maaddsg-news-4-4-04

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And The Surrounding Communities With ADD/ADHD

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ADD/ADHD In The News:

New York Post, 4/4/04

PAY ATTENTION, YOU!

by Susan Edelman

Is your desk a mess? Are you always late? Do you lose things? Shoot off your mouth at the boss? Leave projects for the last minute? Lose your temper in traffic? You may have an excuse.

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, the bane of ants-in-the-pants kids, is far more common in adults than previously thought, experts say. And more adults are seeking medical treatment for their disorderliness, their trouble focusing and rash behavior.

"It's the new designer diagnosis," said Chana Levi Julian, a social worker and founder of the Jewish Association for Attention Deficit Disorder in Brooklyn.

"Every upscale person who's having trouble in their life is now trying to figure out if they have ADD [the disorder is also known as ADD] -- and maybe hoping that accounts for it."

Julian said she has seen people at parties lift their glasses and say with a wink, "I made such a silly remark the other day -- it must have been my ADD."

But, she insists, many adults do have it -- and it's a serious condition that if left untreated can "destroy lives."

An estimated 4 percent of adults in the United States -- 8 million people -- suffer from ADHD, but 80 percent don't realize it, said Dr. Lenard Adler, a psychiatrist who runs the Adult ADHD Program at NYU School of Medicine.

On May 7, NYU will hold a first-ever screening day for adult ADHD -- people are invited take a questionnaire and talk to mental-health experts about whether they might suffer from the disorder.

"It's not just a common disorder, it's impairing," Adler said, citing higher rates of divorce, substance abuse, job problems and car crashes among adults with ADHD.

New Yorkers diagnosed with ADHD say it's no cop-out for being disorderly and irresponsible.

"You keep racing in eight different directions. I used to think that's just life in New York -- there's a million things going on," says a 40-year-old professional Bronx woman.

Diagnosed with ADHD in 2002, she has avoided medication because of pregnancy and breast-feeding. But when working, her office was so cluttered she shoved stacks of papers in boxes when visitors came. Her "to-do" files overflowed.

"I procrastinate like crazy, and I'm late everywhere I go," she said.

She brought work home, and "was never there for my husband."

One New Yorker with ADHD said her marriage nearly broke up over an extramarital affair she blames on the disorder. "I couldn't seem to stop myself, the excitement was so great," she said.

Cheating is common in adults with ADHD, experts said. They easily get restless or bored with things -- including spouses.

A 33-year-old Manhattan social-service director recently diagnosed with ADHD said he always had trouble concentrating in school.

"I went from job to job. My lack of focus came through in terms of missing details and making mistakes. Anytime I had to fill out paperwork, or sit and do something for an extended time, it was very difficult.

"My parents didn't buy into the idea that everyone has a psychological problem," he said. "They always told me, 'If only you would apply yourself.' "

But when he started taking Concerta, an ADHD drug, the fog cleared, he said.

"It was almost like having poor vision and putting on glasses for the first time."

Adult ADHD has spawned a whole new industry of "coaches," who charge $300 to $500 a month to help sufferers break bad habits, get organized and better manage time.

"It's hard for many people to juggle life," said Andrea Yellinek, a Bayside, Queens-based coach. "For adults with ADD, it can be chaos."

For information on NYU's Adult ADHD Screening Day, go to

www.med.nyu.edu/Psych/training/adhdday.html.

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