Living with A.D.D.

We hear a lot about kids with A.D.D. (attention defecit disorder). In short, it usually means when kids have a hard time concentrating on one subject or one activity and are jittery and eager to move on to the next thing. But what we don't hear a lot about is adults living with A.D.D. I believe I am living with adult A.D.D. - this is self-diagnosed, of course, but I'll let you know what I go through and you can decide.

I did some research yesterday and they say that a lot of adults don't realize that they're living with Adult ADD because they don't recognize the symptoms but often mistake them for having a stressful life. The site I was on even provided six simple questions to see if, at a high level, I could potentially be living with Adult ADD. Up until now, I have always told people that I think I have Adult ADD but never have I wanted to actually take a test to find out...but I did...and here's what happened.

Note: All answers are either: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Very Often
1) How often do you have trouble wrapping up the final details of a project, once the challenging parts have been done?
A: Rarely. Because my job is project based, I actually have the sole responsibility of seeing it through from inception to implementation. Otherwise, I think I've chosen the wrong field to be in.

2) How often do you have difficulty getting things in order when you have to do a task that requires organization?
A: Rarely. I'm actually quite an organized person. I do have a little trouble getting started on things but that's just procrastination. But once I do get started, I don't have a problem prioritizing and organizing and doing time management...afterall, that's one of the first things you learn as a business major.

3) How often do you have problems remembering appointments or obligations?
A: Rarely. I write everything down. I have three calendars at my office - I write down all appointments and set up reminders in my Outlook.

4) When you have a task that requires a lot of thought, how often do you avoid or delay getting started?
A: Sometimes. As I said before, I'm somewhat of a procrastinator. I actually work better under pressure.

5) How often do you fidget or squirm with your hands or your feet when you have to sit down for a long time?
A: Often. And I don't think it has anything to do with the topic or activity going on - I think it has more to do with the fact that I had lower back surgery and I cannot sit or stand in one place for long periods of time, as told to me by my doctor, because I will become uncomfortable.

6) How often do you feel overly active and compelled to do things, like you were driven by a motor?
A: Rarely. Shouldn't this be a result of caffeine? I don't drink a lot of caffeine and if I did, it does nothing to me. But if something isn't getting done, I'll do it to pick up the slack. But I can't say that I'm overly active...a bit of a scheduler and planner but not overly active.

So the result was this: "Your responses do not indicate a likelihood of Adult ADD."

I disagree. I don't think those questions really capture the essence of my self-diagnosed ADD. Here are some examples of why I believe I might have Adult ADD:
1) When watching TV, I need to be able to flip from channel to channel and I'm always looking for something better to watch. If I do get roped into watching something, during commercial breaks, I need to move to something else with actual programming. And sometimes, I forget what I was watching in the first place. That is why that 'Last Channel' button is so handy.

2) When out with friends or during an activity, I find myself thinking and my eyes wandering to other things - like 'What's going on over there?' or 'Who just walked in?' For example, when we went out for a friend's birthday to play ping pong, during the ping pong games, I would have one eye playing ping pong and the other eye always looking to see who was around. I got yelled at for not "fully" paying attention to the ping pong game.

3) I don't think I can watch a sporting event with complete attention -and sometimes, halfway through, I need to do something else...talk to people, observe others, etc. I can get fidgety.

4) I'm a big multi-tasker....at work, I can be on a call for a meeting but find myself doing a myriad of other things - writing up documents, doing research, writing in blogs, etc.

So if these things don't point to some kind of ADD, then what is wrong with me? Could it be as simple as I bore easily or I just always need to be doing something? I don't think so - I think there's more to it. But I'm not overly concerned that I need to go see a doctor about it. I can live with my self-diagnosis.