When this condition was first beginning to be recognized, I was in high school. My parents knew that something was going on, and they made various attempts to get someone to tell them what it was.
Unfortunately, they had no luck. I suspect that this is partly because at that early time (early to middle 1960s) people had a belief that ADD (which they may not even have been calling by that name) magically went away at puberty. As with so many early ideas about things, We Have Learned Better Since.
Unfortunately, if we figure that I started having trouble about the time I was 5, it took me 39 years to get diagnosed and medicated.
Now, I want to say right here that I think ADD is overused (and in fact abused) as a diagnosis of kids who are problems in school. Ritalin, also overused, is not my idea of a righteous way to deal with a kid who can't or won't pay attention.
That said, however, when it works, it works. I
think of myself as the Ritalin Poster Adult. I was
headed off the map when I finally got diagnosed; it took
me only a few months to stabilize and become more or
less capable of holding down a real job. Mind you, I
will never be truly capable of holding down or fitting
into any ordinary job, and I am very fortunate that my
current position does not require me to behave like an
employee.
(Mid-1999)
My neurology, while not fully straightened out, has definitely
undergone some long-term changes, and seems to work a bit
better than it used to. Alas for me, Ritalin seems to have made
only some long-term changes in the way my neurology works.
Instead of calming me down, it now makes me antsy and irritable,
so I can only take small quantities, and only from time to time.
Such is life; at least it did what I needed at the time when I
needed it the most.
You may notice the lack of links to ADD/ADHD pages and support groups. That's because I don't know anything about what's out there. I find myself quite reluctant to get involved. I'm sure you'll find stuff if you search for it -- there's a ton on the Web.
A few words of advice: if you think you may have ADD or ADHD, read a good book on the subject and find a careful and sympathetic neurologist. ADD is fairly easy to self-diagnose, but physicians (in many cases with good reason) don't like getting their toes stepped on, so be gentle and gracious about it.
If you are diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, find a good
therapist as well. I am not kidding. You're going to
need one, and it had best be a good one, with a good
solid understanding of the condition and its
ramifications & implications.