I am a 59 year old male. I have been visiting a counselor because of the death of my wife last summer. During this counseling we determined that there was a high probability of ADD. This counselor is younger, social worker training and licensed counselor. This is through a County agency so there were additional resources available in the form of psychologists (or psychiatrists). All of these professionals are generalist, not specialists in any disorder.

I went for some additional testing for a more definitive diagnosis. The testing consisted of a written test (personality I think) and then about 3 hours of interview/testing. I thought the interview was cursory, certainly it was the shorter part of the process. The rest of the time was a verbally administered test. It consisted of various problem solving exercises either verbal or puzzles. It seemed most like an intelligence test to me although there were certain aspects that were obviously testing recall (repeat back series of numbers, solve math problems, etc.) Her comment at the end of the test was that I was very bright and the I did “very well” on the tests. I actually wasn't sure what that meant since my general idea is that there are no right or wrong in psychological evaluations.

One additional comment about the test. I am an accountant by training (CPA) and chose that because I have a natural talent for math AND like to do math. This test emphasized math problems which probably played to my greatest strength. If, on the other hand, I had been read a short paragraph and ask to recite it back, I probably could not do that. Or spell a word out loud of more than 6 or 7 letters, I probably could not recognize the word even though I read proficiently.

I received the results of this evaluation last week (from my original counselor and not the psychologist). The psychologist's conclusion is that I have certain problems with organization, task follow through, etc. her conclusion was that is was NOT ADD. She was more concerned about a coexisting addiction.

I was surprised when I found that I did not believe this result, having done some additional research on the subject. First, when I review the diagnostic criteria it appears that I meet those criteria. More importantly, these symptoms existed for years before any addictive behavior and during many years of no addictive behavior.

I'm not sure what difference it makes in a way. If I believe I have it, I can proceed on that basis in terms of how I try to change my behaviors/life although, of course, that means no treatment with drugs. I guess one reason I was surprised was I had become comfortable with the idea that this was something that had impacted my life in a major way the seemed to explain many things. Or is that just an excuse, as many critics of ADD seem to think it is anyway?

My reaction is twofold. First, to list the criteria for ADD and what symptoms I think I have related to that criteria. Then submit that list to the psychologist (since apparently I will not be able to talk to her) and find out exactly what she does not think applies Second, I am considering searching for a local ADD specialist and getting a second opinion.

I would appreciate any thoughts or input others might have on this.

Hi John-R -- welcome to the forums.

As our regular poster Mctavish23 likes to point out, checklists trump tests. As I understand it, some psychs like to include various tests, but not of them have proven diagnostic capability.

You sound like you have done your research, and have a genuine concern. I don't think it would be a bad thing to seek a second opinion if you don't agree with the one you were given.

Get a second opinion.

My evaluator initially told me I, "don't have sequencing problems," because I can write very well. Hello, I can barely keep the months of the year straight! Not exactly the same thing as telling you that you don't have ADD at all, but still annoying how they can overlook your problems when they don't apply to your area of particular skill.

Your natural gifts will almost always trump your symptoms! Find someone who doesn't only test your memory in math!

And a 3-hour interview is fairly short, yeah. I think I ended up going for 7 or 8 hours of interview time, and that was after my evaluator decided to cut out any testing.

I'd get a second opinion. Addictions frequently go hand in hand with ADD. The problem with a lot of those tests is that they have a high false negative result, especially for many bright individuals. Your grief over the loss of your wife can account for many ADD like symptoms, but you seem to indicate that the symptoms preceeded this. I would want to see someone who specializes in ADD and who is familiar with how ADD presents in Adults. I'd would also recommend reading Thomas Brown's book Attention Deficit Disorder: The Unfocused Mind in Children and Adults. He discusses how ADD can be missed especially in bright individuals and explains the six areas that are impacted by ADHD. Another one you might benefit from is John Ratey's Shadow Syndromes here he discusses milder forms of serious mental problems including ADHD, depression, anxiety,and others.


I "passed" barely my TOVA test but my psychologist explained that my IQ threw the results off and produced a false negative and showed how if that was figured in the results indicated ADD. He also wasn't swayed by the fact that I had two masters degrees and excellent grades - he took time to hear the whole story including the family history of ADD and related diagnosis. That's what it take to do a really good evaluation -- a really good history of the person and family.

Good luck,

Scattered

I second Scattered's recommendations. Those are both great books.