DETROIT – Signs of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, are often missed in adults.
Despite many wanting to be tested, issues like insurance or long wait times can turn people off from being properly diagnosed with ADHD. But, there’s another option that’s affordable and faster.
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For Susan Pontack, it was her adult son who recognized some of the signs and symptoms and encouraged her to be tested for ADHD.
“He said, ‘Mom, I hope you take this the right way, but you know I watch you and you get to the end of the day and you’re like, I got nothing done and you worked all day,’” Pontack recalled. “And it wasn’t that I didn’t get anything done, but I would start all of these projects -- but because I hated the details of it, I wouldn’t finish them, and then I would feel so overwhelmed about what I didn’t get done.”
Pontack has a successful career as a functional medicine consultant. She admits ADHD never even crossed her mind, but in hindsight, she realized how much harder she had to work at everything than her peers.
“When I had a research paper to do, life stopped,” Pontack said. “What I realized is that I could over-prepare and know it by heart and be ready for anything. But it was the situations where I couldn’t over-prepare that I would get anxious about.”
So she did some research and contacted Dr. Joel Young at the Rochester Center for Behavioral Medicine. That’s where she took a computerized assessment. The results helped her understand why she struggled with everyday tasks.
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The assessment is called Mind Metrix. It was developed by Dr. Young and a team of psychologists and researchers at the Rochester Center for Behavioral Medicine.
It’s a series of questions and takes about an hour and 15 minutes to complete. It can be done at any computer and the results are immediate. When shared with a primary care physician, the results can help them work toward an appropriate treatment plan that could include coaching, therapy or medication.
Pontack encourages anyone who feels they can use help to go get it.
If you suspect you have ADHD, there are several of these online assessments that you can take to gain some insight. While a lot of them are free, the one Pontack took is about $50. It’s cheaper than some of the in-person assessments, which can cost hundreds but are often much more in-depth.
The bottom line: Talk to your doctor. For women, even if it’s your gynecologist, they often will be able to help -- especially if you come armed with a snapshot of what you’re experiencing.
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