A Few Simple Ways to Diagnose ADHD (Not Really!)

Written By Cynthia Hammer, MSW

Compiled by Cynthia Hammer, MSW, Executive Director

Author of the book, Living with Inattentive ADHD

 

For years I used unintentional intermittent fasting as part of my diagnostic screening for ADHD. While some people deliberately skip meals, whenever I heard a person say “I didn’t realize until 4:00 that I hadn’t eaten all day!”, I’d immediately add ADHD to the possible diagnoses to consider. Hyperfocus, distractibility, and inattentiveness to interoceptive states render some with ADHD unaware of their body’s needs until they become really hungry.   ~~John Kruse, MD

 A psychiatrist once told me he could diagnose ADHD in a person as soon as that person walked into his office and commented on the diplomas posted on the walk.  “No one ever does that,” he said, “unless they have ADHD.”

Another physician told me a tell-tale sign of ADHD is a person who sits with one foot turned on its side.  It creates a small pain that helps to keep the person awake and engaged even when the subject is boring. 

 I think I could diagnose someone else’s ADHD by how often they get called back to the kitchen by the smoke alarm as they left something cooking on the stove when they wandered away.

 What are your tell-tale ways of recognizing ADHD in others?  Speak up.  I know we are all guilty of this.

 

Cynthia Hammer, MSW

Cynthia Hammer, MSW, was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD in 1992 when she was 49 years old. The following year she created the non-profit organization, ADD Resources, with a mission to educate adults and helping professionals about ADHD in adults. She ran the organization for 15 years before retiring.

During the Covid isolation she wrote a book about her life with inattentive ADHD which should be published by the end of this year. In writing the book, she was dismayed to learn that children with inattentive ADHD continue to be under-diagnosed and adults with inattentive ADHD often are incorrectly diagnosed with depression or anxiety.

She created a new non-profit in 2021, the Inattentive ADHD Coalition (www.iadhd.org), to create more awareness about inattentive ADHD and the need for early diagnosis and treatment.

https://www.iadhd.org
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