Seriously I have just been reading about ADD and it seems I have all the symptoms

[noobydoo]

I have just been reading about ADD on the internet and I have just realised that I have all the symptoms. Since I was a child I have been labelled as disorganised / dreamy / chaotic / messy. I have had a lot of impulsiveness in my life too - As an adult, I have made some horrendously bad decisions and have had real problems controlling my emotions when I used to work (now SAH). For the first time I sort of feel in control of my life but only because I have been forced into a routine by my children.

I feel I am enlightened about myself for the first time - has anyone else discovered they have ADD as an adult (the reason why I am looking it up is because I was having my suspicions about DS1 as people have kindly been saying "he is very active". He also seems to zone out and he is only 3).

Most 3yos are suspects for ADHD, I reckon.

Hi, I was in your position and DS was a suspect too. Until he was diagnosed with asd, and now I am realising that mine is probably that too. The hyperactivity issues that my son has are actually a spatial problem connected to the asd whereby he has to keep moving (hence jumping on the sofa 24/7)

The ADD symptoms are still with me, but I also have sensory issues - I was always sniffing my fingers as a child, and am super sensitive to sound and artificial light. I also struggle socially.

btw, it is common to have both add and asd

Yes, you're not the only one. Lots of children with ADHD without hyperactivity get missed in childhood because they're not enough of a bother to other people, especially girls, who are often just labelled daydreamy. It's very common for some adults to put two and two together when their children are diagnosed (it's a very heritable condition) - the same with ASD like the previous poster mentioned.

For an actual adult official diagnosis, someone has to have been like it since childhood (old school reports and questionnaires filled in by family help) and also been significantly impaired by it (so it's caused proper negative consequences).

Nearly everything that goes wrong for someone with ADHD due to attention problems, impulsivity etc. occasionally also happens to people without ADHD. This is why people who don't know much about it think it's just made up, just an excuse etc. After all don't we all sometimes forget things, sometimes blurt things out without thinking, sometimes feel like we can't sit still?

What distinguishes the people with diagnosed ADHD is the sheer amount of things going wrong like that, spread through their whole life - this is what gets people the label and therefore if they're lucky medication (which sorts out the levels of neurotransmitters that are the problem) and help that can bring them back to a more average level of functioning.

It's worth getting it looked into. You'll probably find it makes you look at an awful lot of things in your life in a different way. For me it's improved some things but made me much more sad about some other things now that I can see more clearly what's been going on and just how I've been going wrong.

Previously high functioning child suddenly gone off the rails. I suspect ADHD. Is it possible to get it diagnosed in later life? How much will it actually change my life? I mean I still can't finish anything particularly well. I do like to think that knowledge can impart power. I would love to get on top of it completely - if I am even slightly miserable I just seem unable to function. I forget things and zone out completely. I would actually say it still does affect my life quite a lot.