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Living with Adult ADHD

Adult ADHD, School and the ADA First off, let me say that I am not an expert on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). I only know how my own story and how my adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has interacted with the ADA in the workplace and during my time in higher education. I could, of course, make this disclaimer before each of my adult ADHD blog articles, but feel it's extra important for this one as it involves sensitive, intricate and detailed legal workings. I am no lawyer and never will be. After these three years of physical therapy school are done, I plan on being done as well!
When we are in a relationship with another person, there are thing we excel at and there are things they excel at. Why not find out what you're best at and what they are, and then tag team the heck out of life?
I went to the worst doctor all time a few months ago because I was running out of my medication for my adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and couldn't see my regular doctor up in Baltimore. When I was brought to his office by his admin, he didn't get up from his chair to greet me and he was on his cell phone. Once off his cell phone, he said his name (forgetting to mention how lovely it was to meet me) and then had me tell him why I was there. At one point, he asked me: "Does your wife buy into your mental illness?"
Hello again, friends. This week I'm going to write about how to follow my own advice (or the advice of anyone) while simultaneously having adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In my last post, I wrote about a bunch of things and also mentioned how great it was to be on break from school and have some time off. I disagree with my last-week self. It is not fun to be on break and I'm unsure how to now structure my time. I've known how to do it in the past, so why do I feel like I need to re-learn it now?
I've got my computer tuned to one of those fun websites that let's you watch a ton of television and I'm watching season four of Top Chef. There is one person on this season that has got me wondering how we, those of us with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),  look to others. I have zero idea whether he has adult ADHD, but it sure does seem like it. What do I mean by that?
Sometimes I stop to think what my life would be like without the diagnosis of adult attention-deficity/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Identities evolve throughout our lives based on experiences and who we innately are. What if who we are by birth turns out to not be true? What if we don't have adult ADHD? What if we're just slightly more impulsive than "typical" adults, or what if our "hyperactivity" is actually mania?
About two years ago, when I was still living in Boston, I found that love for running people are always talking about. That thing that gets them out of bed and running every day - a runner's "high." I found it and I loved it. Then, I started physical therapy school and lost any time for running to the hours and hours of classroom and out-of-classroom work. About a month ago, my wife and I began the Couch to 5k and it's amazing.
It seems like everyone you know is on a diet, right? Most people don't succeed, sadly. If they do, they gain it back (plus some) later on. It's hard to stick to losing weight and a diet plan. For those of us with adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) it can be even more difficult. Impulisvity, medication side-effects and all the traps that "ordinary people" fall into are all waiting to trip us up.
Turns out, meditation is amazing and can help with your symptoms of adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Earlier this month, the New York Times' blog, Well, posted on the benefits of meditation for those of us with adult ADHD and whether it could work better than medication. Much of the research cited seemed to show that meditation can be a great addition to medication - and, even better, it can work just as well as medication. How the heck do those of us who can't pay attention well learn to pay attention long enough to meditate?
Jerome et al released a study in 2006 titled What we know about ADHD and driving risk. The study was a meta-analysis, which means that it took the results from many studies and boiled them down to a single clinical bottom line. The meta-analysis showed that those of us with adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are, indeed, at far "higher than normal rates of negative driving outcomes."  This doesn't mean we have higher rates of accidents, exactly, but can include citations, speeding tickets and the like. What do we do?