My 19 year old son is diagnosed. My Husband of 25 years? Not so much.
We are all in a rough patch and since my husband believes I am the only one with “issues”, I am trying to introduce materials suggesting he get it checked out.

Thanks.

He is definitely having challenges with impulsivity, we he isn’t but I am! Is it fair to say there are correlations between ADHD behaviors that of a Sociopath? Or am I just a lucky girl who got a blend? I would estimate he has 80% of the traits listed for a sociopath but I see the same traits referenced throughout your book.

We are trying to find help and support but I think I want it for him worse than he wants it for himself. : (

You’re exactly right — Adult ADHD is ridiculously underdiagnosed. And even for those with a diagnosis, treatment happens for only 10 percent.

There are many reasons for this, including lack of access to care (many people with ADHD learn they have it — or are finally ready to admit it — only after they’ve lost jobs and all their money), denial, and more.

It has been very heartening to see more blogs and websites devoted to accurate information about Adult ADHD crop up in the last couple of years. Before that, the Internet was hostile territory for evangelists like me.

It’s important to realize that there are many people with ADHD. We all know many people who have it! The problem is that only 1/10 adults who have it get some sort of treatment over a year.

So Gina is doing a wonderful thing by helping raise awareness =)

The biggest problem with ADHD discovery is the shame of imperfection, – especially when you have been working so hard for so many years to correct yourself. We all hate to come up short, even a little bit, and especially with those we love. The pain with ADHD just isn’t funny.

And once such a personal and interpersonal reality arises, the next very best thing is to find-a-way-out. Therein lies the rub. Everyone, including school kids and grandparents, cops and trauma surgeons, believes they are experts on the treatment and management of ADHD. They don’t treat ADHD, haven’t walked that path, but have read in the newspaper, or heard on the street some gossip about diagnosis and treatment, so they are self ordained, and ready to pitch in with the most unreliable trash observations.

These inaccurate conclusions can simply be summarized as inaccurate public opinion, driven oftentimes by pervasive misunderstandings about the science that continue to exist within the medical community itself. If we docs don’t get it right, then it follows that the science is bad science, the diagnosis is wrong, and the meds are bad medicine.

The next necessary step in that context is self education – and therein comes the necessity of reading and understanding yourself. The science is there, the complexity is understandable, and there are many well informed therapists who can speed you and yours down a less bumpy path. The implications of not following through with correct treatment are most devastating over time. One reason for denial is not that one small problem, but an ongoing series of often subtle problems that will wear anyone down.

Enter Gina’s excellent book. I regularly recommend it as an important read to anyone with ADHD, including parents of ADHD children, so they can get the long term consequences of denial and misinformation. Start with the Gina basics, and the rest becomes easier.

Be well,
cp