[arugula]

Greetings. I am married to a 46 year old man who was diagnosed and somewhat treated for dyslexia during elementary school. He appears to strongly exhibit symptoms for ADD and possibily ADHD but has not been formally diagnosed for this. These symptoms present challenges to many aspects of our daily lives together, in addition to the frustration that they cause him. Despite past refusal to seek help for this, he is now ready to do so, but we do not know where to turn as we are looking for a professional who can assist us in assessing and understanding the specific "disorder" he has and can then help us with determining a path of treatment or strategies for him/us that can help him become a more effective communicator, generally less frustrated, so that he can become the best man he is capable of being.

Can anyone help us with what type of professional we should seek?
What type of testing I should be looking for, ie. what's it called?
Does insurance usually cover this testing?
What types of treatment do they offer adults with this disorder?

Thanks so much for any insight anyone can offer. It is appreciated.

[FearsomeAnna]

Arugula,

Welcome! I know what it's like to live with someone who has adult ADD. I have it myself and so does my fiance. Yes, it's frustrating but there is definite hope for you and your husband.

The type of professional you should be seeking is either a psychiatrist (if you want to consider medicinal solutions) or a psychologist (if you want to seek behavior therapy to help him re-train himself), or both. Both is probably best.

There is no real "test" for adult ADD. If your husband wants something to take to his doctor so he doesn't forget anything he has to deal with, have him take the online diagnostic tool found at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.amenclinic.com/ac/addtests/adult1.asp>http://www.amenclinic.com/ac/addtests/adult1.asp</A>. The website will have your husband rate his symptoms and return a likelyhood that he is a sufferer. The also ask you, the spouse, to do the tool yourself so you can have a list of symptoms you've noted. After you have completed that (it's about two pages), they will ask you continue to a page to see if you fit a particular subtype for those with ADD. It's a great place to start as well as a place with a wealth of information for sufferers of adult ADD. Mental health professionals will want to hear the symptoms from your husband, as well as yourself. Adult ADD is diagnosed by consideration of the symptoms as reported from the patient himself as well as close friends and/or family. Generally, they are looking for symptoms such as consistent inability to concentrate for very long periods of time (except in a lot of cases the person with adult ADD can focus for very long periods of time, assuming the task/activity at hand is of great interest to the patient - for instance, I can hyperconcentrate if I'm reading something that interests me. NOTHING can make me lose my focus on that.), "fidgetyness" or other types of socially acceptable hyperactivity - for instance, unlike children, adults know enough not to leap up and run around the room during a board meeting - but they might tap a pen, or their foot, etc. Daydreaming constantly and "zoning out" is not uncommon for people with adult ADD either. I describe my condition as something like having the TV keep changing channels, but I don't have the remote so I can't make it stop. Your husband is very likely to be highly disorganized - he loses bills, forgets to sit down and pay them, forgets to mail them, continuously loses his keys/pens/other small items. As a child, he was probably told by his teachers that he needed to work on not losing his homework. "Not living up to potential" is a very common statement to a child with ADD. I say this because adult ADD doesn't just show up out of the blue - there is always a history of similar behavior stretching back to the early childhood years. I like your statement about the frustration with communication - that is common as well. I'm guessing that he probably loses the focus on whatever conversations you are having with him and then gets frustrated with himself for doing so.

Insurance will cover ADD treatment, assuming your health insurance plan has mental health coverage.

As for treatment, there are many, many options for sufferers of adult ADD. A combination of medical therapy as well as behavioral therapy is common. The medication helps get the sufferer started on the road to controlling this disorder, and the behavioral therapy can help him learn how to create his own organizational system (usually highly structured) to help take away the frustration of the little things. Medicines available include Ritalin (methylphenidate), Concerta (extended release methylphenidate), Adderal (amphetamine salts) and Strattera (a close relative to Prozac). Everything but Strattera is a stimulant, meaning that it activates the part of the brain that is supposed to help with organization and focus - in people with adult ADD, this part of the brain is usually underactive - leading to focusing problems.

Anyways, welcome again to the boards - I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes, ok?

some of it's magic
some of it's tragic
but i had a good life all the way......
~jimmy buffett