i don't have it.. and i don't think i do

I do have ADD. I was tested about six years ago, and I just got tested again a few months ago. I'm extremely borderline, not enough for medication, but enough that I have to pay special attention to it.

I don't have it, however my son does, and he takes medication for it, but only during school. He once told me the medication makes him feel less "nervous inside". I'm also a "notetaker" at my college, for students with ADD. Basically, I take detailed notes and turn then in at the end of the day so that copies can be made for any ADD students who might be taking the same classes. I also work one-on-one with any ADD students who are in the SAME classes I'm in.

Regardless whether I do have it or not, my stance is that it's widely over-diagnosed. So many children are now being told they're ADD or ADHD, and put on drugs that make them a frickin zombie! Kids should run around and be kids. Children's minds ARE scrambled and out of order. They learn to deal with that stuff as they grow up. That's part of the way life works. To put a kid on drugs and expect him/her to be able to sit down for 6 hours to do tons of homework or just watch TV because parents don't want to parent their children, that is absolute Bull Sh*t, IMO. And I can honestly say that I HAVE met more than one person who did/does that to their kids. It makes me so sad. I don't think I have ADD or ADHD. When I was younger they tried telling me I was ADD, but I think they were just on a roll- that's when it blew up and everyone and their mother and cousin had ADD. It's just rediculous.

I have - it has helped me to be productive, interesting, and outgoing now that I have learned to manage it and work with it.

I have it, but was never diagnosed as a child because girls weren't suppost to get it back then. I was affected because the teachers all thought I was learning disabled and kept trying to stick me in those classes so they wouldn't have to deal with me. Once there the L.D. teacher would send me back to my regular class because I tested for them as not only learning abled, but itellegent just bored. In fact if it wasn't for my high school art teacher I would have nevr figured out what was "wrong" with me or that there were names for it. A good example is the reading class. In my regular class I would finish the story before everyone else and read ahead in my book. Sometimes two stories ahead of where we were suppost to be. And when it was my turn to read alound I wouldn't know where we were. I also have a form of dyslexia so I have trouble spelling. Instead of taking time to find out what was going on my teacher stuck me in the tutouring class. When the tutour gave me a book to read I breezed throught it. And was even better when she gave me a horse book. She even gave me a book with French terms for a type of riding called Haute Ecole and I could read it with little help. She was smart enough to know that if she sent me back I would fall through the cracks so she kept working with me. By the end of the program I could read two levels ahead of my grade. I had to learn how to focus and all of that on my own because the teachers didn't understand what was "wrong" with me. And the horseback riding really helped because it requires focus and discipline that I took to other parts of my life. And this is my feeling on it. Not only is it way over diagnosed, but medication is more times then not more harmfull then good. If you read the symtoms all children should be doped up as attention deficit since they are all normal childhood behaviours. Kids are scatter brained and need to be taught to focus and with out the drugs. Other wise they don't learn how to function or to properlly deal with what's happening to them. I also have seen it used as an excuse not to deal with bad behaviour by teachers and parents. Instead of disciplining the child they dope them up so they don't have to deal with it. What most people don't realize is these drugs affect the ability to learn. He maybe sitting there all nice and calm, but not a single thing you've said has sunk in. He might as well not be drugged because either way he's not learning. Also the side effects are awful because they do effect brain chemistry. Especially in teens. These children have a higher rate of depression and are more likely to commit suicide or become violent. (Most of the school shooters have been on Ritaline for long periods of time.) And once these children become adults they don't know how to deal with life becasue nobody taught them how. All they know is to pop a pill. We are basicly turing a whole generation of kids into drug addicts. Ritaline the new Gateway Drug I call it.

I do have ADD. That and Asperger's really did hurt during school. I can't handle tedious things because of it, and actually, getting my laptop was the best thing ever. It let me do homework as well as say alert. Plus when I brought it to school I could stay organized for once. I do take something for it and am glad I do, but I know that's not the sole solution to a problem like this and in my opinion, any one who really has ADD would take the drug and do other things to help them. That's why all these people who rely on the drug, are looked down upon. Let's compare it to some of these weight loss drugs, as they say on the commercial they HELP but WITHOUT diet and exercise, they are virtually useless. Same with ADD drugs...only it's not diet and exercise that's the other treatment.

Huh? What was the question again? . . I know...cheap laugh line....

No but one of my friends has it

Yes. But I do not take medications for it. I have learned to adjust my work habits to maximize the problem. I am more productive than people without it. Others can be to if they just got off the meds.

Nope, in my personal opinion, i dont think it is even a disease, i find it to be more of an excuse. I can explain what i mean, but please dont downrate me, its just my opinion.

No. I have the opposite problem. I'll call it (A)ttention (S)urplus (D)isorder. I can sometimes concentrate too deeply on things (to where it takes too much of my time).

yes - I am sure of it. That tv commercial that says "do you ever feel like the channels are constantly changing in your head" describes me to a T. I have never been diagnosed though. It wasn't until recently that I learned that most people don't think like me. lol!

Some people say I have ADD, but they just don't listen. Hey look a chicken!

caffey4: It is NOT that they can only pay attention if they are interested. Video games and skateboarding happen to be very good examples of activities that actually can help ADHD and are a good fit with adhd. as for the job, it depends on what the job is and what degree of adhd the person has. As long as I work at jobs where I am active and multitasking to a point, I am OK. But give me a desk job where I am to do the same kinds of paper work repeatedly -I happen to be very,detail oriented, but other people with adhd have a great deal of trouble with details. Me, I would do fine with the details, I'd somehow learn the jobs of everyone else in the office, but my work was always behind, very very behind, and no one, including me, could understand why, because I was always always working, and working hard -- but I can start daydreaming and not even realize it, and go over the same thing 2-3 times because I lost my concentration and wasn't sure if I had done every part correctly. It is a very difficult thing to live with.

I have ADHD. And I hate it when people thinks that I'm dumb or stupid. I'm struggling with my studies in school.

I have it and just found out at 33. It really affected my job until I found out and got some help. This is my story. Check it out. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1716515/adult_add.html?cat=72