How Steve Handles ADD Part 2/2

Often, patients with ADHD like Steve will show up late. They don’t get things done, they’re inconsistent and people will generally conclude that this person is lazy, they are not motivated or they’re just doing it to annoy me.

We need to understand that ADHD is a psychiatric disorder affecting the brain. We know that 80% of the cause is genetic. And telling an ADHD individual to pay attention is like yelling at a blind man to look out. They simply can’t do it without appropriate treatment and diagnosis. ADHD adults appear to be multitasking will. The cell phone is on, the papers are across the desk, the TV is on and the computer screen is on. You might think that they are getting a lot done. However, if you measured what they got done in a period of time, you’d realize that a number of things got started and nothing got finished.

Now at this point you say, that sounds like a lot of adults. Why don’t they have ADHD? Well, ADHD is a very specific condition. It’s chronic, it existed in childhood, it hasn’t changed at all over the course of the person’s life. So these are not adult fluctuations in attention and concentration. This is a lifelong impairing and disabling condition.

Well, a lot of patients with these conditions don’t know what they have. And unfortunately, they seek out other professionals to try to help them. Unfortunately, a lot of the untraditional therapies are simply unproven. So before you pursue alternative or complimentary medical treatments, I would suggest to seeing someone who is trained in making this diagnosis. There are a number of treatment options that are highly effective for ADHD. Principal medication has been demonstrated repeatedly to be very effective. There are 40 decades of research with stimulant medications for ADHD that show a very robust effect. Not only is it a robust effect but you’re going to notice an improvement within days, not weeks and not months. And so, it quickly becomes apparent on how you’re able to focus with medication, first is without medication.

Now in addition to medication, we like to provide psychotherapies which can include organizational techniques are social skill techniques. People have been very concerned at about taking medication for ADHD. There have been a lot of reports of safety issues and I do have to stress that although we as physicians are concerned and mindful of any safety issues concerning medication, I also remind you that not treating ADHD leaves the person at risk for higher substance abuse, alcohol abuse, for a higher likelihood of arrest—and so, this can be a downward spiral for someone with untreated ADHD.


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