Adult ADHD

[NagyFamily]

I am 29 years old and got let go of my job at a company I worked at for 2 years. I have ADHD since I was every young and I am sure it has gotton worse since I have been getting older. I am not sure where to turn now or what to even do. I was talking to a friend of mine and she is on permant disablity for her ADHD and she is the same age as me. I was hoping my Disney Friends could help. I am from Canada. This really doesn't help my Disney fund either. We were going to pay for a Trip on Wednesday. I am very upset and I can't sleep. Thank you for Listening.

 

[lovetoscrap]

I would start with your Primary Care Physician (and I assume you have to before seeing any specialists anyway?). Talk this over with your Dr and see what they suggest. There may be medications that can help, you may be able to see a specialist for testing or counseling or other options.

 

[bookwormde]

It is important to look at the 2 parts of ADHD separately, The Hyperactivity portion generally gets better with age, and if it does not then medication may be helpful. The attention issues is an Executive function issues the needs to be anylized, and there are lot of pieces from neuroligical differences such as non linear processing, Input, output and memory which are typcially auditory processing issues, to longer term memory issues. For the EF end there are lost of techniques and skills that can be developed that can help, as is picking occupations/enviroments where your strenghts are of value and the challenges are not primary to the job or situation.

Bookwormde

 

[hematite153]

There are also some government programs that are available to people in Ontario who have lost their jobs for a perceived disability. You can get a fair bit of psychological testing and career counselling without cost so that you will be able to make decisions about your future that are inline with your abilities.

I don't know exactly how to capitalize on these programs, but, I've known people who used them to change from potential careers that they had always thought they were interested in, but, getting fired from, to careers that were better suited to their skill sets and ADHD.

I'd probably try calling a Canada Employment centre and some other organizations in search of options.

Although I do also echo the advice about talking to your Primary Care Physician. There are some doctors who specialize in adult ADHD, if you can get a referral to one.

 

[NagyFamily]

I have an appointment on Monday morning at 9am and I told my boss since the last time he talked to me which was 3 weeks ago. It has taken me this to get in and he didn't care. He said it's easier to get rid of one person and make 50 other people happy. So I will look into this more and I have been told to go to manpower and they will help my thru this. with Government money and testing to hekp me fidn the job that is suited for me. I worked at Disney World I think that was the perfect Job for me.

 

[deerhart]

what you need is going to depend on the type of ADHD you have.

I have ADHD-HI, I have one child with HI only and one child who is probably combined (definitely HI and enough signs of innatentive to just get him to combined type).

Neither myself nor the oldest have attention issues like you see with inattentive type. Rather, our brains move so fast and go through so much that it is easy for us to suddenly go off on a tangent. Hence why I have become a master multitasker!

You see my hyperactivity in small ways. Constant moving of hands, chewing of things (usually nails but trying to stop again), tapping of feet, or other sensory input (can't drive without radio on, need things going on around me to filter out etc).

I also have the ability to hyperfocus and have learned over the years how to induce a hyperfocus state (great for college and law school reading). Also, my brain NEVER kicks off, always thinking, always chewing over something.

 

[NagyFamily]

I have had adhd since I was a little child. I can't find things that make it worse or think of anything that can. I am going to the Dr's tomorrow morning at 9am so I will find out what more I should do and get back on my feet. But thank God DF says just get better than find a job. He doesn't care how long it takes me to get better or in a mind set where i can work.

 

[NagyFamily]

I went to my family dr's today and she asked if it was okay to get look at by a speacilist. she wants me retested since I was last tested when I was 4 or 5 years old. So this is going to be a long process.

 

[hematite153]

I went to my family dr's today and she asked if it was okay to get look at by a speacilist. she wants me retested since I was last tested when I was 4 or 5 years old. So this is going to be a long process.

Long is okay as long as it's done right. The specialist referral is excellent since they will be able to do a lot more than a family doctor.

Go to Manpower too.

 

[NagyFamily]

What will manpower do?? I was told this by many people now????

 

[MomofSixinSC]

I strongly urge you to check out the Feingold Program. i can't tell you the change it has made in my husband. We started the program and within two onths, he had a promotiona dn a raise! He could sit still and think straight! His mother was amazed at the difference in him and still feels bad that she medicated him when he was younger.

Here is the site: http://www.feingold.org/ Please feel free to pm me any questions you have about this.

 

[NagyFamily]

Thank you for all the help and support. I live in Canada so any help here would be great too. I don't know any other Adults out there with ADHD I feel like I am the only one.

 

[hematite153]

What will manpower do?? I was told this by many people now????

I said Manpower because you said that was where others told you to go.

I'm not actually certain of the right starting place, but, I bet that Manpower can direct you if they aren't it.

In Ontario, there is a strong desire to help people who have lost their jobs due to issues that could be termed disabilities redirect their employment issues to areas where they are more likely to be successful. Long-term it is much cheaper for society to retrain you than it is to pay disability benefits...plus, most people would rather work, too. The cost of a full Pscho-ed assessment can run in the $2000-$4000 range and isn't covered by OHIP. But, there are government grant programs that will cover it in certain circumstances and job loss due to disability is one of them. Depending upon results and recommendations, there are even grants out there for retraining so that you can head to another career that you are better suited for.

 

[NagyFamily]

Thank you for all the help. I hope my Dr is sending me to a place where
oHIP will cover this to be retested.

 

[hematite153]

Thank you for all the help. I hope my Dr is sending me to a place where
oHIP will cover this to be retested.

Your doctor is most likely sending you to a medical doctor who can medically assess your ADHD.

However, psychologists can assess how your ADHD affects your life and your job suitability. This testing is extensive and not covered by general OHIP benefits. But, there are several grant programs that can cover it. Your doctor will probably not have access to these grants or the training programs affiliated with them.

 

[NagyFamily]

I will have to look into this more than Thank you everyone for your help

 

[hematite153]

Good luck!