Frank South went for a second opinion on his Adult ADHD diagnosis. That is, he went on the PBS medical show “Second Opinion” to talk about Adult ADHD.
Do you need a second opinion on ADHD?
Are you old enough to remember when patients were advised to get a second opinion about any major (and some minor) diagnosis? This was before managed care. The idea was this: Physicians are fallible in their diagnostic abilities. “Get a second opinion.”
Even if managed care has largely decimated the idea of second opinions, it’s still important. Especially when you suspect you have ADHD but are dismissed without much thought from a professional.
Have you been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, bipolar, PTSD, Asperger’s, or even dyslexia—but treatments have not helped? Maybe they don’t make full sense? It might be time to get a second opinion—with a professional who understands those conditions and Adult ADHD.
Please check out—and share—this excellent, 25-minute overview of ADHD. It’s from the PBS TV show Second Opinion.
Thanks to American Public Television and the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Featured Guests:
In the video below, Second Opinion host Peter Salgo, MD, talks with:
—Former Hollywood scriptwriter Frank South talking about his late-in-life diagnosis and receiving a “second opinion” from the panelists
—Anthony Rostain, MD, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania medical school and co-director of UPenn’s Adult ADHD Clinic
—Lisa Harris, MD, Our Lady of Lourdes Memorial Hospital
—Brett W. Robbins, MD, University of Rochester Medical Center
Frank South Has Appeared Here, Too!
By the way, Frank has previously appeared on the ADHD Roller Coaster, in the form of two wonderfully entertaining but poignant videos:
Frank South, Adult ADHD, And The Traffic Cop
Singalong: “ADHD Hypomanic Alcoholic S.O.B.”
And in this post you’ll an excerpt from his must-read book of essays (A Chicken in the Wind And How He Grew):
Stories From an ADHD Dad: Frank South on Growing Up Undiagnosed
Hi Gina,
Do you ever organize a seminar/retreat for ADHD Couples?
You, of ALL the experts, would be MOST ADEPT at arranging a QUALITY event of this kind!
My husband (whom I believe to have ADHD) is in denial about it. I am wondering – even hopeful that – if there is an organized “retreat”/group wherein we could “both” learn more about it, while being in an environment with other couples/individuals with the same syndrome, he might actually be able to “see” it in himself…
[ An online community/blog would not be of interest to him. ]
Thanks in advance,
S.R.
Ha!! You read my mind, SR!
In fact, just now I was researching conference venues here on the Silicon Valley Peninsula.
You are so right. I need to offer seminars and maybe even a weekend retreat. That was my plan a few years ago, and then I accepted the task of creating the first professional guide to Adult ADHD couple therapy. That took FOUR YEARS. But now…I am truly a tippy top expert on this topic.
I’m working on my plants for in-person seminars now. Next: Online webinars. And yes, I understand that format won’t work for many people. Especially if there’s too much homework, and the presentation is disjointed and requires too much effort.
I’m a huge believer in the power of group support. It’s one thing to be at home, going along on a webinar. But it’s quite another to be in the same room with other people on the same path. Nice people. Good people. People with senses of humor. I see this all the time in my Adult ADHD group in Palo Alto. Once they are in the same room with other people who have ADHD, they stop being fearful of learning/talking about it. Soon, they are sharing strategies, compassion, and humor. It’s so wonderful.
Where are you, S? Is this something you’d be willing to travel for?
I was thinking of starting on the West Coast, because we really need it here. It’s like the Third World of ADHD treatment!
Thank you for the encouragement!
g
Oh I’m SO HAPPY to learn that you have been considering such events!
We are in the Northeast – in New Jersey.
Undoubtedly there would be a plethora of interested candidates in this part of the country too!
After I had hit the send button on my prior email to you, it occurred to me that your event in the autumn of 2015 in New Orleans may have been the type of event about which we are speaking… ( of course I personally don’t know, since I wasn’t there.)
Anyway, do you think it might be a possibility to host one here in the Northeast? [ We happen to live in Elizabeth, which is a mere 30 minute train ride from Midtown Manhattan, and a mere 20 minute car ride from Newark Airport. There are a number of hotels adjacent to the airport, which undoubtedly have conference rooms, etc. ]
I’d love to know your thoughts on this prospect.
All the best,
S.
Hi S.
You know, anything’s possible. 😉
I gave a 1.5 hour talk at the CHADD conference. It covered the highlights, and the audience was very responsive and appreciative. But I think I’d need 3-5 hours for more in-depth coverage. So, a Saturday workshop, I’m thinking. Then, maybe I could follow up with specific topics via webinar (e.g. money, sex, co-parenting, etc.).
To make it work outside my home territory, I’d need a sponsor or an on-the-ground organizer. It might be that one of my contacts in NYC would be interested. I will inquire. 🙂
Thanks for your interest!
g
Good morning Gina,
Oh, I am SO glad to hear that you would be open to hosting a seminar/retreat here in the (North)East!
If I can be of any assistance – even to your “contacts” here- please let me know.
[Our 25th wedding anniversary is imminent (G-d willing this August), and rather than simply going on a vacation somewhere, I would really much rather address (have acknowledged by my husband) this MOST SIGNIFICANT ISSUE, which has been— as you will undoubtedly surmise— “ill-affecting” our relationship for much too long.]
All the best,
S.
Hi S.,
Of course I would love it! I always enjoy connecting with folks in person, especially after four years of sitting at this desk working on the book.
Stay tuned! I’ll always post events on this blog.
best
g
Thanks for your response Gina,
Ok will do.
You would be so amazing at the helm of one such retreat!
Take care,
(and I hope we will get to SEE you soon… at a Roller-Coaster-Retreat!),
S.
Wheee! We’ll convene at Coney Island. (If that’s still a thing.) 🙂
And happy anniversary!
g
Hi Gina,
There are now three roller coasters I believe, within the larger amusement area, known as Luna Park these days.
Generally speaking, an amusement park sounds like a really fun location, however I personally have mixed feelings about having an event of this nature based at a roller coaster park. What I’m referring to is that I’m afraid it would mistakenly give a positive association to our ADHD partners about their syndrome, and somehow “celebrate” it, RATHER THAN mobilizing them to acknowledge/take note/ take responsibility for/own up to their accountability of it’s oftentimes hurtful symptoms.
If you decided, however, that you would want it there anyway, then that would not deter me from attending.
I’d surely be interested in knowing what you think.
Best,
Sharna R.
Hi Sharna,
Oh, I was just kidding!!! 🙂
Bless your heart…. 🙂
g
Hi Gina,
Oh good!
I’m so glad to hear that you WERE KIDDING!
Also, have you been able to get in touch yet with your “contacts” here in the East regarding a prospective AD(H)D retreat ?
All the best,
S.
Hi Sharna,
Fooled you! 🙂
I haven’t started researching the possibility yet, but I will.
tx!
g
Hi Gina,
Just a word to say thank you for the support you give to me personally, and more important, thank you for the thoughtful and honest support you provide for the whole ADHD community.
Hi Frank,
Thanks so much for the kind words. <3
We’re all in this together.
best,
g
It is always good to get a second opinion from an expert. Even though I dealt with ADHD without meds, I’m glad I heard what my psychiatrist had to say.
Dear Gina:
Thanks so much to share and been updating good awareness for ADHD in Adults. So many physicians cannot understand how to address some symptoms that are making their patients life miserable… it is part of the word we have to spread around the world about WHY ADHD is so important to be identified… I’d love to subtitle it…is there a way to get to that? I offer my time for it.
Thanks to Dr Rostain A. I’ve been talking to him in Toronto’s APA last meeting. And for more Lisa Harris MD!!
Hugs from Argentina
Hi Norma,
I’m so glad you like the video as much as I did. It’s not often that our public-TV system gets ADHD right.
Here is the contact link for Second Opinion. Maybe you could write and ask them about sub-titling.
http://secondopinion-tv.org/get-in-touch
grandes abrazos
g
They offer a transcript at the website: http://secondopinion-tv.org/transcript/adhd-adults-transcript
Thank you!
This was Great!
The end of the video- about how to thrive instead of survive with meds, doesn’t play on my gadget.
Is it just my iphone?
Cliffhanger!
I Was Sooooo Interested!
Hi Joy,
yes, that was an excerpt, and you can continue watching at the show’s site:
http://secondopinion-tv.org/episode/adhd-adults
g
In case other readers can’t “see” the video based on where they live (I live in Ontario, Canada), I found it on this link: http://secondopinion-tv.org/episode/adhd-adults
Thanks, Liz.
You couldn’t view the video here on my blog?
I wonder what that’s about.
tx
g