Some people may not agree with this but I believe lots of time add and adhd come from being highly intelligent. I have over a 140 I.Q. and so do two of my nephews that have it. My grandad had it and his I.Q. was over 160. I theorize the high intelligence is the reason some people with the disorder cannot just focus their mind on the task at hand. I guess your mind can be powerful enough to hurt you.

 

70 blue I tend to agree with you. All the people I've met with Add had high IQs. I met quite a few when we were trying to get help for my son at behaviour treatment centers. My son has a high IQ. His grandfather is very intelligent & he had trouble in school. He became a electricial engineer.My wife has ADD too. She takes stratira (spelling).It seems add is heridatory.

 

There are always lots of opinions on this subject and every single case is slightly different so there is no completely right answer.

I think the biggest thing you can do for someone with ADD is have patience. Also, for me it is all about outside motivation. Not sure if this applies to others but I have very low motivation and so priorities are not my strong suit but I do seem to do well with serious pressure. Deadlines due the next day kind of thing.

I also have bad days. As far as I can tell, as I get older, my ADD has started to go through cycles of highs for two or three weeks at a time and then one or two days of absolutely no fun whatsoever (drastic, unexplainable depression).

Something that no one has mentioned is food allergies. I know this sounds weird but I have behavioral reactions to artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. My stress tolerance goes way down and, consequently, anger managment as well. And what's worse is that practically everything now a days has that stuff in it. There's alot more to it then what I have listed but it's worth it even though your kid will hate you for taking away their junk food. :-)

If anyone wants more info about that, let me know because, despite hating it as a kid, it did make a difference.

 

My son has food allergies too. He can't use artifical sweetners of any kind & he is allergic to seafood. He did much better if we cut his sweets also. I should have mentioned foods. I fought with him all through school over them. Like you said taking foods from a teenager will start a war. He is 29 now & seems to be doing much better with his ADD problems. He works at the cabinet company with me. He has gone from unloading trucks in the warehouse to the service department where he orders all the hardware for the shop , answers calls for service calls & schedules service orders. He has lots of responcablilty now & is doing great. One of the owners took me aside a few wks back & told me he was impressed with my sons work. It sure made me proud. There were times when he was younger I never figured he would ever be able to make a good employee. ADD can be controlled. I've seen it done.

 

Quick, varied, rapid-fire, & short tasks are the keys to the best ADD work environment. Long term projects or "SSDD" type work are very difficult for an ADD individual and they will most often fail.

There are many different types of ADD and many coping strategies. Many strategies don't work.