IT Professional with ADHD

BroadcastStorm

Just curious to find who are in this profession and have the condition.

The Future of Adult ADHD

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ilcram19-2

mikej412 wrote: »

They could just have CPDD -- Capitalization and Punctuation Deficit Disorder. Oh, a kitty!

oh man Mike that really hurts my feelings comming from you, i've always admire you
ill stop now

Panzer919

ilcram19-2 wrote: »

oh man Mike that really hurts my feelings comming from you, i've always admire you
ill stop now

really

skyline

Panzer919 wrote: »

saying things without the consideration of the consequences is a trait of ADD/ADHD.

I thought that was just being a dumb ass???

Panzer919

skyline wrote: »

I thought that was just being a dumb ass???

no a dumb ass blurts out things cause they think it will make them appear cooler than what they really are.

I worked with a guy who had SEVERE ADHD and he would do this all the time. He was a really nice guy but if he didn't take his meds or he was getting close to taking another dose he would sometimes say things he shouldn't. We used to call him mega phone because of how often he would blurt things out.

ilcram19-2

Panzer919 wrote: »

Really cause I dont think anyone in this thread would have had the audacity to say or insinuate that people with ADD/ADHD are "Lazy, disrespectful, irresponsible (LDI)" or that kids with ADHD are called "spoiled little kids and you fix that with a few spanks". The sheer ignorance of your post is astounding.

ANYONE correct me if I am wrong but this thread was indented to see how much of the IT community, on this forum, is ADHD and how they deal with it. It was NOT intended to focus on those who, even without "ADHD", would be in the same position (lazy, disrespectful, irresponsible, undisciplined, etc.).

By you saying "in my time", it reminds me of the same sort of old world ignorance I seen growing up. In your time things were different and you obviously FAIL to see or attempt to understand that what you said was disrespectful to the many people who have this problem and have found out how to not only overcome it but the ways to use it to our advantage.

I am not a sensitive person, however I do have a problem with someone who FAILS to see that they have made multiple ridiculous statements and refuses to apologize and stop it.

now you making it personal and im not apologizing to you i apologize to the people that actually have it , but you keep acttacking me you can PM if you want to keep doing that so we keep that between you and me

mikej412

Time to GO BACK ON TOPIC. Oh, the Internet.

Panzer919

ilcram19-2 wrote: »

i apologize to the people that actually have it

I will accept your apology and I do actually have it, thats why I took so much offence to it. I have been called lazy, stupid and a variety of things because of ADD. ADD made somethings very easy to learn and others very difficult so when you make some of the comments that you do it sounds just like the people I dealt with growing up. I'm sorry if you feel attacked I apologize but so do I.

And I'm probably not the only one

ilcram19-2

Panzer919 wrote: »

I will accept your apology and I do actually have it, thats why I took so much offence to it. I have been called lazy, stupid and a variety of things because of ADD. ADD made somethings very easy to learn and others very difficult so when you make some of the comments that you do it sounds just like the people I dealt with growing up. I'm sorry if you feel attacked I apologize but so do I.

And I'm probably not the only one

it is nothing personal man i just mention how some of my friends in high school used to said that they had ADD just to skip thru high school and taht happens alot, may be i went a lil bit over board yea i admit that i shouldnt even have said anything, but it is my point of view and my experiance i didnt even know of such thing and all the syptoms lil kids that act up have it and that doesnt mean that they have ADD i guess

Panzer919

I think we all got off track. So I think we should just put this behind us and like mike is mildly suggesting just move on.

howiehandles

While I've never been officially been diagnosed, I've had more than one person suggest that I should be tested.

"Common adult ADD / ADHD symptoms: Trouble concentrating and staying focused
Adults with ADD/ADHD often have difficulty staying focused and attending to daily, mundane tasks. For example, you may be easily distracted by irrelevant sights and sounds, quickly bounce from one activity to another, or become bored quickly. Symptoms in this category are sometimes overlooked because they are less outwardly disruptive than the ADD/ADHD symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity—but they can be every bit as troublesome. The symptoms of inattention and concentration difficulties include:

“zoning out” without realizing it, even in the middle of a conversation.
extreme distractibility; wandering attention makes it hard to stay on track.
difficulty paying attention or focusing, such as when reading or listening to others.
struggling to complete tasks, even ones that seem simple.
tendency to overlook details, leading to errors or incomplete work.
poor listening skills; hard time remembering conversations and following directions.
Common adult ADD / ADHD symptoms: Hyperfocus
While you’re probably aware that people with ADD/ADHD have trouble focusing on tasks that aren’t interesting to them, you may not know that there’s another side: a tendency to become absorbed in tasks that are stimulating and rewarding. This paradoxical symptom is called hyperfocus.

Hyperfocus is actually a coping mechanism for distraction—a way of tuning out the chaos. It can be so strong that you become oblivious to everything going on around you. For example, you may be so engrossed in a book, a TV show, or your computer that you completely lose track of time and neglect the things you’re supposed to be doing. Hyperfocus can be an asset when channeled into productive activities, but it can also lead to work and relationship problems if left unchecked.

Common adult ADD / ADHD symptoms: Disorganization and forgetfulness
When you have adult ADD/ADHD, life often seems chaotic and out of control. Staying organized and on top of things can be extremely challenging—as is sorting out what information is relevant for the task at hand, prioritizing the things you need to do, keeping track of tasks and responsibilities, and managing your time. Common symptoms of disorganization and forgetfulness include:

poor organizational skills (home, office, desk, or car is extremely messy and cluttered)
tendency to procrastinate
trouble starting and finishing projects
chronic lateness
frequently forgetting appointments, commitments, and deadlines
constantly losing or misplacing things (keys, wallet, phone, documents, bills)
underestimating the time it will take you to complete tasks"

Pretty much YES to all of the above for me. My hyperfocus kicks in when playing video games, or cooking. I've had more than one person say, "You get this intense look on your face, like there is nothing else going on in the world."

Might be time for me to get tested. Where would I go?

Panzer919

I went to a mental health professional. They met with me 3 or 4 times then gave me a test to take home to my wife. It was called the brown something.

Hyperfocus is a double edged sword. I've went almost a day before without eating because I became so engrossed in a project. On the plus side it was very well documented and detailed.

ilcram19-2

ok ok lets stop right there all that sounds familiar is there an online site that we can take a test for that?

Panzer919

Web MD has one but I don't know how accurate it is

ilcram19-2

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD) Test - Psych Central

my score was 39

If you scored...
You may have...
70 & up
50 - 69
35 - 49

Mild ADHD
25 - 34
0 - 24

Panzer919

I scored a 61

ilcram19-2

i guess the definition that i had of add was for the impression that i had of my friends of being lazy and stuff hahaha!!! but thats no the case lol; well my apologize again my friends were the lazy ones

Forsaken_GA

I scored a 35, but a few years ago, it would have been much higher. I used to have an extremely short fuse, and was easily irritable. Fortunately I seem to have grown out of that.

tpatt100

I got an 89 but I figured I would get that score.

Hypntick

82, that doesn't surprise me very much. It goes along with what various doctors have told me.

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earweed

93........no surprise.

mikej412

20 -- Does that make me boring? Oh, a power outage!!

msteinhilber

mikej412 wrote: »

20 -- Does that make me boring? Oh, a power outage!!

Nah, it just makes you a Bears fan.

Forsaken_GA

msteinhilber wrote: »

Nah, it just makes you a Bears fan.

He ain't the only one!

Knew they shouldn't have gone soft on Green Bay at the end of the season /sigh

mikej412

msteinhilber wrote: »

Nah, it just makes you a Bears fan.

Go Cubs!! Wait?!?! What are we talking about?

I did find that online test interesting -- it does give you some insight into how other people may be ticking.

peakbagger66

Well,m I scored a 96 but that was no surprise to me. When I was a kid they tried to put me on Ritalin but I rebelled and my parents didn't press the issue. Many years later, I kind of wished they had.
I always thought IT was better suited for people like me.

BroadcastStorm

I'm around 90

mikedisd2

Dammit, 93.

I knew there was a red light when I started daydreaming around question 12.

earweed

mikedisd2 wrote: »

Dammit, 93.

I knew there was a red light when I started daydreaming around question 12.

I made it to around question 14...lol

aldous

DevilWah i got similar scores with an educational psychologist on a test (not sure if the same one but probably)for dyslexia. i came out rated severe with the guy saying he didn't know how i made it this far (this was at university) with out any extra help/support(intresting lysdexia point my networking lecturer at uni was also dyslexic looks like theres a few in the network world).

The key point is that when you find something out like this (you probably already know and its more like confirming) is you decide how to deal with it, things such as ritalin are not always the answer (my partners brother has ADD so i kind of have a foot in both camps of this thread

) in fact i would go as far as to say there is no one size fits all solution.

Personally i found dividing each task into very small chunks the best method, i would then attack those small chunks in what ever order i felt like (granted this can't be done with everything) and then reassemble at the end. i also worked hard on area's i was extremely bad at writing and transposing numbers to the point that i now write in default in individual letters again undoing the 7 years of school THOU SHALT JOIN UP WRITING!!!!! which makes things much worse as by slowing down and doing each letter indvidually you think more and transpose less.

The other option is to just say "i have X so can't achieve anything" which seems more and more prevelent today, prime example was when i was sat opposite a guy on the train who told me he was dyslexic and thats why he can't read and dropped out early yet here i was dyslexic (and that also means words appear to move on the page as the read them and you get a general fuzziness around some texts ) and about to get my first class Hons degree through hard work. you can still achieve anything it might mean you have to work harder, i've had to reread so many pages but things such as dyslexia (once its confirmed) should never be used as an excuse for poor performance

ilcram19-2

but In IT what would be the main issue with someone with severe ADD/ADHD? getting side track? it happens to me all the time i try to keep a journal so i can go back and see what i was working on and finish it but is normal in IT specially when you do all the roles, i know sometime i focus on the thing that are interesting to me but i still finish the rest