People generally end up with the diagnosis because there was a problem.
Although I must say, a lot of your comment feels awfully dismissive towards neurodivergance, subscribing to the all-to-common fallacy that autism and ADHD are childhood diseases, and in turn not showing understanding of how that affects adults who weren’t diagnosed as children. ADHD and autism were very poorly understood when we were children, were dramatically underdiagnosed, and when they were diagnosed were often incorrectly handled.
We are getting to a stage where we are organizing, classifying and understanding the underlying reasons that make up so many aspects of human behavior, like the ingredients of a beer, and in turn we are helping individuals understand why they are like they are and how to recognize situations where their emotions or behavior is atypical and how to properly work through those scenarios. It’s easy to be dismissive of that, but imagine how quickly one’s sense of identity changes when, after 35 years of never understanding why you are weird and different and why you struggle where others don’t struggle, you read through a bulleted list on a single sheet of paper that describes your entire life so well it almost feels uncanny (and the impending internal crisis that unlocks for those that had spent so much time ruminating on their deficiencies and failures only to be told decades later “well of course you couldn’t walk well, your leg was broken”).
Me and schroppfy do (but he doesn’t come around anymore), not sure about Eugene. But I’m a sensory psych guy, no clinical education.
But I wouldn’t be surprised to see both ADHD (novelty and sensation seeking) and high functioning ASD (collecting, organizing) as traits in the beer rating/ticking community.
And heck, I’m 52 and never diagnosed with anything but wouldn’t at all be surprised to find out I was both ADHD and a little on the spectrum.
Technically speaking, we are all on the spectrum. It is just that some people are on the end of the spectrum that comes with more problems.
And, yes, clinical Fudd. If you remember Philly, if a few small things worked out I could have been a student at UCF. Instead, I replaced you as the best Kansas RBian
Diagnosed with ADHD when I was younger, but haven’t been tested as an adult, but I’m sure it’s still as prevalent an issue as it ever was. I’ve been able to cope pretty well with my ADHD as an adult. In school I needed space to focus on my school work without distraction, and that’s pretty much it.
The school admins were pretty terrible though. I grew up in an area that was supposed to be pretty open minded and accommodating, but they not only treated us with kid gloves, but sometimes treated us like kids. In middle-school I was on the cusp of qualifying for high school Algebra 1 in 8th grade, but throughout high school they pushed for me to take remedial math and science classes. I was “punished” for taking Latin and AP Physics.
They’ve probably changed the name, but the quiet period I had during school for fellow people with IEPs that required it was called “Basic Skills.” It was just an extended study hour for me to focus on homework and studying. The “punishment” was that the instructors would argue with me about doing any non-core work during while with them, meaning no Latin or Physics studying was done during my time there - just history, English, and math. They’d rather me work on puzzles or play stupid computer games during that time than let me do class work they didn’t “approve” of.
For years they would push me to take remedial math classes and one of their councilors (not my main guidance councilor thankfully) would push me to take another year for high school, even though my grades ranged mostly in the Bs, with many As as C+ grades. When I got to my Senior year, they really pushed Trade School, even though none of my interests were in any existing trades (they conflated coding with “building/repairing computers”). I achieved the rank of Eagle Scout though hard work and determination. I got college credit for language and my core science class.
I actually fared really well in college, despite both dropping any school assistance (which they were totally willing to help me with) as well as stopping taking Ritalin cold turkey. I probably would have done slightly better academically in college had I remained on Ritalin, but I graduated in 4 years and with a GPA good enough to get me a career that I’ve been doing for 15 years.
Today, I jump between many tasks at work, and at home I’ll get hyperfocused on things but put off a ton of other stuff (or just pain forget). Wife is understanding, but I feel judged sometimes I mean, even now I I’m writing this at a time I really should be working.
I’ve never let my ADHD define me, at least not openly. I don’t judge anyone for this, but I’ve always found it a little odd when I run into adults that seem to have made ADHD the defining characteristic of their personality.
I mean, even now I I’m writing this at a time I really should be working.
