My blogfriend Anna writes about her struggles with executive functioning, which in her case is a by-product of Asperger’s Syndrome. And I so get it. I also have executive dysfunction, related to my “adult ADD.”

“According to Dr. Thomas E. Brown of the Yale University School of Medicine, ‘ADHD is essentially a name for developmental impairment of executive function.’ Executive functions are the skills involved in planning, selective attention, motivation, and impulse control.” (source)

People with adult ADD have problems with organization, memory and time management, which are executive (cognitive) functions. Some facts about adult ADD (source):

FACT: ADD looks very much like a willpower problem, but it isn’t. It’s essentially a chemical problem in the management systems of the brain.

FACT: A person with ADD is six times more likely to have another psychiatric or learning disorder than most other people. ADD usually overlaps with other disorders.

FACT: Many adults have struggled all their lives with unrecognized ADD impairments. They haven’t received help because they assumed that their chronic difficulties, like depression or anxiety, were caused by other impairments that did not respond to the usual treatments.

I wish more people understood adult ADD and executive functioning/dysfunction. I am weary of people thinking that I am purposefully late, that I don’t try to be on time, that I forget appointments on purpose, that I forget where I put my keys and cellphone because I’m just scatterbrained or not bright, etc. And I’m tired of people suggesting that I just start getting ready earlier so I’ll be on time — like I’ve never tried that before. Grrr…

Sorry to rant. Really. It’s not attractive, is it? I’m just glad to be reminded that I’m not alone with my frustrations. Thanks for posting, Anna. And I will continue to tell myself that I have the “mind of Christ.” Meanwhile, I’ll also wear my Daytrana patch* and do some cognitive therapy. ;)

* I was looking at the Daytrana web site and yes, it’s kind of a kid thing, but my height and weight are in the average 13-15 year old girl range (along with my maturity level, according to my dad, LOL), so a friend suggested it for me, and I’ve had more success with it than with other ADD meds.

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