Until a few years ago, the medical establishment believed ADD was a pediatric disorder that kids grow out of. The irony is that because it's hereditary, many adults began to recognize its symptoms in themselves only after it was diagnosed in one or more of their children.
A.D.D. occurs in 3% to 5% of school-age children and about 4% of adults. Up to 60 percent of children with A.D.D. grow up to be adults who still have A.D.D. and experts estimate that more than eight million grown-ups in the United States have the disorder; making it the second-most-common psychological problem in adults after depression.
Only 15 percent of those eight million actually know they have A.D.D. but all are looking for a label for their lifelong restlessness, spaciness, jumping from one subject to the next, easily distracted from completing tasks and meeting deadlines that adversely affects their world of work. Only when they and/or the people they work with become desperate, do they seek treatment and coaching help to better manage their personal and professional lives.
Drugs can mitigate the symptoms of A.D.D., however, they rarely eliminate the complications of workplace interactions. Working with a personal coach to develop time management skills, learn pressure-prompting techniques to meet deadlines, and create a firm schedule to adhere to helps to create the habits necessary to stay on track. Coaches are not therapists and concentrate on the what, how and when---not the why.
You know A.D.D. affected people who ping-pong from job to job; who are good salespeople but never fill out expense reports; who look like workaholics at their desks until midnight but only because they don't really start to concentrate until all of the day's distractions are gone; who are creative geniuses but forget to attend important meetings and can't prioritize.
A Roper poll of adults who identified themselves as having A.D.H.D. found that they held 5.4 jobs over the past 10 years, compared with 3.4 jobs for adults without the disorder. The same poll found that only 52 percent of adults with A.D.D. are currently employed, compared with 72 percent of unaffected adults.
Wondering whether you or someone you know has A.D.D.? Go to: http://home.att.net/~coachthee
A genuine case of ADD is no laughing matter and can do serious damage to personal lives and careers. For help, get a clinical diagnosis and an ADD coach to help you function socially and at work.
John G. Agno, Certified Executive & Business Coach, www.MentoringandCoaching.com
