Every once in a while, I get a comment that just DEMANDS a full-out response.

Today’s post is offered with gratitude to Doug, who responded to last Friday’s Pet Peeve (Zoës Pet Peeves: ADHD Meds – Trials and Triumph!). In doing so, he provided me with the opportunity (and necessity) of debunking a few myths about adult and childhood ADHD, about alternative treatments, about ADHD meds and to clarify the difference between adult and childhood ADHD, from my own personal experience and/or research. So, thanks, Doug!

I thought the response was worth sharing with everyone. (To read Doug’s original comment, please click HERE).

TRIUMPH! This Friday, I’m more pleased than peeved, but still – what I had to go through to FINALLY get my Co-pay card!

I’ll back up for those of you who didn’t get a chance to read July 30th’s Zoë’s Pet Peeves: Inconsistency in ADHD Meds and Med Coverage. In researching that post, I inadvertently stumbled upon the fact that Ontario is the only province with the audacity to force ADHDer’s to take a so-called “generic” form of Concerta, the medication that I was prescribed for my adult ADHD (and which worked EXTREMELY well, thank you very much).

After being on the generic crap, I felt lousy and concluded that it wasn’t helping me at all. I’m not the only one. See comment from lb, “I found it quite upsetting to see [my daughter] struggling when given the generic.”

© Jeff Siegel, 2010

Today’s post concludes this week’s He Said /  She Said with the final Questions 10 – 17. Enjoy!

Janis Joplin – Born January 19, 1943;   Died October 4, 1970

As much as I’m aware that it’s impossible to posthumously diagnose for ADHD (and that I’m not qualified to make a diagnosis), it is none the less impossible not to see the traits in the late Janis Joplin.

© Jeff Siegel, 2010

There’s a great segment on CBC Radio One where a musician is asked to answer rapid-fire, random questions within 30 seconds. The results are off-the-cuff, sometimes hilarious, and keep my ADHD mind’s attention because of the quick pace.

Inspired by the show, Jeff and I put our ADHD heads together and came up with a bunch of questions for this week’s He Said / She Said: Examining the ADHD Life. For your viewing pleasure, here are Questions 1 – 9.

Strike Two for Ontario. Last month, I wrote about how Ontario is the only province in Canada where ADHDers are forced to take the inferior generic form of the stimulant medication, Concerta.

This month, I’m peeved at Ontario yet again.

Turns out inconsistencies in ADHD treatment exist not just in medication coverage and dispensing, but also in provincial education systems. While this is not earth-shattering news to most of you, the magnitude of the differences is pretty shocking.

The Disorganized Office

Finally, after re-reading Chapter 4 of The Disorganized Mind, I’ve got my Mission Statement, my list of symptoms that cause me the most trouble, and my first goal to address (the photo should give you a hint at what it is).

While I have so many ADHD symptoms that my copy of Driven to Distraction looks like a porcupine (with all the ripped strips of post-its spiking out of its pages), I’m happy to say that many of them are now under control, or at least minimized to the point where I’ve actually managed to keep my part-time job, win back a friend I’d been battling with, and hang onto a new friend.

So far, so good. But the one thing I still haven’t made a hair of headway in is – (drum roll please) – organization! Yup, that’s it. That and procrastination, which, admittedly, is a heckuva lot easier to do when you can’t find the *!#&! paper you’re looking for.

Photo ©Zoë Kessler, 2010

I’m off to a rocky start, but I’m off!

On Wednesday, August 4, 2010, exactly two weeks ago, I reviewed Nancy Ratey’s book, The Disorganized Mind. As part of that post, I wrote:

So here’s my pledge: I’m going to absolutely, totally commit to self-coaching, based on Nancy’s book, for three months.

It’s exactly two weeks later. I’d hoped to have my goal picked & posted by the following Monday, August 9. What happened? I have no idea!

When I first wrote about my balcony garden on July 1st, I wrote:

“I’ve learned to enjoy the good things in life… knowing all the while that many good intentions, enthusiastic beginnings, come to naught in the end.”

Little did I know.

© Jeff Siegel, 2010

~ MISSED PART I? CLICK HERE.

5:03pm  Zoë    I can see how important it would be for your kids to be able to learn from you. I mean, after all, Jeff, you’re…JEFF…you know…as in, “Jeff’s ADD Mind“!! Holy smokes, here they have this incredibly schooled guy living right there in their midst, and they don’t know what a gem of a resource you are! Sad. And as dad, I guess I just think of it as like, you know, you talk about sex, relationships, school, all kinds of really important stuff and this just seems like one of those super-important conversations. But it’s easy for me to say that, I haven’t gone through what you have.

For me, I just want to be a role model to kids, to be able to give them at least one place where they can feel free to be themselves, and know that they’re completely accepted in all their “ADHD-ness”!