I was recently dx'd with ADHD, starting Ritalin tomorrow (off topic, but any pointers on Ritalin?)

I am having real trouble explaining to people what ADHD is and why it's considered a desease. Some people don't believe it exists, some think I should get some organizational books, some think it's a type A personality's behavior.

While I understand that some people may never get it or accept it, I think I could probably explain it better. (and I don't mean sending ppl to read a book or look it up online.)

How do you do it, what do you say to explain ADHD?
Thanks.

geez..good luck with the ritalin...it can be quite yuk as it wears off..so be forewarned :-) If you take the 2nd dose as you feel the effect of it changing, you should be alot better..

onto explaining ADHD..personally I don't...some here are great it it, but I like people to think my weird, bubbly energetic personality is just that..my personality :-)
that's all they need to know :-)

Thanks, tracyhaddb.

What do you mean about the second dose? My MD told me to take one when I get up and then the other in about 4-5 hours. Is that about righgt?

As to your choice not to explain - I totally understand. Though in addition to MY bubbly energetic personality I can also be impulsive and upseting to others at times, and I'd like to be able to explain to some people who've had that type of contact with me where the roots might be...

geez..good luck with the ritalin...it can be quite yuk as it wears off..so be forewarned :-) If you take the 2nd dose as you feel the effect of it changing, you should be alot better..

onto explaining ADHD..personally I don't...some here are great it it, but I like people to think my weird, bubbly energetic personality is just that..my personality :-)
that's all they need to know :-)

Thanks, tracyhaddb.

What do you mean about the second dose? My MD told me to take one when I get up and then the other in about 4-5 hours. Is that about righgt?

.the ritalin seems to start wearing off after about 2-3 hours...4 tops..a lot of us can feel a rapid change when it starts..a physical feeling hard to explain...that's when I take the next dose..and in about 15 mins the new dose kicks in, and the first dose *wear off * goes unnoticed:faint:
good luck

Com'on guys. I really need help with this. There are people that I do want/need to explain ADHD to. I'd like to find an approachable (but not childish) way to explain it.

I've got the inattentive type, so it's a little different.

I tell people (when I tell people) that the processing parts of my brain work just fine, but the circuits between them don't have enough neurotransmitters ('thinking chemicals') to keep the info running smoothly, and sometimes info has to take the long way around or gets stuck in a traffic jam. If they want more detail, I tell them it's because the little 'vacuum cleaners' that suck the neurotransmitters out of the synapses back into the cells are overactive, and the meds block the vacuum cleaners so the synapses have something to work with so the circuits can work normally. Whew.

Ok, it's a mouthful and it may not be completely technically accurate, but it's the general idea. People seem to accept this explanation pretty well.

The other thing I tell them is that the way my ADD affects me, one task with 7 steps become 7 separate tasks to remember, and it's hard to keep them in order or build routines. And because the ADD brain is so easily distracted, it takes a lot of effort to stay on task. Clutter and disorganization is the natural debris of constant distraction.

Traditional time-management or organization techniques plain don't work for the ADD brain. Those of us who managed to stay organized without meds or ADD skills spent an exhausting amount of brain power on it, usually unconsciously. It doesn't mean you can't be organized, it just means you have to do it in a way that works with the ADD. .... ok, here I go again, but--"ADD-friendly ways to organize your life" is a must read if you want an easy, right-to-the-heart-of-it explanation of how ADD affects time and organization skills, and what to do about it. It's a life-altering book.

Its hard to explain ADD to someone but you know if you got it..I feel like I've found my other half since I've been diagnosed....it all fits..I think they should give it a better name..any ideas..MAD 'More Attention Disorder'

I can tell you what other people have told me, but not having it myself (just my son and hubby) I don't know for sure what it's like.

My husband described it as "having the chanel change button on the remote stuck" He says (internally) he's always "bouncing around like a pinball" He's the inatentive type.

I don't know if that helps at all, but not being an ADDer it's the best I can do.

The best description I ever heard was given by Dr Hollowell (SP?). He says "Interest based central nervous system" is a better descriptor than ADD/ADHD. Because people with ADD actually don't suffer a deficit in ability to pay attention. We lack the ability to focus on things that don't interest us. When we are interested we hyperfocus, to a level that can be so intense nuerologists have compared it to zen meditation.

You can also explain that the parts of the brain that regulate many functions (including attention, sleep patterns, and emotional intensity and modulation among other things) don't consistently function well in persons with ADD, which can make us seem absent minded, forgetful, mercurial, distant or overly emotional to others. These brain areas are referred to as the executive centers, and while that sounds as though it would be a cognitive function they are actually deeper in the brain in the subcortical regions. The point is, that they control so much that they deeply affect brain function in a very wide spectrum way. Even the way we interpret and filter sensory information is affected (which is why many of us find excessive sensory "noise" as found in crowds etc anywhere from distracting to painful).

You should also mention that it's a syndrome, which means there are a spectrum of symptoms that can occur and most folks who have it don't necessarily have the same symptoms or expression of the disorder.

Lastly, There doesn't appear to be anything actually being broken involved in ADD (at least as far as individuals who have the inherited version of the disorder as opposed to victims of brain trauma). Evidence seems to support the idea that ADD wiring is just part of the natural variation in human nuerological function. This in no way implies the problems we suffer aren't real. Just that society tends to be pretty arbitrary and one size fits all in the way it does things and folks with this particular wiring don't necessarily fit in well. I like to refer to it as a contextual disorder. In hunter gatherer times it was very likely an adaptive set of traits, but the modern context makes it hard on us. Modern society, in roughly the form we know it, has only been around for about six thousand years, and that's nowhere near enough time for biology to catch up with cultural change. So, while we aren't physically broken, and certainly aren't crippled. We are different in many ways, and often have to find alternative ways of doing things.

I know that was an awful lot of crap to throw at you for an explanation, and I left out quite a bit to try and keep it short. Hopefully, you can find what you need in there. You certainly came to the right place to ask questions. The individuals who post on this forum represent probably centuries of combined experience living with ADD, all of us with different experiences, and multiple approaches to coping.

I am having real trouble explaining to people what ADHD is and why it's considered a desease. Be careful. ADD is not a disease, it is a disorder.

Disease (http://www2.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwmednlm)
Disorder (http://www2.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwmednlm)

Semantics play an important role when you are attempting to educate someone on ADD.

I've had a difficult time explaining it to people. Quite a few folks think it's a load of crap. I learned the hard way.

I don't bother unless they are family, close friends, or others only if necessary.

Best of luck!

bc



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Be careful. ADD is not a disease, it is a disorder.

It is if your name is Dr. Fred Baughman Jr.... :D

Let's not really get started on that one though.

Perhaps describing Executive Dysfunction is a start.


http://www.chrisdendy.com/executive.htm (http://www.chrisdendy.com/executive.htm)

In the same breath that my doctor told me I had attention deficit disorder he tells me ADD is not a disorder. Could they make their minds up. This is important to me..It's hard enough dealing with it let alone not knowing WHAT you are dealing with. What have we got and if its not a disorder can they give it a name that reflects what it is. Attention deficit makes it sound like we're lacking something other people have. No wonder we have trouble explaining it to other people and they have trouble understanding. I'd like my disorder or whatever it is to have a name that doesn't make it seem that I'm mentally challenged. I see the issue as being that my brain is extra sensitive to stimuli. I have better hearing, my eyes take in more of my surroundings, my skin is more sensitive than other peoples, my sense of smell is better etc. etc. These seem to be superior charatceristics. However, in an environment such as a class room or a work place where certain behaviour is 'expected' then it can create problems for the person trying to run the place, the other kids or workers and the person who is being bombarded with this extra stimuli.

Ps. just re-read a 'favourite' site about ADD. According to this site the reticular activating centre (the attention centre of the brain) may be under or over aroused in people with ADD/ADHD.

Com'on guys. I really need help with this. There are people that I do want/need to explain ADHD to. I'd like to find an approachable (but not childish) way to explain it.
Honestly, you don't have to explain it, much less, tell anyone you have it unless you so choose. The easiest route is to tell them to go look it up on the Internet or suggest books on Attention Deficit Disorder. Otherwise, there's the off chance you'll get into a screaming match with some ignorant "non-believer" and you'll be wasting your time and energy. Trust me.....they are not worth it.:mad:

Com'on guys. I really need help with this. There are people that I do want/need to explain ADHD to. I'd like to find an approachable (but not childish) way to explain it.

Dr. Thomas Brown explains it really well in a short video:

http://www.drthomasebrown.com/resources/index.html (http://www.drthomasebrown.com/resources/index.html)

I don't tell people. One or two close friends and people on this forum.

I certainly did not understand ADHD until I spent several months on this site, for several hours a day. The average person is not going to "get" it, unless they themselves have it or have a loved one with the condition and have become informed by reading a book or something.

Who do you want to tell, and why?

I have this problem at work when I was talking about it to my "friends". They all say everyone has those problems and that I or we as ADD are just lazy. I refuse to believe that because I am not lazy and I am smart. They say it is because I just don't want to do anything. I am tired of hearing "pay attention, you gotta watch these mistakes"all the time at work but when I try to explain myself about it they don't want to listen. I say yeah only tell your family and close friends, because not everybody gets it. My husband is pretty much a non believer but when I told him I thought I had ADD he suprised me and said he knew I had it all along and that I should get help and support. People who have known you for a long time will understand and they are pretty much all that matters. I am not going to talk about it much anymore at work or to anyone who will give me crap.

As a doctor, I am asked that question very often. We now know that the is something biological behind ADHD symptoms and that it involves the capacity of the brain to modulate attention, movements, behavior and sometimes emotional reactions. Like an orchestra without a good conductor... When I talk about treatments, I use the analogy of a pair of glasses for the Brain. I wrote a book for kids (My Brain Needs Glasses) and for adults (My Brain Still Needs Glasses). It is published in Quebec and is not available in US bookstore yet. You can order it directly with the publisher, Academie Impact, if you want.

Very good analogy, Dr. V!