ADD IN ADULTS PROFESSIONAL

In private practice, Rouder specializes in working with adults with ADHD and also is director of disability services at Barry University in Miami Shores, FL, where she works with many students who have ADHD. “ADHD is often a hidden disability in adults,” says Leslie Rouder, LCSW, a therapist with more than 12 years of experience treating adult ADHD and as an ADHD coach. Since then, I have focused on the understanding and treatment of adult ADHD,” Steeler explains. “When we were diagnosed and treated, I began to ask more questions of my patients and found that many of them had ADHD as their underlying problem yet had been diagnosed or presented with depression or anxiety along with relationship, marital, and job issues.

ADD IN ADULTS PROFESSIONAL

She has focused on the treatment of adult ADHD for the last 10 years after being inspired by her discovery of the professional community’s lacking knowledge of the condition after she and both of her children were diagnosed with it. A multitude of patients have spent years spinning their wheels in psychotherapy without having had their ADD diagnosed or treated,” says Roslyn Ross Steeler, MSW, LCSW, a therapist for 28 years. “Adult ADHD is chronically misunderstood. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009) has estimated the costs of such work loss at $3.7 billion. The WHO study also reported that adults with ADHD miss an average of more than three weeks in workplace productivity yearly.

Millions more do not receive appropriate treatment (Barkley, Murphy, & Fischer, 2008). Of those, a large number-possibly 8 million to 10 million-are undiagnosed.

In children, these symptoms would be recognized by a teacher, and the parents would be referred to a medical professional for an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) evaluation.* In adults, these symptoms may lead to people getting fired, getting divorced, or simply being labeled as lazy or irrationally angry.Ī recent World Health Organization (WHO) study estimated that 3% to 4% of adults worldwide have ADHD, with a rate of 4.5% in the United States (de Graaf et al, 2008). Impulsivity, distractibility, disorganization, restlessness, emotional outbursts. Adult ADHD is often obscured by comorbid conditions such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse.

Add in adults