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ADD In The News |
| Time, 11/7/05 |
ALL JUMBLED UP
ATTENTION-DEFICIT DISORDER IS AFFLICTING SENIORS, TOO
by Lois Gilman
Is it possible for a 63-year-old man with a PhD to have
attention-deficit disorder? That was the question English professor
Richard Haber asked himself six years ago as he sat in his doctor's
waiting room and flipped through a book on ADD, as the ailment is
known. Haber, who taught at Western New England College in
Springfield, Mass., thought he might learn something about his
students' problems. Instead, he says, "I recognized myself."
Haber, now retired, had always been disorganized. His life was full
of clutter. He had trouble managing everyday tasks and meeting
deadlines. "I would ask myself, 'Am I lazy?' " he says. Then a
diagnostic workup revealed that Haber has ADD (also known as ADHD,
or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). Now he's treating it.
He takes the stimulant Ritalin to help him focus, and he sometimes
consults with an ADD coach, who helps him keep the clutter at bay.
Not so long ago, ADD was widely regarded as a children's ailment.
But experts are increasingly discovering that it afflicts all ages.
Psychologist Thomas E. Brown, author of Attention Deficit Disorder:
The Unfocused Mind in Children and Adults, has seen his practice,
which centered on young children 20 years ago, expand to include
younger adults and seniors. They come to him and say, "I've had this
problem for so long. If there's a treatment, let me try it."
Dr. John Ratey, co-author of the landmark Driven to Distraction,
says seniors are often referred by their children in a "stair-step"
sequence -- first the grandchild is found to have ADD, then the
parent and finally Grandma or Grandpa. Recalls Virginia Cooper, 73,
who has a grandchild with ADHD: "My daughter said, 'Mother, I think
you've got it.' And I said, 'Don't be ridiculous.' But then I read
about it and realized that maybe she was right. I've always been
distracted. I cannot stick to one thing. It's like somebody's
changing channels in my brain over and over again." Cooper too has
tried Ritalin and hired a personal organizer.
Seniors may be unaware of their underlying ADD, but they sometimes
seek professional help because they are having trouble managing
their lives. Many retirees find it tough to adjust to the loss of
structure that their jobs had provided -- the scheduled tasks, the
meetings and mealtimes, the office assistants who kept things
organized. According to psychologist Kathleen Nadeau of the
Chesapeake ADHD Center of Maryland, in Silver Spring, retirement
leaves some individuals "swimming in murky water." Even downsizing
from a house to an apartment, with all the attendant decisions about
what to keep and what to throw out, may prompt seniors to seek
therapy.
Often the non-ADD-afflicted member of a retired couple will drag the
partner in for help, says Nadeau, who estimates that 20% of her
patients are seniors. They come because those never-ending
unfinished projects, once relegated to the garage, are spreading all
over the house, and the spouse's persistent forgetfulness,
unawareness of time and difficulty with decision making is driving
the partner crazy. Recalls former police officer Don Sherwood, 55,
about the trying months between his retirement from the Torrance,
Calif., force and his condition's diagnosis: "My home life was
falling apart. I thought my marriage was beyond repair."
Could these people be suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's rather
than attention-deficit disorder? Definitely not, insist Ratey and
others. "They had the symptoms throughout their life," says Ratey.
"They had memory problems since they were adolescents." Clinicians
look for behavior patterns that extend back into childhood and
include a history of distractibility, disorganization,
underachievement and, often, complaints of laziness from parents,
teachers and peers. "You're looking for a lifelong pattern," says
Nadeau, "and a familial pattern."
Once a diagnosis of ADD is made in seniors, doctors try to improve
patients' concentration by prescribing the same stimulant drugs that
are used for children and younger adults: Ritalin, Concerta, Focalin,
Adderall or the nonstimulant Strattera. Where stimulants are used,
the doctor needs to watch for drug interactions with other
prescribed medications and closely monitor patients' blood pressure
and cardiac status, given that the side effects of these drugs can
include elevated blood pressure and pulse rate -- risks that many
seniors normally face with age.
In addition to medication, ADD coaches can be of help. These private
practitioners, who are unlicensed, typically enter the field with
backgrounds as psychologists, counselors or educators. They
concentrate on life skills and strategies rather than therapy and
psychological issues. Haber's ADD coach, Sandy Maynard, describes
her role as enhancing her clients' success by "providing structure,
accountability, support and feedback." She helped Haber set
realistic goals and priorities and plan for his retirement. Maynard
taught him a visualization exercise in which he "throws away"
extraneous thoughts, enabling him to focus on the task at hand.
Adult ADD support groups, like the one that Patty Kropelnicki, 63,
attends at the University of Washington in Seattle, can also be
beneficial. Kropelnicki learned that she had ADD three years ago
after she turned in desperation to the pediatrician who had treated
her son for ADD years earlier. The support group and medication have
"allowed me to be a complete person," she says.
For former policeman Sherwood, there is an unexpected side effect to
his treatment. He has been wearing hearing aids for the past eight
years. Now, with his improved concentration, he's hearing better
because he is more "tuned in."
Copyright 2006 Time Inc.
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