Any Dopers with ADD, ADHD? How's your reading?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Recently I was diagnosed with Adult ADD. This answers a lot of questions about my childhood and personality, but I am finding one thing to be different.

Most of the info I have says that reading is difficult for ADDers; that they don’t do well in reading, comprehension or writing, and their handwriting is usually bad. None of these things are true of me. I have been reading aggressively since age three, and writing also. My comprehension is good (except on things I find boring, of course), my handwriting is tidy and my spelling is excellent.

Any other ADD dopers have a similar story?

2

Me, me! My reading speed, comprehension, and composition are fine, although my handwriting sucks. I think that my love of reading more than cancels out any ADHD symptoms, although I am one of those annoying people who can read while watching tv. I also tend to be reading many things concurrently.

3

My handwriting used to be very nice, but over the time since I’ve been diagnosed it’s become horrible. Part of that, I’m sure, is that I type just about everything these days, but still, it’s now truly ugly.

I am and have always been a voracious reader – I am still pretty good at remembering, well, MPSIMS, but the novels I read? I can’t even remember the title or the author of the book I’m reading now :confused:

And yes, as Snowcarpet says, I can watch TV and read, and often read a bunch of things at the same time. That could also be why I can’t remember anything, but I truly have a LOT of trouble focusing on only one thing at a time.

The check is in the mail :smiley:

4

Right. This is really interesting to me.

My son has ADHD, and has done really well taking Concerta. He recently had to change doctors, due to a insurance plan change. I really really like his new psychaitrist.

As we were talking, the Dr. told me that a lot of boys “outgrow” their ADHD, and he showed me a chart with a curve on it, and I saw that the numbers do indeed slump after 12 years of age. I mentioned that I worried he not might grow out of it though, because I display a lack of focus myself, and always have. He told me I should speak to a psychaitrist myself…I’d had no idea that adults could be treated for ADD.

So I’m seeing a psychaitrist in January to discuss this. Merhouse, I’m like you when it comes to having my mind running at 20 things at a time. I have a very hard time focusing on one thing for any period of time.

Have you ADD dopers found a vast change in your thinking since taking medication? Do you take medication? I’m excited to think about maybe being able to code my computer applications for more than 10 minutes at a time.

5

Hey Look,

How did you find out that you had ADD? Did you suspect it, or was it an out of the blue diagnosis?

6

I certainly don’t have ADHD – the way we originally discovered the ADD to begin with is the fact that I’m constantly exhausted, and while there’s a whole host of “stuff” that goes along with this, we kinda backed into it after I was given some Ritalin so I could better focus. I thought the psychiatrist was nuts – turned out I was :wink:

I have to admit it hasn’t been exactly a magic elixir that has made life all wonderful again, but it has helped. Every time I think it hasn’t helped, and I stop medications because I run out, well, I realize it actually does help. For the record, I do not recommend stopping medications without a doctor’s permission. Do as I say, not as I do :wink:

Hope this helps.

(I can’t believe I’m posting this on a message board, but, hey, we’re all friends here, right? ;))

7

ADHD here, diagnosed when I was 10. I take Ritalin (rather, its generic form, methylphenidate).
** Ouisey**, do girls “outgrow” this disorder in the same fashion as boys apparently do? As the years have gone by I’ve become a lot more focused, and my verbal skills (I used to stutter) and handwriting have improved also. Any information you or other Dopers could give me would be great. :slight_smile:

8

Hi-

I JUST started taking Concerta today for adult Add. I’m a bit buzzed since I haven’t habituated to it yet. It’s fun.

Anyway, I didn’t find out until this fall that I have ADD. I’m 32. My performance in school was always good for everything but math, and average or a bit below in math. My reading comprehension and reading speed are very high. I was scoring high school level scores in those areas in grade school. Also, my handwriting is good.

For what it’s worth to the OP, I suspect my father has it, as well, and his reading comprehension is fantastic, but his reading speed is glacial. We’re talking slower than an elderly Galapagos Tortoise in a cold snap. It doesn’t stop him from reading really long books, but something like the latest Harry Potter can take him months to get through. I think it’s great that he does it anyway and enjoys it. His handwriting isn’t great, but it’s not crap, either.

In retrospect, I think I was really lucky. I enjoyed learning and my ADD is mild, so I was able to do well in school. I have a really good memory too, so I didn’t have to study as much as a lot of my classmates. Also, I seemed to have had more of the super-attentive ADD when I was younger. It wasn’t uncommon for me to spend 8+ hours reading in one day or 3-4 hours playing the flute at a time. While I was a solitary, serious child, that all seems a bit too solitary & serious to me looking back.

But, I was a really moody child, easily bored by stuff I wasn’t into and didn’t make friends very easily then. Also, checking over my work and editing my writing were sheer hell – I honestly tried, but if 2+2=5 the first time around, that’s what it equalled the second or third times, as well. I seem to be less able to concentrate now, than I was in school, unfortunately. Those characteristics I’ve just listed are sometimes ADD characteristics.

How did I get diagnosed? Well, I’ve had depression & anxiety & a wee tad of OCD for years. I read an article in the summer that talked about how people with depression sometimes have mild forms of Bipolar Disease. If this is never diagnosed, it could contribute to never really quite getting rid of the depression. So, when I started seeing a new therapist, I asked him to investigate this to rule it out. As it turns out, a lot of the symptoms of mild Bipolar Disease are similar or identical to those of ADD. So, while we were going through the screening measures for Bipolar Disease I answered some questions in a way that this guy picked up on the ADD. I had never, ever considered that I might have ADD simply because I did well in school. I didn’t know that there are different flavors of the disease until later.

Anyway, to get a diagnosis, I filled out some questionaires, my parents filled out some questionaires (they were my “not me person who knows me well” people) & I then went to a clinical psych testing facility and did a battery of tests. For me, the clincher came when I took the attention test. I sat in front of a computer and had to watch the screen flash letters at me, one at a time. When anything but the letter x appeared I had to hit the space bar. When x appeared I had to refrain from hitting the space bar. The speed and duration at which these letters flashed varied. The test lasted about 10-15 minutes in all. Sounds easy? It was very difficult for me. I pressed the space bar for a lot of the xs, I didn’t press the space bar for other letters pretty frequently. The weirdest thing was I had to fight super hard NOT to go to sleep during this whole test, even though I wasn’t especially tired. And the point at which I knew I had ADD was when I caught myself looking at the ViewSonic birds on the corner of the monitor case and thinking about how pretty they were, instead of looking at the flashing letters. I about cracked up right then & there.

So, now I’m trying Concerta to see if it makes a positive difference in my job performace and my ability to organize and plan. I figure if I don’t like what it does, then I can stop taking it. If it helps, then maybe for the first time in my life I can learn what “normal” feels like. To be able to work on web pages or read an article for more than 10 minutes or so at a time would be great!

9

I see ADD in my dad bigtime. And the funny thing is, I think my paternal g’ma had it, too. (She’s dead now, so not so hyper.) She was a real tomboy and everyone always said she was headed for trouble, but then she married my g’pa, who was as solid and stoic as they come. My dad was their only biological child. I know ADD isn’t so common in girls, and I’m surprised my brother doesn’t have it, but he’s like my g’pa, boring as dry toast. I think the thing that tweaked me was being premature at birth. (I couldn’t stand it, man. The walls were closing in on me! I had to get out of there.)

So here’s me on Ritalin, feeling like a little kid at the pharmacy when they ask if I need another bottle for my child to keep at school. Nope, I say, it’s for me, and I don’t go to school.

Ritalin is working for me, and I’m amazed at the things I notice I used to do, and don’t anymore. Constant counting, listing, and reciting is over, no more chatterbox conversation-domination. I don’t say “What?” anymore when people ask me things. My husband and I went to IKEA last weekend – it was insanely busy and crowded, something that would normally have me all over the place – and we stood and looked at bookcases, comparing and contrasting features for about 20 minutes. Suddenly I noticed what I was (or wasn’t) doing, and started to cry. It was so terrific to be focused!

10

ADHDer on Adderall checking in (diagnosed at 19):

Reading speed: good
Comprehension: terrible if I’m unmedicated, decent if I am
Handwriting: terrible but legible, usually
Writing aptitude: excellent

11

I had a professor who thought I had ADD but .OOOO!!!

12

I don’t have ADHD but Mr. Elaella-to-be does. He really doesn’t have much patience when it comes to reading. His mind bounces from one subject to the next very rapidly. He comprehends very well though. As for his hand-writing, it’s horrible. It’s extremely tiny.

Several months ago I was very ill and didn’t have the energy to get out of bed. He surprised me by picking out a book and reading to me. It was one of the sweetest things he has ever done for me. Since then we try to make time to read to each other.

13

I’m 18. I have taken medication before, but I’m currently not on any. The biggest changes I noticed on my medication were ability to concentrate earlier in the morning/alertness (I had to go to zero period before regular school to graduate highschool on time…it started at 6:45am), and also the motivation to do your best on assignments. I’m assuming this is because of the ease with which concentration and focus come; when you have to exert considerable effort to stay focused on one thing, you try to get it done as quickly and easily as possible.

Now that I’m working again I notice my concentration is effecting my work, so I’m seeking medication again. I notice no personality changes on medication for ADD. Good luck!

14

I was diagnosed with ADHD without hyperactivity (which, I’m told by my psychiatrist, is the correct way to say it, odd as it sounds - go figure). I haven’t seen anyone or taken any medication for a while, though, partly because I feared the strength of the medication but mostly because I don’t think I really have any psychiatric problem.

That said, I have been diagnosed by two separate psychologists and a psychiatrist, so for what it’s worth I’ll go ahead and answer: my reading comprehension is pretty lousy. I enjoy reading, but if I’m doing it for more than about ten or fifteen minutes at a time I start to lose it; sometimes I snap out of something and realize I’ve actually read a paragraph or two without paying any attention to what it’s saying. My memory is terrible, too, so even if I understand what I’m reading there’s no guarantee it’ll stick with me for more than two minutes.

(I’ve been reading since I was four, adult novels since I was seven. I wasn’t a late comer. I just never got much better at it.)

Handwriting? It was horrible - completely, absolutely illegible - up until I started college a few years ago. Then I undertook a mostly successful effort to improve it, though if I’m tired or distracted things go downhill pretty quickly.

15

My situation is very similar to Silly Dog’s - what I thought was depression turned out to be ADD. I’ve been on Ritalin for 6 years now, and every now and then I curse the adults from my childhood who labeled me lazy, spacy and “not working up to potential.” (It wasn’t their fault - ADD without the ‘H’ still isn’t well-understood, and girls as a rule still go undiagnosed longer than boys.) The meds make a difference, the two years of therapy to unlearn all my deep-seated compensations helped even more.

But on to the OP - my reading and comprehension have always been off the charts, and my reading speed is extremely fast - for comparison’s sake, I finished the fifth Harry Potter book in less than four hours. Handwriting - meh. It depends on whether or not I’m actively focusing. Quick notes are an illegible scrawl, letters to friends look like they were done with a computer font.

16

My handwriting is awful, and I find that I have hard time writing any lengthy compositions (hence my low post count). My handwriting is one of the greater horrors of the universe.

On the other hand, I read fast, comprehend quickly and enjoy most texts. I did have a very hard time learning to read, however. I required special tutoring between the second and third grades, but wither that was ADHD or dyslexia, or the combination of the two, I don’t know.