Shareware Overload Trio 2/Shareware Overload Trio Volume 2 (Chestnut CD-ROM).ISO/dir26/attn1-3.zip/ATT01

Text File | 1994-02-11 | 8KB | 186 lines

Here, once more, is Dr. Ed Hallowell's list of characteristics of adults
with ADD, obtained from CompuServe's ADD Forum.  If this list seems to
describe you, and you'd like more info on ADD in Adults, please email
me.

Barry Rein
[e-mail]

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SUGGESTED DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA
FOR ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER IN ADULTS

by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. and John J. Ratey, M.D.
Copyright (c) 1992

The following criteria are suggested only.  They are based upon our
clinical experience and constitute what we consider to be the most
commonly encountered symptoms in adults with Attention Deficit Disorder.
These criteria have not been validated by field trials, and should be
regarded only as a clinical guide.

NOTE: Consider a criterion met only if the behavior is considerably
more frequent than that of most people of the same mental age.

A.  A chronic disturbance in which at least twelve of the following
are present:

        1.  a sense of underachievement, of not meeting one's goals
(regardless of how much one has actually accomplished)

        We put this symptom first because it is the most common reason
an adult seeks help.  "I just can't get my act together," is the
frequent refrain.  The person may be highly accomplished by objective
standards, or may be floundering, stuck with a sense of being lost in a
maze, unable to capitalize on innate potential.

        2.  difficulty getting organized

        A major problem for most adults with ADD.  Without the structure
of school, without parents around to get things organized for him or
her, the adult may stagger under the organizational demand of everyday
life. The supposed "little things" may mount up to create huge
obstacles.  For the want of a proverbial nail--a missed appointment, a
lost check, a forgotten deadline--their kingdom may be lost.

        3.  chronic procrastination or trouble getting started beginning
a task, due to their fears that they won't do it right, that they put it
off, and off, which, of course, only adds to the anxiety around the task

        4.  many projects going simultaneously; trouble with follow
through

        A corollary of #3.  As one task is put off, another is taken up.
By the end of the day, or week, or year, countless projects have been
undertaken, while few have found completion.

        5.  tendency to say what comes to mind without necessarily
considering the timing or appropriateness of the remark

        Like the child with ADD in the classroom, the adult with ADD
gets carried away in enthusiasm.  An idea comes and it must be spoken,
tact or guile yielding to child-like exuberance.

        6.  a restive search for high stimulation

        The adult with ADD is always on the lookout for something novel,
something engaging, something in the outside world that can catch up
with the whirlwind that's rushing inside.


        7.  a tendency to be easily bored

        A corollary of #6.  Boredom surrounds the adult with ADD like a
sink-hole, ever ready to drain off energy and leave the individual
hungry for more stimulation. This can easily be misinterpreted as a lack
of interest; actually it is a relative inability to sustain interest
over time.  As much as the person cares, his battery pack runs low
quickly.

        8.  easy distractibility, trouble focusing attention, tendency
to tune out or drift away in the middle of a page or a conversation,
often coupled with an ability to hyperfocus at times

        The hallmark symptom of ADD.  The "tuning out" is quite
involuntary. It happens when the person isn't looking, so to speak, and
the next thing you know, he or she isn't there.  Their often
extraordinary ability to hyperfocus is also usually present, emphasizing
the fact that this is a syndrome not of attention deficit but of
attention inconsistency.

        9.  often creative, intuitive, highly intelligent

        Not a symptom, but a trait deserving of mention. Adults with ADD
often have unusually creative minds. In the midst of their
disorganization and distractibility, they show flashes of brilliance.
Capturing this "special something" is one of the goals of treatment.

        10.  trouble in going through established channels, following
proper procedure

        Contrary to what one might think, this is not due to some
unresolved problem with authority figures. Rather, it is a manifestation
of boredom and frustration: boredom with routine ways of doing things
and excitement around novel approaches, and frustration with being
unable to do things the way they're supposed to be done.

        11.  impatient; low tolerance for frustration

        Frustration of any sort reminds the adult with ADD of all the
failures in the past.  "Oh no," he thinks, "here we go again."  So he
gets angry or withdraws. The impatience has to do with the need for
stimulation and can lead others to think of the individual as immature
or insatiable.

        12.  impulsive, either verbally or in action, as in impulsive
spending of money, changing plans, enacting new schemes or career plans,
and the like

        This is one of the more dangerous of the adult symptoms, or,
depending on the impulse, one of the more advantageous.

        13.  tendency to worry needlessly, endlessly; tendency to scan
the horizon looking for something to worry about alternating with
inattention to or disregard for actual dangers

        Worry is what attention turns into when it isn't focused on some
        task.

        14.  sense of impending doom, insecurity, alternating with
high-risk-taking

        This symptom is related to both the tendency to worry needlessly
and the tendency to be impulsive.

        15.  mood swings, depression, especially when disengaged from a
person or a project

        Adults with ADD, more than children, are given to unstable
moods. Much of this is due to their experience of frustration and/or
failure, while some of it is due to the biology of the disorder.

        16.  restlessness

        One usually does not see, in an adult, the full-blown
hyperactivity one may see in a child.  Instead one sees what looks like
"nervous energy":

pacing, drumming of fingers, shifting position while sitting, leaving a
table or room frequently, feeling edgy while at rest.

        17.  tendency toward addictive behavior

        The addiction may be to a substance such as alcohol or cocaine,
or to an activity, such as gambling, or shopping, or eating, or
overwork.

        18.  chronic problems with self-esteem

        These are the direct and unhappy result of years of
conditioning: years of being told one is a klutz, a spaceshot, an
underachiever, lazy, weird, different, out of it, and the like.  Years
of frustration, failure, or of just not getting it right do lead to
problems with self-esteem. What is impressive is how resilient most
adults are, despite all setbacks.

        19.  inaccurate self-observation
        People with ADD are poor self-observers.  They do not accurately
gauge the impact they have on other people.  This can often lead to big
misunderstandings and deeply hurt feelings.
        20.  family history of ADD or manic-depressive illness or
depression or substance abuse or other disorders of impulse control or
mood

        Since ADD is genetically transmitted and related to the other
conditions mentioned, it is not uncommon (but not necessary) to find
such a family history.
B.  Childhood history of ADD (It may not have been formally diagnosed,
but in reviewing the history the signs and symptoms were there).

C.  Situation not explained by other medical or psychiatric condition.

These Diagnostic Criteria are from Dr. Hallowell's and Dr. Ratey's book,
Driven to Distraction, due out in 1993 from Pantheon Books.
Address Correspondences to:
Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. 328 Broadway Cambridge, MA  02139