Which of your parents did you inherit your ADD from?

Have no idea. Adopted......:)

Mother's side. Her Father (my Grandfather) likely had it as well.

Neither of my parents have been diagnosed. They both show signs of it but have polar opposite ADD traits. I'm pretty sure it's on both sides of my family though. Several relatives on both sides have a lot of ADD traits.

Good question, but I don't know. I suppose I ought to ask. Not sure that I told them I have been getting treatment as an adult. It isn't that I am uncomfortable with telling them, I'm just not very close to either of them.

i'm pretty sure that my father - were he to be tested - would be diagnosed with something similar to what i've been diagnosed with: "adhd, add and asperger syndrome", although i'm guessing in *his* case, the "aspie" part would come *first*...

Mom. Undiagnosed but I'd bet money that she's ADD/ADHD and maybe a bit OCD.

i have no idea b/c:
my father and i haven't seen each other but a few times during the past decade and he's mentally ill-as in-he's insane..
my mother is korean which means-well-keeping a clean house was beaten into her..LOL
koreans don't have adhd don't you know that?

neither of my parents have ADD, we're thinking my grandma on my dad's side has it.

Both my parents as well as all my sisters :)

My mother is diagnosed Bi-polar.

I don't know my dad at all...but am very close w/ the rest of his family. Going by the stories they and my mother have told me about him and his personality...I'd say that he definitely displays the main characteristics of AD/HD

I got my adhd from my mom and Grandmother I got her Bipolar...Gee and some mothers Give Jewlery....Mine gave me disabilty:rolleyes:

I'm just guessing on this one, since my parents aren't diagnosed. I'm pretty sure my mother is (since I see it also in my mom's mom) and my father is, well, just emotionally challenged (can't call everything ADD, can you?).

My mom has inattentive type, and my dad has the one that's a little like OCD. (I forget what its called). My sisters both have various types, and two of my brothers have inattentive. We're not sure if my oldest brother had hyperactive type, or if he just didn't fit in with the rest of us. He was in the military tho, so he's gone undiagnosed if he's got it.

Although he was undiagnosed, my father had a lot of the symptoms from the Hallowell checklist for ADD. He loved high risk behaviors, had no follow through, "self-medicated" and could hyperfocus with the best of them. So, I would say, definitely from my dad. My mom seemed like it sometimes, but then again, she could finish projects and was a straight A student all her years in school.

I'm going to guess my dad since he had kids with two different wives and one daughter from each of those wives has been dx'd with ADHD; one of the daughters with the second wife probably has it, and it's possible that one of the sons with the first wife has it but he has so many other problems there's no way to really tell. Neither wife seems to have ADHD.

Probably both but neither diagnosed - yet. Mom's going in for evaluation in December. I am more like her. My brother has ADHD (as opposed to my ADD) and is more like my dad. My other brother is likely, and does have a known learning disability.

Boy it was fun growing up in THAT household!

Katherine

Fairly sure mine came from Mom, deceased @ 53, she quit school in 11th grade, was extremely introverted and very depressed most of her life. My brother is ADD I'm certain, just not diognosed. My adult daughter shows signs of ADD too.

I inherited ADHD from my dad... so did my younger brother and sister.
Don't you just love highly disfunctional families :D

Definitely not my dad. Maybe my mom . . but she's always on time, always finishes things, and keeps a very clean house :confused: I am sort of the black sheep of the family. Maybe I was just dropped on my head as a child. :D

When I was first dx'd, I thought that it had skipped a generation and that I had inherited from both Grandfather's, but I have come to realize that my father definitely has it, he just lucked out and found a career he loved, police work, and married my Mom, who kept the household in immaculate shape, so symptons were never a problem until he was promoted to a politically appointed position. The stress caused his BP to go wild and he was forced to retire early. As in go to work at 8:00, see the doc at 10:00 and so long, see ya, I'm retired at noon....after 37 years on the job!

I did not vote because I was not sure how to vote. I am sure that both of my parents have some type of ADD but to get them to admit to that would be another story. When I have approached my mother about me having ADD, her answer is always the same "I do not know how you possible got THAT"

I got add from my father. He is pretty severe in my eyes, but he was never offically diagnoised. Kinda funny how that works out. The parents realize they have it after I get dxed. Go figure

I don't know for sure. I'm not aware of any ADHD on my mom's side. My father (whom I never met) had a criminal bent, so I suspect it was from him. I read that 60+ percent of prisioners are ADHD.

Scattered

I inherited it from both sides. my moms family first has a bad gene what i call the disability gene, and myself, my brother, a few cousins have it. plus, my mothers family where none for inbreeding during WW2. they where German and Irish. As for my fathers family i am not sure weather the gene is paternal or maternal, but i know i it is in his family as well becuase my sister (my fathers child from another marriage) has ADD as well as her daughter. and what really made this worse is that my dad (rest in peace) use to do drugs in the 60's (before i was born) so i think that might have added to our problems to.

I am not sure since neither of them have be diagonosed. My dr did tell me they both have a mood disorder and so do I. If Iwas to take a guess I would say my mom and her mom. Dad definately depression and mood disorder. auntchris

GEeeeeeee for us other people this can be hard seeing as many of us were in our thirties when we got diagnosised. My dad was diagnosed with bi-polar but the meds almost killed his liver. Looking back my father has a lot of ADD traits, all my half brother (same dad, different mom) have ADD. My mom never showed sighs of ADD and no one in her faminly did but after her father passed away we found some disoxin and dexidrene prescriptions in his stuff. My grandmother said he took it to stay wake durning long projects. My grandfather went to bed with the chickens and woke up at the crack of dawn. My grand father was a genious he was telling me about microwaves in the early seventies and personal computers in the late sixties some thing about a microchip!!! The medications were prescribed the medications because he was a chemist as well as a physisit. He told of of pranks he did in school like setting off foul smelling chemicals in the school because he forgot to study for a test. He almost blew up his mom's basememnt "play" with nitrogycern. Think he used the stimulents to focus as he sure seems to posses some ADD like traits he controled with the chemicals, he sure had the IQ. The was no place for inherated ADD from grandparent so I didn't answer.

My grandma on my mom's side. She's adorable, but lives on another planet! She still climbs trees at 92 years old bc she wants to get the apple at the top- holy impulsiveness, batman!

My doc's going back and forth on whether I have ADD or "Neurological symptoms resulting from seizure activity and brain damage which mimic those of ADD", but if I have the shorter version, I got it from my biological father. (I'm adopted, so I use the word "biological" for a reason. Nice guy, but it's a family/social thing.) He's on good ol' Ritalin, I think.

Chrys

Since both of my parents are deceased I can't ask. They were of the generation, though, that one doesn't even THINK of the possibility of ANYTHING being wrong, let alone admit to it. Looking back it could be they both had it.

I think I got it from my mom. She was never diagnosed, but I think she had OCD and anxiety. She saved everything and was super religious. She died a year ago and even though we never saw eye to eye, I miss her dearly. Dad was pretty calm, and at 84, still going strong.

My mom is where I inherited all my quirks from. She lives in her own world and is sooooo ADD in my opinion. I can't get her to talk about ADD with me because she believes ADD is a not a real problem. My maternal grandma who is no longer alive, had classic ADD symptoms. My maternal grandpa died when I was a baby of liver problems from being an alchoholic - possible ADD self-medicating? My brother is also classic ADHD but has never been diagnosed.

Definitely not my dad. Maybe my mom . . but she's always on time, always finishes things, and keeps a very clean house :confused: I am sort of the black sheep of the family. Maybe I was just dropped on my head as a child. :D
haha sounds like me...

cept, my mom is pretty messy..but, hmm...i'd be surprised if she did have add...my dad...pssh, he doesnt listen at all...hes like the prime example of things going in one ear and out the other (as am i...) ... but, i dont know if he could be considered add either...hes a huge anal neat freak, and is always freaking out about being insanely early to things, and getting things done ahead of time...

yeah, i have no idea where i got mine from...my sister definatly is not, and my parents just had my brother tested...and nope

don't know--- I'll have to observe them now.

My dad has not been diagnosed, but I am positive he has it. All his life, he has never owned a car for more then 2 months. He would get bored and buy something else. (just one example)

My mother's side of the family is more prone to depression and abuse. Both my mother and her mother were raging, abusive acoholics. (My mother still is) Due to her heavy drinking I have distanced myself from her so I do not really know if she has any of the tell-tale traits.

Ya know I was thinking (!) the other night about this ? & I think it has to be my mom.
She always wants to do something (she's a great guilt tripper..." I never go anywhere, do anything...") But when you invite her to do somethng , she comes up several reasons why "... now's not a good time." Some of her excuses range from I'm doing laundry, someone is coming over--not for like 3-4 hrs. but she still can't go.

I already thanked my Dad in my introduction. For passing down the good old AD/HD and dyslexia. LOL No one on my mother's side of the family has LD's so there is no mistaking where it came from. I'm also the only one of 5 siblings to have it.

Mom could be diagnosed ADD by a cat: Never finishes projects, a million things going on at one time all the time, spends 20-30 minutes EVERY DAY before leaving the house looking for her keys and sometimes her shoes, has about 7 giant purses that she stuffs things into and goes into to look for items regularly, is about 4 hours late to everything (seriously), must get up from the dinner table at least 10 times, had joined approximately 5 different pyramid sales ventures (quit all of them), has called me a million times to ask me how to attach a file to email -- at 2 in the morning, is the queen of clutter, has ten of everything because she forgets she has one....I could go on and on. I am but a fraction of her severity level, and she drives ME nuts!

But, she's got a million friends, the biggest most generous heart, the most infectious laugh, and I swear -- runs on nuclear energy! And she's Mom, and I love her! :)

I definitely see it in my mom and my dad. i wasn't diagnosed until a year ago (I'm 30), and now they both look like pretty big prime suspects to me. our family was always a little off- never could exactly put a finger on it. My brother appears to have escaped this blessing, although he deals with a lot of anxiety.

I'm almost certain that my husband has it as well (although I don't see traits in either of his parents). Our as-of-yet unconceived children are sure to also be blessed...:rolleyes:

The bipolar from my dad's side of the family, cuz they're crazier.

The ADD...probably Mom's side. I don't think my Mom has it though. I know my Nana's stories by heart and she very well may be, and her son/my uncle.

Either way, my kids are in the gene pool for a slew of mental illnesses. Our family is a psychiatrist's diagnosis text book. Will they get depression, bipolar, schitzophrenia (sp?), anxiety, ADD, etc. At least I only have 3 (one a minor case) out of #......... .

I don't know anyone in my family that has ADD, though sometimes I think My grandmother on my moms side does.....................but that may be other heath issues that cause her to have the same symptoms. So I really don't know.

The ADHD (along with the dry skin and sinus trouble) come from my Mom's side of the family. My grandma was always involved in politics and was the head of several senior citizens groups. Always on the run, never staying home, going on bus trips, organizing major events....

Once we all got older, my Mom was also involved in local politics. She is either going to her art group, or meeting her high school friends, or going to her writers club, or going to help her friend, or.....She is a talented artist, cartoonist, poet, and writer. Her living room is always straightened up. (She keeps the living room clean for unexpected guests but don't open any bedroom doors.)

I never really thought about my Dad's side of the family as far as ADD/ADHD but they were all a "little off". My Dad is as funny as they get. Everybody that meets him, loves him. I don't think he did too well in school. He joined the service and then was a salesman until he retired. He is definitely a people person. He is able to "zone out" and ignore all of us ADHD cackling hens when we all get going. Now that I think about it, whenever he got home from work, the noise level in our house bothered him. He always asked why we were all talking so loud. A little ADD sensitive perhaps????

i know for sure that it wasnt my dad...he is as calm as could be, but my mother tended to he a bit high strung...actually really high strung. actually the more i think about it, my mom, her brother and my grandfather were all like that. they all had panic disorder and over acheivers....well i know that i got the panic thing from that side and im a workaholic like them. and i have always been super hyper...so i guess i can say my mom. but unfortunatly, i will never know, she passed away two years ago, and i wasnt diagnosed then...
heather

my mom has it, my brother, my aunt and my cousin.

Hi All,

I believe I inherited it from my Mother. When I was first diagnosed, I was in total denial. Then I researched it and went back to the doc and said, "OK, I'm ready to start over". The more I found out about ADD, the more I knew I had it and that it was from my Mother. She and I have the exact same characteristics. She is 81 now. I always thought that I was never good enough in her eyes, but now I know it's because she thought she was never good enough herself.

I'm so glad that I found out about this. I'm able to smile a lot more now. I'm also glad that I found this board! You all are great!

I guess if it came from anywhere it would have to be from my Dad because when he was younger, he was hot and cold in school and somewhat disorganized. But neither of my parents is really, truly ADD-like. My father grew out of that, so I guess it was just youth for him more than anything.

It doesn't seem that anyone in my family has it.

My mother is a fairly high-level manager who is extremely neat, organized, and goal-oriented and is also a master time-manager, project-manager, self-motivator, self-regulator, etc. She doesn't show any signs of hyperactivity. I can't remember her ever seeking a thrill in my memory.

My dad is the most even-keel, calm, attentive, and focused person you'll ever meet. Almost nothing can shake his mental and emotional equilibrium. He too is goal-oriented, and he pursues his goals with patience, calm, and cool-headed rational strategy.

Where did I come from???

Well, like my mother always says, I am sooo SPECIAL!

I say my dad. I haven't seen him in 20 years, but I still think it came from his side. He was also a sadistic rapist, but that is another story.

I used to think most of my ADHD symptoms came from my Dad’s side. Until a recent visit to the museum in Cleveland Ohio with my sister and mother.

The good stuff was down stairs but we found the second level first. The second floor had a bunch of abstract art. I am not an abstract art fan. One painting looked like scribble picture I used to do when I was little. Another one had a dessert scene with cars, and men vacuuming like the artist couldn’t make up his or her mind up as to the “subject”.

In the same room with me, mom, and my sister, Hope, was a group of students who were touring with their teacher. They looked to be early high school age. Their teacher was going on about the texture, colors, in this confusing multi subject painting. The teacher finished with this question:

“Why do you think the artist painted this?”

My mother pipes up with “because he was hungry and needed the money!”

The students laughed, the teacher glared, and I helped with and equally loud comment:

“To think all these years you had us convinced we got our mouthy ness from dad’s side of the family.” :rolleyes:

My sister stood there shaking her head saying “I aint taking you anywhere together again because you are a bad influence on each other.”

The teacher was loosing the interest of her students especially the ones in the back nearer to us. She tried to stay on the other side of the museum for the remainder of our tour.

Maybe I got my ADHD from both sides of my family!!!

That is a great story. My Mom and I get like that when we are together as well. My sister doesn't go out with us anymore. I'd love to go to a museum with you and your mom someday. I'll make sure my hubby has enough bail money to get us all released. :)

My mother was a prim and proper person while we were growing up. Her last kid graduated last May and turned 18 in June. Ever sense then she has acted more like "us" her kids!!!

my mom...after i found out info about ADHD, thought about it....seemed like i have it...it explains so many traits i have...and now i'm diagnosed by doctor and taking adderall for that

and the whole ADHD also explains every trait my mom has...over the yrs my mom was always late to family gatherings, friends gatherings, dinner, church...it was so embarrassing because she made all of us late as well.

she daydreamed a lot...my dad always complains about her not listening at all.she changes her job like crazy...started projects that she couldn't finish

i dun really see much of hyperactivity going on in her though...

on the other hand, my dad seems perfectly fine...he's the person to make this family working...he buys geoceries, he pays bills on time, he takes care of finances, he never loses his temper...not like me and my mom...get angry and frustrated so easily...

the only person i worry about is my brother...although he's quite normal...i have seen him sit and read for hrs...when we study together...it's so obvious...he sits and reads for hrs...and i get up every 15 minutes to get drink, to stretch, and i lost where i was reading anyway...

my dad works on sunday, so usually only 3 of us go to church, my brother has choir practice prior to service, so he goes to church early. Then mom and I will have to go to church later..2 of us...oh well, we have to make ourselves to go...we must be late...an hr after the service has started we made our entrance...or we just were so late that there was no point of going since the service would end soon...

i'm counting on him to be successful...get a nice professional job and start making money to take care of the family...me...i wanna get to grad sch...but just finishing undergrad would be hard as well...

i'm counting on him to be successful...get a nice professional job and start making money to take care of the family...me...i wanna get to grad sch...but just finishing undergrad would be hard as well...
after i found out info about ADHD, thought about it....seemed like i have it...it explains so many traits i have...and now i'm diagnosed by doctor and taking adderall for that

Give yourself some credit.:) Now that you know what is going on with you and why you have difficulties in some areas, You can do something about it. The day I was diagnosed was one of the best days of my life. I was determined to learn everything I could so I could fix me. Sounds to me like you are on the right path. You may be able to help your mom and whole family at the same time. <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

Niether of my parents show any signs of it. My 7 year old nephew was diagnosed bi-polar. THey thought he had ADHD at first.

My mom was distracted and verbally impulsive. My dad had an addictive personality, was hyperfocused, distracted, and obsessive. My mom's dad was hyperactive, moody, and distracted. So, guess I got it from both sides.

My father and I are quiet similar so I'd say I got it from him cause Mum certainly DOESNT have ADD or ADHD or even Bipolar

i got mine from dear ol dad. never having lived with him untill i was 15, i always found it quite fascinating that i was exactly like him behaviorally. i also never liked him until i found out i have adhd. now i feel sad that he lived his whole life wondering how he could be so smart, and yet never get it right and keep it that way. I wish i knew where he was so i could ease his pain. every time i feel resentful for having it, i think of him and thank god i have a light at the end of the tunnel. i wish he had.

My mother! She was incredibly ADD inattentive type with an OCD component. We didn't know what it was so we just called her "crazy", "lazy", "inconsiderate", "rude", "insensitive", "scatterbrained", etc. her doc told her she was one of the worst cases he had ever seen.

Her inablity to curb her comments during socially inappropriate moments caused a lot of problems. As well as her obsessiveness over issues. She'd never let something die. Her incessant worry. She'd pick up sentences and thoughts discussed hours before and repeat it all. She'd get so involved in a phone conversation with her friend that she'd be an hour late to pick up my brother and I from swimming practice. It was embarrassing and even scary at times.

Needless to say...our house was a mess and embarrassingly so. My poor dad. He's been in a wheelchair since childhood and could not do a lot of the things that needed to be done. It all fell on my mom and she just couldn't deal with it all...poor thing.

It's been tough but I am gradually learning to forgive her for all of this. So much of this was not her fault. She's much better now.

I don't think anyone of my parents have ADD...

I know my dad had a LD when he was younger, from what my grandmother said. But they seem pretty "normal" if anyone it would be my mom...my dad is way to "together about life"

Ok, this thread is old and I think I've gone on about this before.
My Dad would be the genetic culprit in this. He's been married multiple times, constantly has to travel, moves from place to place with no apparent reason, has no concept of housework (uses only disposable dishes & silverware), has a hair trigger temper, a childlike sense of humor, loathes traffic and lines, and careers?
He's been a computer salesman, a minister, a rock musician, a country & western musician, an author, an investigator of cults, then a salesman again, then wanted to write a business book but never did it, then more salesman...
In between, he's been the master of the weird get rich quick scheme. None of these things lasted very long.
I have no idea what he does for money now. He has this bizarre gift for plucking money out of nowhere.
He's impossible with remembering birthdays or other important events.
My incredibly non ADD Mom thinks he's out of his mind. All she remembers of their marriage are pointless roadtrips (his idea) and that he spent incredible amounts of time away from home on business trips. She also said that he was constantly ranting and most of it was lies, but she hates him, so who knows.
When I told him about my diagnosis and explained ADD to him, he replied, "That sounds like me! I've had people tell me I probably have it, but who cares? I'm fine!"
My Dad is such a character.
My uncle acts like him, too. I never met my paternal grandfather, but the stories I've heard make me think. All I know is that he was run out of town (my family's wording) for embezzlement in the 1950s and reinvented himself somewhere else, where he also embezzled money.
My mom's side has no ADD I'm aware of, but alcoholism, violence, and mood disorders practically gallop through that family.
I have wonderful genes.
:D

i have innatentive and hyperactive.my mother also is bi-polar and multiple personalities.thank God my grandparents adopted me!!!

I probably inherited it from my mom's side of the family, I don't know if anyone from there has as severe ADD as I do, but I know my cousins probably have it and some of my mom's siblings have some ADD-like symptoms.

My mom smoked while she was pregnant with me, and apparently there's a link between that and ADD, so that might explain the severity of my ADD.

My mother has always been a little odd. Growing up ,people told me that all parents are wierd because their your parents. Then they actually met my mom, and agreed with me.Growing up with a twin brother and a older sister, I think she was overwhelmed. The teachers in grade school knew something was wrong with me and decided to put me in a LD class.After she relized something was wrong me she started backing off of school events and was not involved with me like she used to be.My twin brother was involved with everything. He played baseball all throught out his child hood and I did nothing.I believe she wanted to help me, but did'nt have the energy or mental state of mind to do it.
I have failed three grades before I dropped out of high school.My mom was so involved with her issues that she was not thinking about the kids and are problems.
On a better note, after taking Adderall. I recieved my GED within one month.Just wanted to add that.
I talk to my mother often and believe that something is terribly wrong with her.As young as I remember, she would have terrible mood swings and act without thinking. At one time I felt like I was mentally and physicaly abused.The past year I've been urging her to see somebody. She is at the point were she's to stubborn to listen to her ADHD daughter.
To end this, I think she has Bi-polar traites. Part of me wants her to get help because it will give me a better idea on what my future holds.
Guys with Bi-polar parents. Please give me a little thought on what you think of this.

As soon as DS was diagnosed and I started educating myself, then got my own diagnoses and learning how hereditary ADHD is, I had no doubt in my mind my Mother had ADHD. I took my Ds to a Psychiatrist to get tested for other disablities, well the doc had worked with my Mom and knew her well. They were sorta friends, well as soon as I mentioned my Mom knew her , and knowing my Son is her grandchild, she immediately said he was "bipolar" and grabbed the script pad! LoL It took my Mom a while, she was in BIG denial, but she just got tested by another doc last month for Bipolar, she hasn't been diagnosed with the ADHD yet, but they also look so much alike, and the bipolar has to be treated first.