Okay, so you have a little trouble concentrating. So what, right?
Not so fast. The truth is, ADHD can have some pretty significant impacts on quality of life if it’s left untreated. Here are just a few facts that demonstrate how important it is to identify, understand, and treat or manage ADHD symptoms.
Adults with ADHD are more likely to:
Be dismissed from employment
Have interpersonal difficulties with coworkers and managers
Experience relationship difficulties and breakups
Struggle with substance abuse if they’re not treating their condition
If you recognize ADHD symptoms in yourself, don’t ignore them. Speak to a healthcare professional who is well versed in diagnosing and treating ADHD.
Parents and college students are aware of the advantages of having proficiency in another language. Research now suggests that high-level use of more than one language may actually improve early brain development. Still other studies suggest that command of two or more languages improves the ability to focus in the face of distraction and may improve the essential skills known as ‘executive function”.
Summer temperatures having been soaring across the country and it has come to my attention that Medications + Heat = can easily lead to serious health risks.
Attention Deficit medications such as Adderall and Ritalin can prevent the body from maintaining a normal temperature. Children and adults taking these medications should be encouraged to drink lots of water during the day. Overheating can be extremely dangerous.
In addition, people taking antipsychotic, antiparkinsonian, or tricyclic antidepressant medications should avoid overheating and prolonged sun exposure. Even newer medications such as Seroquel, Risperdal or Abilify can increase your risk of stroke. Dehydration is a serious consideration and consumers should make sure that they drink plenty of fluids.
As I have written in previous blog posts, ADHD can produce varying degrees of challenges to many domains of our lives. In some cases these challenges can lead to severe impairment. Our ADHD related challenges can range from significant disorganization, procrastination, poor focus and attention, easily distracted, difficulty completing tasks, restlessness, troubled relationships, poor parenting, problem finances, poor self esteem and more.
In a recent study, Dr. Russell Barkley estimates that more than 5 percent of adults have ADHD, but only 10 percent of those adults have received a formal diagnosis. These statistics are similar to a previous study I’ve quoted which reports that of the estimated 5% adult ADHD population, 85% of these ADHD adults are unrecognized, undiagnosed and untreated. These are astonishing statistics.
Worse yet, for those adults who do pursue a diagnosis of adult ADHD, the road can bumpy, potentially hazardous and lead to misdiagnosis. The following article, “Speed Bumps on the Way to an ADHD Diagnosis”, was posted in the NY Times on May 13, 2011 and tells of the difficulties faced by several adults when seeking an accurate diagnosis for ADHD. The article also offers several helpful suggestions for the savvy health consumer who is seeking a proper diagnosis of ADHD.
While the article makes no mention of ADHD Coaching, I find the article to be accurate and informative. I hope you too will find it of value.
Many adults with ADHD begin their day with only a vague idea of what they want to do and what they want to accomplish. Of course, by days end, adults with ADHD review their day only to find that they have accomplished little if anything. It is an unfortunate and common experience that adults with ADHD are frequently ‘busy’ but unproductive. Is this your experience?
Follow these “7 Steps To Get Control Of Your Day” … (and maybe your life)
I enjoyed a wonderful new experience today. I was interviewed by ADD Coach Tara McGillicuddy on her ‘ADD Support Talk Radio’ show this afternoon. The topic was “Problems with ADD/ADHD and Finances”. It was a lively discussion covering several aspects of the challenges that adults with ADHD face with their finances.
During the show we discussed the issue of disorganization, which so many adults with ADHD experience, and it’s impact to ADHD finances. Disorganization can be anything from troubles finding bills, actually paying bills or disorganization leading to procrastination which then leads to ‘late fees’, over-drawn bank accounts, repossession and more.
CoachRudy will return for a live TeleSeminar with Tara McGillicuddy on July 12 at 9pm EST. The topic will once again be “Problems with ADD/ADHD and Finances’. A handout will be available and your questions will be addressed. Stay tuned for pre-registration information.
The live radio show was recorded and available her for replay:
Most adults with ADHD will admit to having a personal struggle with some aspect of managing finances, paying their bills on time, late fees, credit card debt, procrastination resulting in late filing of Federal income taxes and more.
ADHD CoachRudy was recently interviewed on this topic, “Financial Challenges of Adults with ADHD”. The interview was published online and available here for you to read…
Those of you who follow my blog and adult ADHD seminars are familiar with the difference between the child and adult presentation of ADHD. We have been told for sometime that a panel of experts has been attempting to define and publish the adult ADHD diagnostic criteria. We have also known that the currently published ‘child ADHD diagnostic criteria’ continues to rule out the majority of adults seeking assistance for their adult ADHD challenges. It is estimated that ADHD in adults is 85% unrecognized, undiagnosed and untreated. The new proposed ‘ADHD adult diagnostic criteria’ is welcomed and long overdue.
~CoachRudy
A Proposed New Definition May Make ADHD Easier to Spot in Adults
By Meredith Melnick Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is still thought of as a childhood condition, even while it persists into adulthood for many patients who are diagnosed as children. But now, psychiatrists say, a proposed new definition of ADHD may make it easier to diagnose and treat older teens and adults.
Reporting at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting (in Honolulu — lucky shrinks!), researchers say the updated edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the DSM-5, which is slated for publication in 2013, may hold revamped diagnostic criteria for ADHD in adults. Increasingly, data suggest that the condition manifests differently in kids than in older teens and adults.
For example, while children with ADHD may run around their classrooms and fail to complete their schoolwork, adults with the disorder are more likely to interrupt someone who is speaking and have problems meeting deadlines at work.
The hyperactivity seen in children tends to be reflected as restless feelings in adults. Impulsivity is more of an issue with children with the disorder, compared with adults, but problems with attention tend to persist from childhood into adulthood, [Dr. Steven Cuffe of the University of Florida] said.
