ADHD Awareness Day: Careers
Although ADHD is largely associated with children in school, many adults struggle with ADHD and in particular, struggle in their chosen careers. Since today is ADHD Awareness Day, I thought posting a question and answer from my message board concerning the possibility of ADHD creating career problems would be appropriate. The original question comes from a young lawyer, who writes:
I see many lawyers with AD/HD. There are enough lawyers struggling with AD/HD in my state for the state bar to form a support and referral system for lawyers struggling with AD/HD issues in their practice.
Many bright lawyers succeed in law school, but struggle once in practice with the same issues that affect others with AD/HD: inattention and distractibility, planning, organization, time management, and follow through.
They have problems keeping track of billable hours, and might have to stay late at work because it takes them longer to do their work than others. They are stressed from the pressure to perform to make money for the firm, and with increased pressure, AD/HD symptoms increase. They feel overwhelmed and incapable of keeping up.
AD/HD is a lifelong problem, although someone might not have significant problems until the work load increases, such as in law school. When someone has not had lifelong symptoms of AD/HD and starts having them when under a great deal of stress, "pseudo ADD" must be ruled out--meaning symptoms due to stress of daily life. People who are depressed and/or anxious also cannot focus, are forgetful, and cannot keep up with their work load.
I recommend that you see someone who specializes in the evaluation and treatment of AD/HD, as they would be able to sort out possible AD/HD from stress, anxiety, depression, or other factors.
If your general physician doesn't have a referral, you could call the psychiatry department of the nearest medical school for a referral, or check for names of therapists on the CHADD site. In the meantime you might want to read (or listen to the audio tape in your car) either, "Driven to Distraction," or, "Delivered from Distraction," by Hallowell and Ratey.
Related Topics: Suffering in Silence: Women with Adult ADHD, Workplace May Overwhelm Adults with ADHD
Technorati Tags: ADHD Awareness Day, ADHD, Adult ADHD, career
I'm 29 and an attorney. In law school, I began to notice that I was extremely forgetful. I would forget conversations I had with people, things I had to do and places I had to go. I had a lot of difficulty studying and memorizing a lot of my subjects and things got progressively worse as I continued with my studies. However, I found workarounds for many of my "issues" and made it through law school and successfully passed the bar in three states.....My answer:
I do not know who to talk to or what to do. I am consistently surrounded by a sensation I can only describe as a "fog". I cannot focus on anything at any time. I lose interest in everything quickly. Things that made me exceptionally happy in the past-- no longer have the same affect. ...
Do any of these symptoms sound like anything that can be rolled into ADHD/ADD? If not-- does it sound like anything else? Who should I consult regarding whatever it is that is wrong with me?
I see many lawyers with AD/HD. There are enough lawyers struggling with AD/HD in my state for the state bar to form a support and referral system for lawyers struggling with AD/HD issues in their practice.
Many bright lawyers succeed in law school, but struggle once in practice with the same issues that affect others with AD/HD: inattention and distractibility, planning, organization, time management, and follow through.
They have problems keeping track of billable hours, and might have to stay late at work because it takes them longer to do their work than others. They are stressed from the pressure to perform to make money for the firm, and with increased pressure, AD/HD symptoms increase. They feel overwhelmed and incapable of keeping up.
AD/HD is a lifelong problem, although someone might not have significant problems until the work load increases, such as in law school. When someone has not had lifelong symptoms of AD/HD and starts having them when under a great deal of stress, "pseudo ADD" must be ruled out--meaning symptoms due to stress of daily life. People who are depressed and/or anxious also cannot focus, are forgetful, and cannot keep up with their work load.
I recommend that you see someone who specializes in the evaluation and treatment of AD/HD, as they would be able to sort out possible AD/HD from stress, anxiety, depression, or other factors.
If your general physician doesn't have a referral, you could call the psychiatry department of the nearest medical school for a referral, or check for names of therapists on the CHADD site. In the meantime you might want to read (or listen to the audio tape in your car) either, "Driven to Distraction," or, "Delivered from Distraction," by Hallowell and Ratey.
Related Topics: Suffering in Silence: Women with Adult ADHD, Workplace May Overwhelm Adults with ADHD
Technorati Tags: ADHD Awareness Day, ADHD, Adult ADHD, career
8 Comments:
HI:
I AM A FIBROMYALGIA PATIENT WHO SUFFERS FROM BOTH ADD, MEMORY PROBLEMS AND NARCOLEPSY OR CFS.
I UNDERSTAND WHY IT IS SO CONTROLLED, BUT IF A PATIENT CAN PROVE THEIR ILLNESS VIA MEDICAL DOCUMENTS, THEN WHY DO OTHER DOCTORS REFUSE IT. WITHOUT IT, ALL I DO IS SLEEP AND I HAVE SEVERE PROBLEMS CONCENTRATING. IT JUST HELPS. PLEASE RESPOND. THANKS.
I APOLOGIZE. I WANTED TO LEAVE MY EMAIL ADDRESS. THIS IS ENERY ALVAREZ AND I AM NOT VERY GOOD WITH BLOGS. IF POSSIBLE COULD YOU DELIVER YOUR COMMENT TO MY EMAIL AT eneryalverez@aol.com.
I REALLY WOULD APPRECIATE IT.
Hi
My name is Ruth Nickle I am from San Antonio,TX. and I Have ADD and when I was 1st Grade My family and I found out that I have ADD and i was wondering if I am going to have this all my life? I am only 15 years old.
To Ruth Nickle> Yes, it usually stays with you for life. I, for one, had ADHD and am 41 years old. Don't let that bum you out. We ADDers have special gifts that others may not have. One is we have above-average intellegience. So if you ever play the game Trivial Pursuit, tell your opponents to watch you. :-D
I am 40 years old and have been struggling with the symptoms of ADD on and off since I was child. However, I was only first diagnosed with the disorder approximately 10 years ago. After being diagnosed, I kept quiet about and did not seek any type of therapy and went on trying my best to live a normal life. Now, looking back, I have experienced several job changes, unstable relationships and financial upsets. When I recently went through the threat of losing my job because of constant tardiness due to poor time management, I decided to seek help for the ADD through my physician who started me on medication. However, before the medication had the chance to do me any good, I found myself without a job when I resigned to keep from being fired because the tardiness continued. Now, I am having a real difficulty getting interviews and passing interviews because of my resume reflecting constant job change. There is one job that haunts me because I was fired from it due to a time management issue. I am getting to the point where I dread trying to get a job because I feel I would just fail again. I feel STUCK and don't know what to do. I don't have any health insurance to seek any more type of therapy. What do I do? I need to work.
Anonymous @2:30pm:
Please visit Dr. Sogn's message board to ask him your question there. There is also an excellent Adult ADHD support group here on WebMD, where you can get some great feedback as well.
Hi!
My name is Nicole and I have had ADD/LD since first grade. I have tried all of the various stimilants. But none of them seem to work. Is there anything else I can try? also do anyone else have trouble keeping a job for more than 3 months?
If have any advice that might help please e-mail me at navanvoss@comcast.net
thanks
Funny that you should mention law school. I was dismissed from law school in my first year for this very reason -- ADD. I had just received a diagnosis the year before (age 39) and despite getting what they classified as "accomodations", I failed to maintain the requisite GPA. It was the worst academic performance of my life and I suffered horrible depression for months afterward because of my dismissal.
I don't think I ever truly recovered from what I felt was utter humiliation and defeat.
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