ADD Overview V: Red Flag Warnings
Thursday, August 25, 2011 2 Comments
CLICK HERE FOR the first article in this series
ADD/ADHD/EFD
Red Flagsby Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, CTP, CMC, ACT, MCC, SCAC
Final article in a 5-Part SeriesNOTE: This is NOT an “Am I dealing with ADD/HD?” list.
These items are not the same thing as diagnostic criteria.
HOWEVER, if you are wondering if ADD or ADHD might be a factor in some of your life-long struggles (or those of a loved one), take a look at this list.
Keep in mind: an instance or three is NOT necessarily an indication of a problem, or a reason to suspect that your preferences (or those of a loved one) are maladaptive.
The presence of more than a few of the Red Flags, or a great many examples of one or more of the items below is, however, a signal to you that looking more closely at the possibility of an ADD/ADHD or EFD diagnosis might be warranted.
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I use “ADD” to include AD/HD etc. Check out What’s in a Name for why.
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The Articles of the ADD Overview series:
ADD Overview 101
ADD Overview II: Identifying Traits
ADD Overview III: Associated Features
ADD Overview IV: Hyperarousal
ADD Overview V: Red Flag Warnings
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Commonly seen with those diagnosed with ADD
Family history of any or all of the following
• ADD/ADHD/MBD/HRC etc. in childhood
(even diagnosed retroactively)
• alcoholism
• drug abuse
• eating disorders
• sensory defensiveness
• anti-social personality
• conduct disorder
“RED FLAGS” — STRONG INDICATORS OF ADD
- Hyperactivity/”Fidgetiness”
- Chronic “spaciness” and/or mind wandering
- Chronic Impulsivity – lack of forethought
- Extreme lack of patience
- Unusually tactless, rude or socially inappropriate
- Chronic lack of follow-through – LOTS of unfinished projects, missed deadlines
- A higher than normal number of unpaid parking tickets, overdue library books, clothing with tags (meant for a store return that never happened)
- Low level of interpersonal “follow-through” — multiple marriages, large number of serial relationships, juggling a number of relationships at a time, infidelity
- Multiple job changes, repeatedly switching field of study or change of major in college
- Frequent “firings” or serial job losses
- Unexplained inattention for anything tedious or boring
- Unexplained negativity (common)
- Unexplained irritability (very common) – and/or
- Episodic Explosiveness/RAGE
- Dysthymia (chronic low-grade depression) — or persistent low-grade “anxiety”
- Betwetting after age 6, sometimes through adolescence (especially in males)
- Waking extremely slowly in the morning (91%)
- Difficulty falling asleep at night (73%)
- Dyslexia — “verbal” and/or spatial (55%)
- Substance Abuse
(Among adult substance abusers, over 70% are estimated to have ADD — Wilens)
- A higher than normal number of traffic accidents or speeding tickets (especially unpaid speeding tickets)
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Other Related Articles on ADDandSoMuchMore.com
Articles in the Executive Functioning series:
Articles in the Differential Diagnosis series:
Other Related articles ’round the ‘net
- ADHD and Poor Motor Skills (handtutorblog.wordpress.com)
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder… (mineself.wordpress.com)
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