Originally Posted by
lizatola 
It's weird that I think there is a difference between ADHD and ADD, and that they don't use the ADD diagnosis anymore. I just had my son tested and he came back as ADHD-not otherwise specified. So, the doc said he had traits of ADHD but not all of them like the impulse control and hyperactivity. Mostly he's just inattentive and has processing problems and memory recall issues but I'm taking him to a neuropsychologist next week to find out more about those. I am totally ADD and space out, tune people out, have trouble reading a book all the way through, etc but I have absolutely no trouble finishing a task once I start it. AH starts projects and leaves them half finished or 1/4th finished.
I have told my son that I will do whatever it takes to help him work through his ADD stuff. I give him more time to complete things. I keep instructions short. I assign his readings to time chunks instead of to number of pages read, etc. All in all, I know I have a great kid but it's so hard to watch them struggle with the learning problems and ADD stuff. I have no idea how I got As and Bs in school because I swear I was always staring out the window, LOL!
I have ADD, diagnosed when I was about 48. I'm 54 now. (god, that feels old to say that.
I can't finish anything, actually have a very difficult time initiating any action either, though I am improved since meds. Mostly I "medicate" with compulsive hours and hours on the computer. Medication did help, though. I was so disabled before, I don't know how I was surviving. Certainly, huge doses of self-loathing, since I couldn't figure out why I was such a mess and couldn't do the things that other people seemed to have no trouble with.
Guess it's no wonder that I've always ended up with messed up people and more than one A, since I've felt afraid of and extremely intimidated by "normal" people. My "lazyness" problems made XAbf very angry.
My XAbf is not ADD at ALL. He would keep going on a project no matter how long it took. Fixed and built a lot of major things around the house. So wonderful; but to try and stop myself from the grief of losing him now, I need to remember that then he would stay out in the garage drinking. And rage at me for my lazyness.
P.S. About ADD vs ADHD I don't know why the Psychiatry/Medical community decided to change the name from ADD to ADHD. Frankly, I find it detrimental to girls and women. Why? Because ADD Non-hyperactive is MUCH MORE COMMON in girls than in boys. However, ADD non-hyperactive is not very disruptive to others (like, in classroom situations, for example.) Therefore, it is very easy to overlook, and girls (and the few boys who are non-hyper) go undetected. Daydreaming their lives away, and flying under the "radar". Sometimes, teachers and the "system" will even deny testing and help to the ADD/non-hyper, because everything seems fine. They're not causing a disturbance, so of course nothing could be wrong. Their grades may be in the toilet, but they don't fit the stereotype, don't fit THE NAME (AD **Hyperactive**D), and don't create the DEMAND for intervention that hyperactive kids (mostly boys) do.
I had this discussion with a woman who was FIGHTING on her daughter's behalf to get testing. She knew something was wrong, but she had to carry on the War of 1812 with the school because even though the daughter was having terrible academic struggles, they refused to believe that a quiet, cooperative, passive, daydreaming little girl warranted any help.