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Dr. David W. Goodman featured as ADHD expert in The Washington Post article’s December 17, 2013

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The Washington Post took the initiative to write an article in today’s (December 17) paper on ADHD in adults ages sixty and older. This article is also accompanied by a sidebar article discussing adult ADHD Older adults with ADHD are a group that has not been specifically researched and about whom very little is written. The Washington Post article includes two or three people with ADHD who were diagnosed much later in life. They speak about their lifetime experiences with untreated ADHD and the positive change they and others have noticed with treatment.

Imagine that you spent 60 years of your life distracted, disorganized, forgetful, and chronically tardy.  Imagine that you have dropped out of school, lost jobs, or were divorced as a direct consequence of that state of mind.  Imagine that you seek help from  a professional and you are told that you have a disorder that can be effectively treated.  Imagine your reluctance and hopefulness that these experiences can diminish. Imagine that you agree to treatment and discover that all of these experiences were symptoms of the disorder and not you as a person.  I know, that’s a lot to imagine. At this age, the goal of treatment is not only to treat ADHD  but to help a person understand the difference between what they have (disorder) versus who they are (person).  In my experience helping people, this process helps resurrect a person’s self-image.

I invite you to read these two articles and seek professional help if these  symptoms resonate with your experience. If you are an older adult with possible ADHD, I recommend that you see an expert in ADHD who will be able to make an accurate diagnosis. Because older adults may have both medical and psychiatric disorders in addition to taking medications, it’s critical that an expert be able to distinguish multiple disorders and  evaluate the presence of ADHD accurately. Effective treatment is completely dependent on the accuracy of the diagnosis.
Thank you for your interest.
David W. Goodman, M.D.

Faculty speaker at CHADD’s Upcoming Annual Conference Nov 7-9, 2013

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Don’t miss this extra-ordinary conference on ADHD. CHADD has an annual conference open to patients and family, the general public, and professionals. The conference is held in a different location around the country. This year it is in our backyard in Washington, DC.

I’m honored to be invited to present a 3 hour lecture on “Treatment Options for Treating ADHD in Adults” with my colleague and friend, Dr. Anthony Rostain from the University of Pennsylvania.

This conference gives attendees the opportunity to speak with national and international experts, authors, researchers, and educators in the ADHD field. There is an enormous amount of information and resources available thereby making it a cost and time-effective way to gather “all you need to know about ADHD but were afraid to ask”. LOL

Also, for people who are new to ADHD, you’ll be assured that you are not alone. Imagine hundreds of people with ADHD that you can share experiences and helpful approaches.

I’m encouraging my interested patients and families to attend. I know that successful treatment progresses faster with educated patients and families. Hope to see you there.

David W. Goodman, M.D.

ADHD over age 50 – WebMD

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For those with ADHD as an adult, it doesn’t go away.  According to the National Comorbidity Survey Replication study published 2006, of those with adult ADHD, 75% were not diagnosed as children.

In my practice it is not uncommon for patients over age 50 to be newly diagnosed. I provided my expertise in this area to the author of an article for WebMD published live this week. The “moral of the story” is it is never too late to get evaluated and seek treatment. Daily functioning can improve at any age.

ADHD Stimulant Shortage on Maryland Public Television Jan 30, 2012 7:30 pm

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Because of my recognized expertise in ADHD, I’m honored to have been invited to speak as a featured quest on Maryland Public Television’s program, Direct Connection with Jeff Salkin on January 30, 2012 Monday at 7:30 pm.

I will be addressing the stimulant shortage over the past several months-possible causes, the routes of manufacturing medications, the distribution of medications across the country, the sporadic availability of these medications, suggestions to physicians and patients on how to avoid shortages or alternative medications when shortages occur.

This problem now plagues those patients and family who use these medications in order to function at their highest level. The absence of medication may severely compromise ones ability to perform consistently thus increasing anxiety.

Join us and listen to my commentary and suggestions.

David W. Goodman, M.D.

Why is my ADHD bothering me now?

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ADHD (or ADD without the H) is a disorder whose symptoms start in childhood. Two of three of these children will continue to have symptoms to an impairing degree beyond age 18 . Of the adults with ADHD who are diagnosed in adulthood, only 25% were ever diagnosed as a child (Kessler et al 2007). One reason for the under-identification of children with ADHD is that only those children who are disruptive come to the attention of teachers and parents. Non-disruptive children with ADHD may not get diagnosed until later in life. So the question is, what would cause them to seek an evaluation later in life. “If you lived with it all this time, it can’t be that bad.” Right? Well, not exactly.

In our recent publication on ADHD throughout the Lifespan (Journal of Clinical Psychiatry February 2012), we discuss the developmental phases of life that prompt the question “Why is my ADHD bothering me now?” When reading this article, please note the authorship of internationally recognized experts in the field that include Drs. Atilla Turgay (Canada), Phillip Asherson (United Kingdom), myself and Russell Barkley (United States).

Each developmental phase of life takes on more responsibility. For example, moving from middle school to high school means the academic demands and workload increases. As you move from high school to college, you need to be able to organize yourself to get to classes, do assignments on time, schedule time for study, sleep, play, and classtime. If you go onto first job, you need to be punctual, respond appropriately to supervisors, and complete work on time. When you get married, you need to negotiate household responsibilties and complete tasks timely and consistently to be a team player in your marriage. And then you go on to have children which adds additional layers of tasks and responsibilities requiring increasing levels of organization and efficiency. How about a job promotion with more tasks and the oversight of others. So, each developmental phase of adult life has its set of tasks and responsibilities and your ability to adapt and compensate becomes more difficult. At some point, your daily performance suffers whether at work or home.  At this point, either you or someone close (employer, family, friend) to you will bring it to your attention. Sometime this is done kindly, sometimes it is the result of an argument because you haven’t followed through as expected by others.

Our publication was written for physicians and psychiatrists so that they would understand why an adult with ADHD who had never gotten treatment might come to their office for an evaluation. We hope that this publication will disuade physicians from discounting an adult’s compliant of daily function and look for ADHD when indicated.

If you are not a physician, I think the article is still quite readable for most people and may provoke some thoughts and discussions amongst those effected by ADHD.

Thank you for your time and interest in reading my postings.

David W. Goodman, M.D.

Medical Crossfire- 4 videos by experts on adult ADD

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Education about ADHD in adults is critical for everyone. In addition to my work in the public sector and assistance to public media (newspaper, magazines, and TV), I’m also involved in teaching physicians how to best identify their patients who have ADHD/ADD. My friend, Anthony Rostain, MD at the University of Pennsylvania and I did a 4 part video series (Medical Crossfire) explaining diagnosis, co-existing psychiatric conditions and treatments, both medication and therapies for adult ADD.

You are invited to view each of the segments here. You will need to register first. Don’t worry if you are not a physician. You will be able to understand the discussion. When you register: under “Profession” click on No Profession; under “Specialty” click on Non-clinical; under degree, well, you choose what’s appropriate.

These segments represent the opinions of internationally recognized experts speaking about the state of the art for this disorder. You will be very well informed after viewing each segment.

As I have said before, let science be the designated driver in the highway of opinions. Thank you again for your interest in my writings. I will be adding these video segments to my website in the near future.