What is ADHD? Many people who experience attentional difficulties wonder whether they have ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder). Common symptoms include distractibility and trouble staying focused, short-term memory problems, trouble staying organized, difficulty with time management, and trouble planning and initiating tasks. These symptoms have to be present in multiple areas of your life (e.g., work and home) and cause clear functional impairment. Also, some of these symptoms must have been present during childhood, even if they were never formally diagnosed as symptoms of ADHD.
So why is an ADHD evaluation necessary? It’s important to know that attention problems can actually be caused by many things – depression/anxiety, stress, trauma, poor sleep, and more. ADHD evaluations help determine the root cause(s) of your difficulties by assessing various areas of thinking, including working memory, complex and sustained attention, processing speed, and executive functioning. While neurocognitive testing is not required to make a diagnosis of ADHD, it can help identify and/or eliminate other potential causes, as well as identify your unique pattern of strengths and challenges. This is important for treatment planning purposes, so that your provider can be sure they are treating you in the right way – just like you wouldn’t want to take cold medicine for a broken arm, you don’t want to take medication for ADHD if it’s not medically appropriate.
To learn more about ADHD, find community supports, and compare treatment options, please check out the following resources:
Websites:
Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) – www.chadd.org
ADDitude Magazine – www.additudemag.com
CDC Info about ADHD – https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/
National Institute of Mental Health (NIH) – https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd
American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Treatment and Management of ADHD – https://www.aafp.org/family-physician/patient-care/prevention-wellness/emotional-wellbeing/adhd-toolkit/treatment-and-management.html
Books:
Taking Charge of ADHD (Barkley) – https://www.amazon.com/Taking-Charge-ADHD-Fourth-Authoritative-dp-1462543197/dp/1462543197/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
The Smart but Scattered Guide to Success (Dawson and Guare) – https://www.amazon.com/Smart-but-Scattered-Guide-Success-ebook/dp/B016WWZO1Y/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2E7UYHKT88KS5&keywords=the+smart+but+scattered+guide+to+success&qid=1703973957&s=books&sprefix=the+smart+but+scattered+guide+to+succes%2Cstripbooks%2C83&sr=1-1
Succeeding with Adult ADHD (Levrini) – https://www.amazon.com/Succeeding-Adult-ADHD-Strategies-LifeTools-dp-1433838745/dp/1433838745/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
Getting Ahead of ADHD (Nigg) – https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Ahead-ADHD-Next-Generation-Treatments/dp/146253032X
Books for family/friends:
The ADHD Effect on Marriage (Orlov) – https://www.amazon.com/ADHD-Effect-Marriage-Understand-Relationship/dp/1886941971
Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D. (Pera) – https://www.amazon.com/You-Me-Adult-D-D-Attention/dp/0981548709
When an Adult You Love Has ADHD (Barkley) – https://www.amazon.com/When-Adult-You-Love-ADHD/dp/143382308X