ADhD – My Hyperkinetic disorder

Hyperkinetic disorders

Wow, cool name. http://apps.who.int/classifications/icd10/browse/2010/en#/F90.0 Thanks to the World Health Organ, I can say, with all honesty, that I have a Hyperkinetic disorder. My life is so dis-ordered that it is amazing I get by day to day. Holding down jobs is a mess without either working 100% and falling over dead at end of the day or using drugs constantly. Concentrating at university or other activities leaves me confused and headachy. I talk a million miles an hour. Someone may have me on video giving a presentation. My presentations will go down in university history. In peoples brains. If not on video. Lecturers just felt sorry for anyone in my group and gave them a B+ whenever I was the one presenting. I wasn’t so fortunate.

Always interrupting. Can’t remember where I put things. House is a mess. Always meaning to clean it up, always getting distracted. This is my life. How am I meant to have a job and pay taxes when my biggest skill set is forgetting what I was talking about three seconds ago because I’ve gone and discovered that the tree across the street reminds me of a holiday… And the sand on the beach at that holiday was hot. I just about drowned on that holiday. I got sore feet on the hot sand. The trampoline was dangerous. This coffee tastes odd today. I like Havana coffee now. That holiday was when I was eight. It had pine trees. Like the one across the road. Damn, what was I saying?

“Ford V8’s have a supercharged system coming out and they….”

Oh, right. Yeah. So they have this engine called the Coyote. Coyote is kind of silly really. Should be something like “vacuum” when you think about it. Uhm. Right, so this Coyote vacuum is basically a Windsor 302…. Which is odd name too. Windsor. We used to call them wheeze’s. Now they have a supercharger they could be Dysons. Hah. But look here – if you actually got a Dyson and all its vortex’s you could….

“Oh for fucksake, just tell me how much power they are getting out this supercharged V8”

Oh right. Sorry. Yeah, where was I? Oh right… Uhm. Shit. Uhm. I actually forget how much power they made. Sorry mate. It’ll come back in a minute. But hey, look here, the paint on that new Suzuki is pretty flash…..

[groans]….

Results of your
Attention Deficit Disorder Quiz

You scored a total of  52

(on the 14th june 2013 after 13 days with no real drugs)

Inattention Subscale: 26
Hyperactivity/Impulsivity Subscale: 26

Based upon your responses to this adult ADD/ADHD screening quiz, you have replied in a way similar to people who have symptoms of moderate to severe attention deficit disorder. People who have answered similarly to you typically qualify for a diagnosis of ADHD or ADD, and have sought professional treatment for this mental health concern.If you were diagnosed with ADHD, it would likely be of the Combined type, as you indicated significant symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity.For ADD or ADHD to be diagnosed, usually the symptoms must occur in at least two different settings (like school and home, or work and home), and they must have lasted at least 6 months. Symptoms typically worsen in situations that require sustained attention or mental effort, or that are boring.You should not take this as a diagnosis of any sort, or a recommendation for treatment. However, it be likely beneficial for you to seek further clarification about a possible diagnosis of ADHD or ADD from a physician or a trained mental health professional soon. S C O R I N G   K E Y If you scored… You may have… 36 & up 17 – 35 12 – 16 8 – 11 0 – 7 Adult ADHD  Moderate ADHD Mild ADHD Possible ADHD No ADHD likely   Subscales: 19 & Up – High 12 – 18 – Moderate 0 – 11 – Low This is not meant as a diagnosis tool.  Only a health or mental health professional can make a diagnosis of ADHD.

– See more at: http://psychcentral.com/cgi-bin/addquiz.cgi#sthash.IugzNTiD.dpuf

I have since found the two tests that were given to me at the local hospital earlier…

counsellingresource.com

has the test that was quoted as “Goldburg Scale” by the psych’ guy at Wellington Addiction DisServices. I found it online.

You, too, can do this test online… My results were…

Adult ADD/ADHD Screening Quiz Answers

TOTAL SCORE OF: 107
(70 OR ABOVE, HIGH PROBABILITY OF ADHD)

Your answers to this adult ADHD screening test total 70 or over, which is associated with a high probability of ADHD. However, the diagnosis of ADD can only be made on the basis of a detailed history and mental status examination. High scores on this examination may result from anxiety, depression or mania. These conditions must be ruled out before a diagnosis of Adult ADD can be made.

adhd-brain.com

has the second part of the test administered by the people at the Wellington Addiction DisServices…

The link, if you click on the adhd-brain.com title, takes you to a PDF file which includes this graphic…
Minus the little fly agaric mushrooms…

Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1) Symptom Checklist

The questions on the back page are designed to stimulate dialogue between you and your patients and to help confirm if they may be suffering from the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Description: The Symptom Checklist is an instrument consisting of the eighteen DSM-IV-TR criteria. Six of the eighteen questions were found to be the most predictive of symptoms consistent with ADHD. These six questions are the basis for the ASRS v1.1 Screener and are also Part A of the Symptom Checklist. Part B of the Symptom Checklist contains the remaining twelve questions.

Symptoms

1.Ask the patient to complete both Part A and Part B of the Symptom Checklist by marking an X (or a mushroom) in the box that most closely represents the frequency of occurrence of each of the symptoms.

2.Score Part A. If four or more marks appear in the darkly shaded boxes within Part A then the patient has symptoms highly consistent with ADHD in adults and further investigation is warranted.

3.The frequency scores on Part B provide additional cues and can serve as further probes into the patient’s symptoms. Pay particular attention to marks appearing in the dark shaded boxes. The frequency-based response is more sensitive with certain questions. No total score or diagnostic likelihood is utilized for the twelve questions. It has been found that the six questions in Part A are the most predictive of the disorder and are best for use as a screening instrument.

Impairments

1. Review the entire Symptom Checklist with your patients and evaluate the level of impairment associated with the symptom.

2.Consider work/school, social and family settings.

3. Symptom frequency is often associated with symptom severity, therefore the Symptom Checklist may also aid in the assessment of impairments. If your patients have frequent symptoms, you may want to ask them to describe how these problems have affected the ability to work, take care of things at home, or get along with other people such as their spouse/significant other.

History

1.Assess the presence of these symptoms or similar symptoms in childhood. Adults who have ADHD need not have been formally diagnosed in childhood. In evaluating a patient’s history, look for evidence of early-appearing and long-standing problems with attention or self-control.

Some significant symptoms should have been present in childhood, but full symptomology is not necessary.