I took my 5 year old son to a pediatrician for evaluation at his shool teacher's request. After observing my son's normal behavior for about 5 minutes, the doctor said there is no absolute test for ADD, but in this case, there was not much room for doubt. He wrote a Rx for ritalin and I began researching ADD and what steps I should take as a parent to help my son deal with it.

Surpise! I started seeing a lot of my own behavior described in the books about childhood ADD. The thing that actually got me to see a doctor on my own behalf was a statement in one of the books by a patient that he had "all his life known he was different in some ways and that something had to be wrong with him; and what a great relief it was to have a name for it!" I felt exactly the same way.

I asked my son's pediatrician for a referral and found a psychiatrist who made the diagnosis and helped change my life.

In addition to finding a doctor, I found two authors particularly helpful. Lynn Weiss and Paul Wender. There are, no doubt, many other more recent books, but these two authors were standouts in the field of ADHD therapy 20 years ago. Lynn Wiess was a great help primarily because she took the position that ADHD is not really a disorder so much as it is a difference. It would be just as accurate to describe the rest of the "normal" world as having Creativity Deficit Disorder.

Good luck and God bless!