WHY bother with a assessment?

[trashman]

I had my assessment friday afternoon,I was told by the doc doing it that after talking with me that if my concerta was working that,s great but he said at my age there was realy no point in doing an assement . The reason was that there were no acomadations I was looking for and with the info I could bring because I have no school info and no parents it would not be very accurite. I do not under stand WHY ? they did not just say that at the start. if all iwas doing was wasting everones time , why did they not just say so. now i feel bad for wasting there time and yours . I an sorry, thanks for your time.

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[Patte Rosebank]

@trashman, you have NOT been wasting anyone’s time. That doctor has been wasting yours.

GET ANOTHER DOCTOR, ASAP!

I can’t say this strongly enough. If he’s going into the testing with that attitude, and he’s the one who’s administering it and interpreting the results, then the test results will be very biased.

Clearly, the doctor you got has not been upgrading his knowledge and skills. As one specialist in the “ADD and Loving It” documentary says, “The knowledge and treatments for ADHD have changed so much, just in the past few years, that the stuff I learned in medical school, we’d consider malpractice, today.”

Any doctor who says, “Yes, you have this medical condition, but you’ve had it for so long, and your medication seems to be sort of working, so I can’t be bothered to really examine your condition or do anything about it”, is violating several parts of the modern Hippocratic Oath—in particular, the one about avoiding “therapeutic nihilism” (i.e., seeing a problem but doing nothing about it), and the one about having “warmth, sympathy, and understanding”.

You have the right to proper care, so you have the right to say, “This doctor is not meeting my needs, so I must have a different doctor.”

This is something I’m in the process of doing for myself, so I know it’s hard to dismiss your current doctor, and harder to find a new one. But it must be done if we’re to have any real chance of getting the care and treatment we need.

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[Anonymous]

Seconded. Trashman, your comments are thoughtful and useful to others. You have not wasted anybody’s time here. Your willingness to participate in this forum in spite of your difficulties is inspiring.

From the doctor’s perspective, there’s a problem. There is no blood test or X-ray that will confirm ADD. It has to be done based on what the patient reports. People can and will lie to get desirable drugs (like pain killers or ADD drugs). There is a strong illegal market for ADD drugs. They are bought and used by non-ADD high school and university students to enhance their academic performance. So the doctor has to do what he can to weed out people “faking” the symptoms then reselling their prescription meds. Part of that process is using old school records – if there’s evidence from a third party (like a teacher) from thirty years ago that you had this problem back then, that helps prove that you’re not faking it.

You’re right. A sensible person ought to recognize that the older we get, the more likely it is that we will no longer have living parents, and will have long ago lost track of our old report cards etc. If the doctor wasn’t willing to do an assessment without your school records or parents, he should have told you that at the beginning. Being jerked around like this is not helpful.

Getting diagnosed will be harder for those of us without living parents or school records – and in fairness making the diagnosis with certainty will be harder for the professionals seeking to help us. That said, I think you could benefit from being screened for ADD and other learning disabilities. Even if you aren’t requesting accommodation now, it doesn’t mean that it won’t be necessary somehow or useful at some point in the future. There may be help available now, and breakthroughs in the future both in medication and in other therapies that could greatly improve your quality of life, but you might need a formal diagnosis to qualify for that help. I think it’s worth continuing to pursue this.

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[Patte Rosebank]

Diagnoses can be amazingly insightful, even when they’re diagnosing something other than your ADD.

About ten years ago, I had an extremely unpleasant boss, who cooked up a false negative review and used it to justify terminating me on the spot. Despite having doctors’ letters in my file, explaining that I had depression and anxiety, and listing accommodations that should be made, this boss insisted on treating me like a lazy, incompetent idiot. Or, as a classic line in that review said, “Basic logical concepts appear to be beyond her limited capabilties (sic).” (Yes, he misspelled “capabilities”.)

I took the matter to the Human Rights Commission, and to prove that I had a genuine disability, I underwent a day of intense psychological testing, which found that I was in the 93rd percentile for intelligence, despite the extreme anxiety and depression I was feeling after my traumatic experience at work. Which means that, even though I felt like hell (and I sucked at the math-related tests), I was still smarter than 93% of people.

Looking at that old assessment today, I can see that several things in it support my now-recent diagnosis of ADHD:

(1) I have tremendous difficulty in filtering out important information from all the information coming at me. So I often miss important details because I’m distracted by everything else.

(2) I feel the need to race through things as quickly as possible, in order to move onto the next thing. This often leads to mistakes.

(3) Because of (2), I often interrupt, and say or do things without knowing all the facts.

(4) I am a very caring, eager-to-please person, so I feel pulled in multiple directions, trying so hard to please other people, that I don’t know who I am. And I feel terribly guilty when I fail to live up to their expectations, or what I perceive their expectations to be.

(5) Despite all this, I still have hope that things will get better, or that someone will save me from it all.

(6) I have a socio-emotional age that is far less than my physical age. (What really clinched this one is that I saw animals in every single one of the Rorschact Test pictures.)

So, even though the assessment was intended to be a formal diagnosis of anxiety and depression, it also seems to have diagnosed symptoms of something I never imagined I had, until just a few months ago!

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[trashman]

Thank you for the kind words all , my psychiatrist already gives me72mg of concerta and my family doc gives me T3’s up two 100 every 15days. plus my other meds . so if he is not smart enough to know that if it was about the drugs I would talk with the docs that are already giving me all meds , I can aford . I spend $700 per month on drugs . If he thinks I want more cost in my life he is dead wrong . I gave him a list of all my meds, so he knew I was getting all the meds I need. so I think he should have seen that.

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[Patte Rosebank]

@trashman, Ortho-Janssen (the manufacturer of Concerta) has a patient assistance plan, to cover whatever part of the cost of Concerta your drug benefits plan or insurance doesn’t. It’s quick & easy to register for, and you’re approved on the spot. Ask your pharmacist about it. He or she will have the cards, and just has to enter your information into the computer and wait a couple of minutes for approval.

Because of this, I don’t pay a cent for my branded Concerta.

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[trashman]

Larynxa when I read your six points from your old assesment it feels like you have spent some time in my head , that is how i think plus that people dont like me or are angry with me. so they were to test for anxiety. they showed me not one picture they gave me a list of multiuble choice question after asking me to spell some words they gave me . They wanted me to remember a long list of things that they read to me 3 times and one list once i dont know how this tells then whats going on in my head. I got more from your six points above then from that entire afternoon. they allso ask me to define some words. so thanks again it seams like i have to read things a few times to get all. even on conreta i still seam rushed and my brain needs to slow down . i think thats why my spealing is always been so poor. atleast now slowed down long enough to learn that .or shoud i say while looking for letters on this key board ha ha

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[Anonymous]

“They wanted me to remember a long list of things that they read to me 3 times and one list once i dont know how this tells then whats going on in my head.”

What that does is test something called working memory – I think it used to be called short term memory.

http://www.cogmed.com/about-working-memory

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[Anonymous]

Trashman, I am NO spring chix – just got my definite diagnosis today… My grade school burned down & my 80 yr old mum didnt have my report cards – my Dr. managed to get it all figured out without them (ya they would have helped but whatever). There are no resources up where I live (3.5 hrs drive to the psych apts.) Dont let that Dr make you think you, and your feelings are not worth knowing. We have a right to know, and they have the ability to tell us. Laryxna – thanks for articulating so well – its is great to have someone able to put it into words when we (me) cant…I’m lucky that I know I’m above average in my intelligence – I joke with old teachers that I’m just thick when I get them to repeat something…. I am still in the process of deciding whether or not to “med” – I have moderate depression (barrel of laughs eh?) he diagnosed too… I didnt get the testing you & Larynxa had – – sounds freakin stressful to me – I can only empathise. I can also relate as my hubbie says I have my own language sometimes – when I get flustered I have a blurb that kicks my brain/mouth back in order (actually it just gives me a breath) Stop – Think – Speak – – everyone jokes I have no brain/mouth filter..As for remembering stuff – if its not written in my planner & Im not looking at it – it doesnt happen – Im 40 now – still dont read well – even when I want too.

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[Patte Rosebank]

@Dianna, if you were to be diagnosed with diabetes, and the doctor said you’d have to take insulin (or Metformin, if you’re Type 2 Diabetic) to treat it, you wouldn’t hesitate to take those medicines. ADHD is no different. It is a serious, debilitating condition that greatly affects your quality of life. And there are medications that can do so much to help you treat it. Medications which, in some cases, have been successfully used since the 1930s. That would be methylphenidate (AKA Ritalin, and, more recently, Concerta) which is safer than Aspirin.

Of course, you should do your homework, by researching the benefits and risks of any meds, on LEGITIMATE MEDICAL WEBSITES. I can’t stress this enough. There are so many hysterical “meds are evil” or “ADHD isn’t real” websites, most of which are trying to sell you some “miracle, natural cure”, device, or method—none of which stand up to proper scientific testing.

It’s true that meds can’t do it alone. What they CAN do is help your brain to function better, so that you can implement the necessary lifestyle changes that will allow you to maximize the good things about having ADHD (creativity, empathy, enthusiasm, innovation…) and minimize the bad things about it (distractability, procrastination, inability to implement your ideas, hyperfocus…).

Again, this is like diabetes. When you’re diabetic, it’s not enough to just take the insulin or Metformin. You also have to change your lifestyle, so that you’re eating properly, and getting enough exercise. (Two lifestyle changes which are a good idea for anyone!)

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[Anonymous]

I agree – but there are rules for my jobs physical (we get one every year once over 40) and our dive docs wont cert. you even if you have migranes (migrane is a neurological issue – so not allowed under H2O). I was on a weight loss drug thru dive school & once I graduated the doc made me come off it as there are no studies of partial pressue on neuro meds.. I’ve always been able to get it under control before with diet & exercise & just explaining to a few key folks (without getting into it) that I’m a little thick. Dont get me wrong – I LOVE my ADHD – I can rock it when I have my stuff in order – just sometimes the frustration is hard to cope with.. We dont live in an area where there is tonnes of work – so my skill set is necessary to fill whatever job comes up – cutting out my com. diving is not a small decision.

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[trashman]

hi reading these over and over is so helpful. I talked to my freind at the L .D.A of manitoba and asked her if she would read the report from my test and explan the results to me. she is so smart and very helpful,and does not talk down to me . so any way what they are saying is that i have six different disabilitys. seams that every thing from reading writing , spacal something or another and emothional and anxity and deprescion and some memory probems , this leaves me with a low IQ of 89. so now that i know all this iam not sure what to do next.the day after learning all this i got fired. so i told my wife that she should throw me out, because all i do is cost her to keep me.i have caused our morgage to go from a 17 year to a30 year term i would leave if ithought it would help her . she says she would worry if i was homless and living on the street. she has always had to work to make sure weall had a place to live and work. all the people she works with are all talking about retirment , she just trying to keep the bills current. she deserves a better life. i dont know what i sould do becides looking for a new job all ready started. some days my depretion is so bad iwould just like to die .but killing my self is not the last memory iwant to leave my family of me. so i push on i just dont know where too . thanks for leting me vent.

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[Ivriniel]

Just a quick note about school report cards in Ontario (I assume it similar in other juristictions)

The Ontario Student Record follows you from school to school within Ontario and contains report cards along with other such as Psychoeducational assessments. Once you leave a school in Ontario (whether by leaving school or graduating), the OSR is housed at your last school. However, schools cannot house the full OSR indefiniately, as they would take up way too much space.

Report cards are only retained for 5 years after leaving school. After that, the school disposes of everything except the OSR folder, The Ontario Student Transcript (which shows what credits have been awarded from Grade 9 onwards) and the Office Index card (which contains biographical information), which is held for a further 55 years.

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