Learn What a Thorough Evaluation of Adult ADHD Must Include

Written By Cynthia Hammer, MSW

This information is from Oren Mason, MD, a family physician who specializes in ADHD.

Part of a thorough evaluation of an adult with possible ADHD should include evaluating for the following conditions and problems. Some of these health problems will not improve until the ADHD is treated. Optimum treatment should see improvement in several areas.

Clinical

  • Depression, bipolar

  • Anxiety, OCD, PTSD

  • Poor SSRI response

  • Alcoholism or alcohol abuse

  • Substance abuse

  • Nicotine addiction

  • Multiple serious injuries

  • 2 or more STD’s

  • Crisis pregnancy

  • Medical non-compliance

Social

  • Pattern of unstable relationships

  • Few friends

  • Poor social support network

  • School disciplinary problems

  • Divorce

  • Marital discord

  • Unresolved marital issues

  • Job loss and underemployment

  • Frequent job change

  • Arrest or incarceration

Self-Management

  • Late for appointments

  • Educational under-performance or curtailment

  • Multiple MVA’s/moving violations

  • Impulsive shopping

  • Burdensome debts

  • Credit overextension

  • Financial mismanagement

  • Late fees for taxes and bills

  • Recurrent gambling losses

  • Gambling addiction

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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