Hello:

So glad to hear that you have embraced your ADHD diagnosis and treatment, and that your marriage is improving as a result. That is great news.

The only consistent thing about ADHD is that it's different for every single person. That being said, here is a great article by Dr. Ned Hallowell about My Wonderful ADHD ‘Turbo’ Brain

I thought you might also want to check out some of our great information about ADHD and marriages.

Best of luck!

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HI I agree, ADHD is not a disability it is a gift. I'm the mother of a college age and high school age children with ADHD and I was recently diagnosed myself. I have been greatly successful in life, as an adult nurse practitioner. It came as a surprise to me that everyone didn't think like I did, that the thoughts in my head that never turned off weren't in everyones head! Anyway, ADHD has been given the wrong title. Perhaps we as the community of ADD'ers should work to change the name. I wouldn't trade my brain for anything!

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I would never give up my brain. I am creative fun loving and a very successful adult who has marched to her own drum since being a child. I also think many of the "normals" think we are not capable of anything is because we are way out there in the front of everything; and they can't keep up. The difficulties are and will always be the routine things such as doing the dishes, paying bills or more of my Problem getting things shredded I hate looase paper. I am so happy to be ADD gifted, it makes me who I am and I would never change that.

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I am definitely in agreement about the "gifts" of ADHD -- ingenuity, creativity, spunk, humor, and a different perspective have all been wonderful blessings. I would not shake the "disability" label either, however. As Anni said it's different in everyone, and if one is in a secure place in life it's easy to call it a blessing. If one is only partially employed, terrified of going back at home to live, and accepted into school yet unsure of how they will get through the next 2 years financially, however, than the lateness, dreaminess/sluggishness, fidgiting, constant losing of important items, difficulty organizing one's life, and battered self-esteem become much more than a mere annoyance.

I'm sorry if this comes off as negative, but I think that over-emphasizing either side of the ADHD coin can be dangerous. That being said, over-emphasizing the positive will probably have a better effect in the long run.

FC

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Well this is a tough question and it is very much subjective, meaning that it depends on the person, the social environment and other factors. In some cases, especially if your family, your friends and partner help you and you are really good in doing certain things e.g. in your job, ADHD is a great gift, as long as you make an advantage out of it. Professions demanding creativity, flexibility, new ideas and unusual but effective problem sollutions, ADHD as well as a good team might be a 'booster' for your career. On the other hand ADHD can also be a 'disability' if you haven't got a social network supporting you as well as certain overdeveloped skills helping you to be successfull in your job. But you have to admit that disability is not the right word for it. In some cases this might fit but I would call it disadvantage. So all in all it depends - mainly on you. Some people with ADHD I talked to said that it is both. An advantage and a disadvantage as well. Sounds strange, doesn't it? But somehow it is obvious what they mean. In everyday life there are various demands of various persons, institutions etc. Some of them are great to deal with and some are horrible. A designer with ADHD for instance might benefit of the creativity that is closely related to ADHD. But doing business also includes tax-paying, bills and organizational stuff. Very often people with ADHD have problems with this stuff that other say is simple. So as you see it is a bias. In the US people have got the opportunity to realize the American dream by having good ideas and succeeding in doing business. In Europe this is somehow different and so these factors count as well. In the end everyone has to decide whether he or she thinks of ADHD as being a gift or maybe a disadvantage. Sorry that my conclusion is like this but very often life is like this. ADHD is what you make out of it! Yours Nils.

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I'm a 41 yr old male, diagnosed for about 5 years now. I may have a few of the creative gifts, but it seems as though all the negative traits of ADD have been consistantly destroying my daily life for years. For me it is a definite disability. I've lost jobs because of things that were ADD related, my marriage is now going through divorce, my second one. Nothing seems to work. I've tried every medication under the sun for the last 5 years and only certain things have improved. I also have depression and OCD.

You never know when you may need this part of the info: AD/HD is recognized as a disability with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Thanks for letting me rant.

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Where is the physical proof that ADHD is a disability? It is part of the ADA because organizations such as CHADD steamrolled Congress into believing fallacies and lies.

Many successful people have ADHD, contrary to what pill pushers like Dr. Russell Barkley contend. I recommend reading Thom Hartman's work, which delves into the creative energy that ADHDers possess. It is a creative energy that transcends a "normal" person's range of understanding.

I contend GREED is the disability afflicting society. The people who ransacked and looted our economy need the meds!

Don K Potochny Author, "Dear Mary"y Life with ADHD"

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Hello, I am new here, but I am not new to ADHD and the autistic spectrum. I am married and have five children. My husband has ADHD and four of our five children have mild to severe cases of it. One cannot live home because of his behavior problems and learning disabilities.

I have met people who had mild ADHD along with many exceptional abilities that compensated for the difficulties, and they were able to manage. My husband has an extreme case of ADHD that is debilitating. I am sorry to say that for him, it is definitely a handicap. He is a brilliant man, something like the man in "A Beautiful Mind" but not that "out there". The meds help to a certain extent, but he needs more help. Unfortunately, he doesn't like to admit he has a problem. It took 15 years for me to get him to the doctor in the first place, but it is hard for him to get more help because he doesn't like to admit that he has a disorder. As my oldest son says, "Everyone has special needs." And he is right. No one is perfect, and everyone has "something" that needs special attention. I know it hurts to be labelled as having a "disability" but sometimes it is best to face the truth and deal with it, than to try to pretend it doesn't exist. One woman at my husband's work said to me, "He thinks no one knows. He thinks he can hide it. WE ALL KNOW. It is obvious." People have all kinds of disabilities. That does not make them less of a person. The most important thing is not what you have, but what you do about what you have. A person who was born perfect has little to brag about, but the person who overcomes his handicaps is the one who gains my respect.

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I worked for a company where I'm sure people knew I had ADD. I just did't work the same as others. I could have brilliant ideas and solutions to problems but didn't necessarily mean I could follow through. My motiviation & focus would go through cycles. And yes, I took my medication consistently. I used to watch co-workiers in awe and say how can they work on the project so long and diligently. I would have to find different things to do or ways of doing it in the middle of the project out of sheer boredom. Sometimes I came through like a shining star other times I was a burnout. I really believe out in the real world people only know certain things about ADD. Like they still think of the little boy in school who's misbehaving, distracting the class and not getting his work done. They don't see the adult that's 40 years old trying to follow a simple conversation while you're mind is elsewhere so you've nodded like you know what they're talking about when in reality you'd heard about 5% of what they've said. People think that you use your ADD as an excuse when truly your brain just doesn't function on the same level. Sometimes it's to your benefit because you're more creative and you can see the big picture other times it's a detriment because you can't follow through and complete the simplest tasks. I'd like people to see it as a disability only because without medication, therapy, and understanding that you are different you may not be able to accomplish the most simplistic tasks. Another blessing I forgot to mention for ADD, which is also another curse, is hyperfocus. If you're truly interested in something you can work on it for hours without ever coming up for air. You get so focused that you look at your watch and it's 4pm. You check it again thinking perhaps it's 5pm when it's really 9 or 10pm. Where did the hours go? If you're faced with some mundane task that you have little interest in an hour came seem like 5 or 6 hours. So after babbling forever ADD can be a double edged sword. The hardest thing to me about ADD is inconsistency. I doubt there's one person I've ever met that would use the word consistent or consistently to describe me. I wish they could use that word for me though!

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Being everything you can be. I am ADD and don't feel disabled because I have learned to make things work. It was a major disability in my youth when I knew i thought differently than most people or started something got bored and then stopped it in the middle of a project. I have learned to use the laws to my advantage and worked to my strenghts . I find it hard to deal with loose paper I hate it . I have learned to balance and keep my check book. to attack a room and keep it clean. move miles to come back and stay organized enough to do it. If you never try to figure yourself out or try to see what needs to be changed or you will always mess up. AND YES BE DISABLED

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I've lost relationships, friendships and jobs due to ADD-related issues. I suffer from memory issues and I'm very forgetful. I am disorganized and haven't been able to hold a job.

I'm an introvert, spend most of my time alone and have very few friends. I am a very intelligent woman...but the symptoms of ADD have been crippling my life since 1986 (when I was first diagnosed). I'm reluctant to take medications because of my horrible experiences with Ritalin in the 1990's.

I'm looking at all my options (medication, alternative therapies)..because I'm not letting ADD take over my life anymore. For me, ADD is very debilitating.

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Keith,

I believe if you got to know any of those suffering from the effects of ADD or ADHD on this site they would be able to provide you with the physical proof you're looking for. As far as any mental illness or disability can be determined by physical proof. Look at their checkbooks, their apartments, their frustrated spouses, their damaged cars, their less than satisfactory report cards. All of these are physical proof that ADHD is a disability.

That being said disability, productivity and success are not all mutually exclusive. Just because a person has a disability doesn't mean that they can't be extremely productive or extremely successful. I know several people with physical disabilities like missing limbs that are both extremely productive and extremely successful. Does that mean that they should not be afforded protection under the ADA? The ADA does not contain any mention of any specific ailment or condition but rather a set of guidelines for inclusion. Irresponsible and unsubstantiated comments such as yours undermine the good work of thousands of dedicated professionals and add to the confusion of the ill-informed.

While I suffer daily from the effects of ADD I do not consider myself a victim of the disorder. Disabled does not equal victim.

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I was recently tested for ADD, and I probably have it. The specialist is at the point where she says "my symptoms are consistent with ADD," but a diagnosis has not been made. Anyway, I have known this for a long time. I find it disabling sometimes, and I don't really know how to cope with it. People get upset when I use my methods, like they don't want me taking notes of what they say, they don't want me making a note on the smartphone--they think I'm texting-- especially in meetings. They get upset if I don't understand the way they have their agendas and want me to change my whole system to accommodate theirs. Recently, I have been looking for a job, but I'm really discouraged because most ads require "excellent organization skills" and ''excellent time management and multitasking." How do you apply for a job requiring that if you don't have such skills, and how do you ever get a job if every job requires those skills?

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