Adult ADD'er seeks Advice

[ACohen2]

Hello!

I was diagnosed with ADHD (the inattentive type) and Phonological Dyslexia as an adult. I was just wondering if anyone else was given a diagnosis later in life and if so, what kind of strategies have you used to help compensate for things that you struggle with?

Thank you in advance!!!

[MaryLBarber]

I was diagnosed when I was 39. I kept losing jobs and screwing things up at work with my ADHD and my dyslexia. Made a $500.00 error. Luckily my bosses didn't make me pay it!

I have never really learned any coping mechanisms since a few years later I was able to get my disability because of fibromyalgia and ADHD and OCD and bad back and neck. Social Security said I had Personality Disorder. I said I don't like your personality either! Not really but I wanted to!

I never asked anyone what a personality disorder was. Probably part of the late diagnosis of ADHD. My mom said they just figured I was an active little girl. The youngest of six and a big surprise. I coped with school because I have a fairly high IQ so I skated through and did as little as possible.

Sorry I can't figure out coping skills since i never was given any. My life was so screwed up because of all this. Too impulsive and no focus and my kids who were on meds now refuse to believe they need them. They think they outgrew it. I can see why they still should be on meds. Even one of my grandkids is on meds. Sorry I passed all this crap to them.

Hope you can find help.

[ACohen2 in reply to MaryLBarber]

Thank you for your response. I think a lot of people have similar experiences, but there is a stigma in our society that prevents people from talking about it. Hopefully more people will start to "come out" so that we start to help each other.

[mattyr]

Hi ACohen,

I was diagnosed at 32 with ADHD specifically 2 disabilities - Poor working memory (most information never reaches long-term memory = struggle to retain information for later use) and Poor emotion recognition (I can't tell if you are mad, sad, confused, etc).

I am still working on strategies for emotional recognition.

What worked for me for ADHD was stimulant medication and cognitive behavioral therapy to rebuild self-esteem. I am investigating using an ADHD life coach and will share my experiences.

[ACohen2]

Thank you for sharing your experience mattyr! I also struggle with poor working memory. Time management is another area that I have a lot of trouble with. I am currently on a stimulant, but I am concerned about the long term effects. I have also been seeing a therapist for years, and I think she is relatively helpful but she does not understand the implications of ADHD.

That is great that you are seeing a life coach!!! I've wanted to do the same for a while, but I cannot afford to unfortunately. I have tried to educate myself as much as possible, but there is something missing. I don't know what that "something" is and I think an ADHD Coach would be able to help me. It sounds like you are handling things pretty well! Best of luck to you and thank you again for sharing : )

[KikiFaye]

Grab the book- More Attention, Less Deficit by Ari Tuckman

This is a game changer and every Adult with ADHD SHOULD HAVE IT. Good Luck!

[ACohen2]

I will definitely check it out! Thank you for your suggestion!!!