[Kyttee69]

I was diagnosed with ADD 16 years ago when my 4 children were diagnosed by their psychiatrist. Because they were on Medicaid and I was not officially under the doctor's care, they received documentation and treatment, but I did not. I have always been able to manage my symptoms on my own until now. Circumstances at my current employer had made me seek out official documentation as well as accommodations. My employer said they wanted a specific list of accommodations from a doctor. But none of the providers that I have seen want to give me an accommodations list.

The licensed therapist in my employer's EAP program diagnosed me with ADHD, PTSD, and GAD, but refused to write any accommodations because mental illness is not a disability, and if I were to ask my employer for accommodations, I'm saying that I can't do my job. She also said that my condition was not "pervasive," but her specialty is anxiety. She also said that her diagnosis of ADHD was based only on my self report, as if I was lying and just knew the right answers to say.

Because of her patronizing tone, I decided that I wanted to undergo psychiatric testing so that I could identify my specific deficiencies. I saw a psychiatrist today. I gave her the letter from the therapist as well as showed her the results of the ADHD test from this site (47). She discounted the results because they were from an online quiz, and even when I filled out her paper self report form, she looked at it and then tossed it aside saying, "I don't trust that." She told me to bring her a letter from my employer that said I was having trouble concentrating. She said all she sees is anxiety and depression, but gave me a number to call for neurological testing.

I am so frustrated!! I have been dealing with this for all of my life and when my children were diagnosed it was like a light bulb came on. I advocated for my children as they were called lazy and fell through the cracks in the educational system. Now no one believes me when I need help! What the heck??? I'm already having panic attacks, nightmares, and such and this is doing nothing to help me! What is the use in having a self report if the so called professionals aren't going to believe the results?

[Skeezyks]

Hello Kyttee69: I'm sorry you are having this experience. Unfortunately, I'm not surprised. I've been floating in-&-out of the mental health system where I live for going on 20 years now. I've seen psychiatrists & therapists. I've been hospitalized twice following suicide attempts & I participated in a partial hospital program following the first hospitalization. I still don't have a diagnosis, official or otherwise.

I no longer see a therapist & I'm not on psych med's. I still have a pdoc. But I only see him once a year, just to keep my foot in the door, so to speak. So my experience tells me that, once a person is an adult, the mental health system just views them as excess baggage. I'm not sure at what age that begins. It's always been that way for me. I wish you well...

[elevatedsoul]

i know what you mean...

[Miswimmy1]

I'm sorry that this is such a struggle.

I find it kind of odd that both of those people that you saw were so quick to turn down your request. I know that doctor's can be wary of patients seeking ADHD medication because of its frequent abuse. However, this seemed like extreme reactions. You were just asking for a letter indicating your need of accommodations, correct? Not medication?

I am wondering - is there any way you could get in touch with whatever practice/doctor diagnosed your children? Even if that doctor is no longer your family's doctor, he/she might be abe to refer you to a collegue or something who might be more open to discussing options with you.

One thing though. A licensed therapist or a psychiatrist could diagnose your condition but may only suggest appropriate accommodations for you to bring to your employer (rather than write up an official letter requesting accommodations on your behalf). In my experience, those types of proffesionals don't carry a lot of weight when it comes to "official documentation of accommodations", unless they administer in-depth diagnostic testing and will issue a full report of results (usually multiple pages of test results). These kinds of in-depth assessments are typically performed by neurologists and neuropsychologists (which might be why the psychiatrist referred you for neurological testing). On reports, there is usually a section where the professional goes into detail with suggestions that might be a more acceptable form of official documentation.

[gocyndygo]

I also understand your frustration. I was diagnosed at 35 when I was having trouble in college, and was put on medication. Since then, every time I went into a new program, they wanted me to be retested, as though maybe it miraculously went away. The 3rd time, the psychologist decided I didn't have it after all, I just suffered from anxiety! But anyway, what I was going to say was, the 2nd time I was tested, it was at a testing center at a college, and the people doing the testing were graduate students working under a doctor. They tend to be more thorough, since they get graded for it. It might be something you could look into.

[alwaysin6thgear]

Originally Posted by Kyttee69

I was diagnosed with ADD 16 years ago when my 4 children were diagnosed by their psychiatrist. Because they were on Medicaid and I was not officially under the doctor's care, they received documentation and treatment, but I did not. I have always been able to manage my symptoms on my own until now. Circumstances at my current employer had made me seek out official documentation as well as accommodations. My employer said they wanted a specific list of accommodations from a doctor. But none of the providers that I have seen want to give me an accommodations list.

The licensed therapist in my employer's EAP program diagnosed me with ADHD, PTSD, and GAD, but refused to write any accommodations because mental illness is not a disability, and if I were to ask my employer for accommodations, I'm saying that I can't do my job. She also said that my condition was not "pervasive," but her specialty is anxiety. She also said that her diagnosis of ADHD was based only on my self report, as if I was lying and just knew the right answers to say.

Because of her patronizing tone, I decided that I wanted to undergo psychiatric testing so that I could identify my specific deficiencies. I saw a psychiatrist today. I gave her the letter from the therapist as well as showed her the results of the ADHD test from this site (47). She discounted the results because they were from an online quiz, and even when I filled out her paper self report form, she looked at it and then tossed it aside saying, "I don't trust that." She told me to bring her a letter from my employer that said I was having trouble concentrating. She said all she sees is anxiety and depression, but gave me a number to call for neurological testing.

I am so frustrated!! I have been dealing with this for all of my life and when my children were diagnosed it was like a light bulb came on. I advocated for my children as they were called lazy and fell through the cracks in the educational system. Now no one believes me when I need help! What the heck??? I'm already having panic attacks, nightmares, and such and this is doing nothing to help me! What is the use in having a self report if the so called professionals aren't going to believe the results?

What I don't understand is why the psychiatrist that diagnosed your children also diagnosed you and then refused to give you any documentation. I can only assume that he/she gave you an unofficial diagnosis only because you were with your children at the appointment. In speaking with you about your children part of the conversation may have gone in the direction about it being genetic and one of the parents most likely has it if one or more of their kids have it. You may have showed some of the symptoms or spoke to him/her about some of your difficulties that you share with your kids, which led to the unofficial diagnosis. It's not uncommon for clinicians to question others diagnosis, part of it is ego and part is that they may not be experienced with something like ADHD or have a different opinion about ADHD. What you need to do is find someone that is experienced with adult ADD/HD, that's the first step. Your basic PCP doesn't have the knowledge and experience with something like ADHD. There is alot more to ADD than losing focus, forgetting things ect. It goes much deeper and no one person is the same. It may cost you more out of pocket but it is crucial that you find someone that specializes with ADD in adults. It's not that the people you have been seeing don't believe you it's more about they are not very knowledgeable in that area. If 4 of your children were diagnosed that should be a big indication that you may have it also, if you share some of the same symptoms. It would also help if you educate yourself about adult ADD, books, info from this site, there are also some closed groups on facebook that will help as you may relate to many of the people posting (ADDitude magazine & their Facebook page). Having ADD is extremely frustrating and people who don't have it have no idea what it is like for someone who suffers from ADD to function normally and get through the day. I certainly have no need for anyone who says it does not exist and that includes family, I have cut several family members out of my life due to their ignorance, the 1st 38 years of my life were hell until I got diagnosed, at 53 I still suffer from the damage of going undiagnosed all those years.
What I would also suggest is that you not view ADD as a mental illness or disability. Although it is covered under the ADA, the accommodations your employer would have to make would be minimal at best. The job you are currently doing may not be the best fit for you and the symptoms you suffer.
I could never sit in a cubical all day and stare at a computer screen or sit in meetings all day listening to people talk non-stop. I actually consider "normal" people to have the disability as I have learned over the years that the way I think and process information is better, at the moment I have an employer who see's the traits that I have and notices that the way I do things is actually an asset, but it certainly has it's drawbacks as my work style makes many of my lazy colleagues look bad which doesn't make me popular.
Once you find the right therapist and they are out there, you just have to "pound the pavement" and find them, your frustration will lessen.

[Melmo]

I know what you mean. I got a psychiatrist for my depression and anxiety and I mentioned that I thought I have ADHD (my mother has it and my 6 year old was diagnosed last year which is what led me to believe I have it aswell) and he basically brushed it off and said I am too well functioning. I think it's easy for him to think so when I don't tell him everything. I avoid talking about some things because I know I will end up crying, which I HATE doing in front of someone. It's frustrating because I feel like it's majorly affecting my relationships with my kids, especially my 6 year old. It has caused me to not be able to function in a normal relationship, or feel like I am stupid and a failure.
I hope you can get someone to listen to you, I think we just need to keep trying but I feel like people think I am an attention seeker when that's so far from the truth.