ll tell you a secret: If you get properly diagnosed and treated for your ADD before you try that test again, it’ll be much easier for you. Distractedness in the written test is bad enough, but driving involves so much information, coming at you so fast, that the ADD brain can’t separate the important from the trivial, and bad stuff happens. Just watch “Canada’s Worst Driver”, to see a frightening number of concrete examples of this.

And the Forum here is full of driving-related stories.

Once you and your doctor find the right medication and the right behavioural changes for you, you’ll be amazed at how much easier it will be for you to focus. And those driving tests (written and in-car) will be a whole lot easier!

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[Anonymous]

Yes, driving is much easier and better after you’ve started treatment and medication. I went to a lecture by Dr. Russel Barkley and he actually said no one with ADHD should drive without the medication that works for them. Many driving related accidents are a result of this, apparently.

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[Anonymous]

Hey guys I have ADD and I am a great driver!

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[Anonymous]

I know that, ideally, it would probably be better for ADDer’s who drive to be on effective medication. But I understand why people would go ahead without it. I myself don’t drive, partly because of the ADD. But I live in Toronto, and I can manage with public transit. A lot of places public transit is limited, or non-existent. (Many of these same areas are also woefully under-served by family doctors, much less specialists of the kind who can diagnose and prescribe for ADD.)

The problem is, a driver’s license is the gold standard of government issue photo ID. Not having one can make everything from voting to applying for a job difficult. I have a passport but it is a poor second choice for most purposes, and I generally have to produce a secondary piece of ID to go with it. In order to be able to pay for a diagnostician’s services, not to mention the ongoing cost of prescription meds, the average not-independently-wealthy adult needs to be gainfully employed in the first place, which means being able to get to work, which (in many places and circumstances) means being able to drive.

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[Author]

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