[cristea]

My gripe with some of these simple questions is that they do not provide a framework to answer the questions within.

"How often do you feel X?" With answers as "very often" means very different things to different people. For one person once a month could be very often since they expect this to never happen, while for another person a few times a day might be expected.

The problem here is that if people think that they might have a condition or be sick, it has been shown time and time again that this might emphasize the symptoms and make a person "sicker".

In addition these general questions that a lot of people can relate to will cause a lot of people to get unneeded screening, thereby straining an overloaded health service (it might be different in the US, I'm in Europe).

[otikik]

I "muddled through life" until I got diagnosed at 42 with inattentive ADHD.

At that age the brain has already developed and meds are less helpful than when you are young. Even taking meds out of the picture, a diagnosis would have helped me a lot and not being diagnosed had very negative consequences.

I was told to "brighten up" my whole life while growing up. My parents well not abusive - it's just that I had good grades at school, so they didn't understand why I struggled with tasks that were "simpler than school". I also struggled with social interactions. I ended up with very low self-esteem, thinking I was just "slower" or "more stupid" than others. Most teenagers try to find and define the final shape of their mind. I though the "real me" was an embarrassment that needed to be hidden. So during my teenage years I built a "mask" instead. ("Masking" is a psychological phenomenon, I have now learned)

I am very good at "faking" not having ADHD now. Most of my friends and coworkers don't know. I can't mask all of my symptoms, though, nor all of the time. I can't "fake" not forgetting my car keys, or doing my taxes. I still wear my mask most of the time.

Sometimes I don't know whether my wife got in love with me, or with the image I project of myself. I don't know if there's a "myself" any more.

Also, ADHD has a genetic component. Having a diagnose for myself would have been useful before I had my son, who turned to have hyperactive ADHD. I love him to bits and I would not change him, but he's a handful. When he's off-meds he's almost intolerable. I would have had him nevertheless, but I would have had the right expectations.

[squigz]

> Also, ADHD has a genetic component. Having a diagnose for myself would have been useful to have before I had my son, who turned to have hyperactive ADHD. I love him to bits and I would not change him, but he's a handful. When he's off-meds he's almost intolerable. I would have had him nevertheless, but I would have had the right expectations.

This seems like an underappreciated side-effect of awareness of these things. I can't imagine what some parents must feel - about themselves, and their kid - when raising a child with ADHD and not knowing much or anything about it.

[bestouff]

This is my case. Undiagnosed, not knowing much about this condition (but with a great score at TFA's test), and struggling with one of my kids which has some symptoms I recognize. And I know why she struggles in the school system, and how she will struggle later in life, but I don't know how to help her.

I'm lucky enough to live somewhere where healthcare is a given and she's currently in the diagnostics phase (for the second time), but I'm still scared for her future. Even with help and meds and whatnot, life won't be easy I guess.

[otikik]

Life is Sheldon “easy”, for anyone. And it’s a relative term. I did struggle with my mental condition, but I ended up with what many would consider “a comfortable life”: good salary, a family, a house. No major health issues, both parents alive until I was able to fend for myself, etc. I didn’t take drugs although I do have some compulsive behavior issues I still work on, through therapy. Which I recommend considering! Your family deserves a mentally strong parent. And that sometimes unpacking and dealing with stuff.

On that note, when your kid becomes a teenager, he’ll be more likely to get hooked into addictive substances like drugs, tobacco, or alcohol than others, I’m afraid to say. I will be paying attention to this matter very closely and will make sure that my son has all the information about them when that period comes.

Good luck on raising your kids! It’s the biggest adventure in life.

[squigz]

You are helping her by getting her professional help :) Do some research, talk to a psychiatrist, talk to your daughter; there are lots of ways you can help her cope with things.

> life won't be easy I guess.

Probably not, but at least she won't have to struggle with not understanding why her life is so much harder than others. And having a parent who understands that struggle and the problems she faces will help a lot.

[otikik]

Undiagnosed ADHD on a child is bad for all parts involved. The worst is the "advice":

- What this child needs is more discipline, you have to punish them more when they misbehave.

[squigz]

They just need to run around outside more, obviously!

[theothertimcook]

It's not a cure but it will definitely help kids with suboptimal executive function.

My primary school had a run club at the beginning of the day we'd hit laps of the school between roll call and 1st session, iirc we had 10 minutes you had to do at least one lap, you had to have good pace for two to be allowed a third, I don't recall many doing 4.

When I moved to highschool I didn't immediately notice why I was suddenly struggling to keep my shit together in class, the absence of moderate intensity cardio at the start of the day.

There's a few books and papers that back this up also

[otikik]

Aaand I have realized that I answered to the wrong thread. How fun.

[viraptor]

> it has been shown time and time again that this might emphasize the symptoms and make a person "sicker".

While that's true, for ADHD self description it's common to under estimate the impact. That's why you typically get asked for someone who knows you to join the diagnosis visit - because they're likely to say you're actually doing worse than you think.

[sceptic123]

This is a screener questionnaire, not a diagnosis tool. If you answer "very often" to enough of them then it's the author's suggestion that you should look into it, not that you have ADHD.

I wonder if finding it hard to answer these kind of questions could be an indicator for some other kind of neurodiversity.

[karmakaze]

It's hard to not self-diagnose using this screener when it says:

> So if you score 4 out of 6, the chance you actually have ADHD is:

    3.5% / (3.5% + 0.5%) = 87.5%.

Judging by the questions and responses though I find that hard to believe.

Questions: 2 and 3 almost seem like a 'gimme' to answer 'Sometimes', and 4 to answer 'Often' isn't a stretch.

I also find question 1 to be frequently 'Sometimes' or more unless a type-A personality.

Only questions 5 & 6 seem to be directly associated (IANAD).

As another comment mentions, I wonder how that percentage changes if the person is already on the autstic spectrum.

[sceptic123]

If you trust that math, sure but they also don't say you have ADHD, just that

> you have a strong reason to seek a full assessment

[exitb]

Yes, it's even worse when you're diagnosing a child, as you will have to answer these questions for them, which puts your parental expectations into the mix. In the end however, people get diagnosed, get medication and start to feel a little better, so maybe it's all worth it.

[eatitraw]

> With answers as "very often" means very different things to different people.

Agree, I think it's certainly a problem and I too wish it was more defined, but alas. Related, Literal Banana on surveys: https://carcinisation.com/2020/12/11/survey-chicken/

> In addition these general questions that a lot of people can relate to will cause a lot of people to get unneeded screening

Yes, a lot of people have ADHD. I link to the study that shows high specificity in the general population. Empirically, the tool works. You gotta start getting concerned about your symptoms from somewhere.

[__alexs]

Did you know that ADHD is more common among people on the autism spectrum?

[naruhodo]

And up until about ten years ago, the psychiatric profession considered ASD and ADHD to be mutually exclusive conditions.

[desert_rue]

It’s different in the US- it is worse.

[0xAFFFF]

This might depend on the country for EU. In France especially if you're an adult, getting an appointment for a diagnosis is either extremely long (public health sector delays regularly exceed one year), very expensive (over a 100€ out-of-pocket) or downright impossible (if you're in a big city you're fine, some places don't have anyone available at all). Sometimes it's a combination of those (yay).

And then if you're getting medicated, another whole world of fun begins (restricted prescriptions, shortages, etc)

[orwin]

You're talking about Paris here, not France. Even 'big' cities like Rennes or Nantes I never had to wait more than a week or two, and in the small city I live in I usually get appointments within a week (but I'm in a high QOL area so we might have a large concentration of specialists), and never out of pocket. But yes, in some areas you will have to drive up to two hours before finding a specialist.

[bestouff]

Hey this is not my experience. Getting an appointment for my daughter - in France - was a few weeks wait. But also the whole diagnostic was around 500€, barely touched by the Sécurité Sociale and totally reimbursed by the insurance (mutuelle). This was in a minor city.

[jampekka]

> over a 100€ out-of-pocket

My understanding is that you typically pay something like this in the US for a specialist visit even if you have insurance, especially if you haven't already paid the year's deductibles.