4/29/05

Me and adult ADHD

A few years ago I saw a commercial that got me thinking. It was about adult ADHD and it made the best description of adult ADHD I have ever seen or heard. It described adult ADHD as your mind like a television that changes channels frequently. I was absolutely stunned that it described my experience throughout my life.

Since I was a child I had problems maintaining focus, but as a child it was not a big problem. Early in school it was still not a problem that caused great difficulty. In my teens however my problems with attention and focus became painfully aware. My teachers and school counselors were quite frustrated and often cited that I was certainly intelligent enough to do the work, but I frequently was bored.

I am now 43, I was born in 1961 and I graduated High school in 1979. When I grew up ADHD was not an identified condition as it is today. Perhaps if ADHD was a known condition and I was diagnosed then my environment could have been accommodating or even medication would have been appropriate. Regarding medication drugs would be an absolute last resort. I vehemently reject the notion that problems in life can be solved by taking a little pill.

Throughout my life I tried to find ways to use computers to compensate and to record my quickly fading ideas. Now as an adult I often need to review books, radio or video several times to fully comprehend an idea and that is usually due to my constantly shifting focus and not my intelligence. When I write my focus changes frequently and when my focus returns to my writing I often forget my ideas. When I speak my focus also changes and there is a brief interruption in my speaking and many people find my brief silence awkward and confusing.

Fortunately computer power has increased dramatically and it helps me to write, but I can also use it to express myself in multimedia.

Bill Egerter