Adult ADHD/ADD Brain Mapping?

jerseygal

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 1, 2008
Adult son, who we always considered to be very high functioning, no known issues, was an excellent student, played hs/college sports, extremely well liked by his peers, very personable, did very well in school, and has functioned as a successful professional over the last 8 1/2 years post college. He hit a "bump" in the road recently. He was in a very high stress position, working 60 hours a week, and began having retention issues, ability to focus, anxiety. He has done "self evaluation" over the last several months and thinks that there may be a possible ADHD/ADD issue. His wife and both DH and I feel that the position has largely contributed to this situation, ie situational, but nonetheless extremely concerned and worried for him. He took the first step to see a psychiatrist, who will be doing a Brain MRI to ensure that there are no medical issues with the brain(his grandpa passed away from Brain Cancer) and brain mapping to get a better "picture" of what is going on.
My question is has anyone with adult ADHD(diagnosed as an adult)done brain mapping? I did brief research and also read about neurofeedback which has success for some. Taking one step at a time,trying to get some additional information. No matter the age, as a parent, when your child is not herself/himself going through an issue, you as a parent hurt for them.:sad1: Thanks in advance for any information!:goodvibes
 
I can't answer your question at all, but it's an interesting situation.

Both my kids were diagnosed with ADHD as children. They each have "levels" of stress and activity that they can tolerate before it bothers them, especially as adults.

I know things are constantly evolving in this area, but I would say that if your son made it through all his schooling, was excellent and did everything you described with no issues, he does not have ADHD. But...one of the things my son's neurophych doctor said that stuck with me was that "everyone has a limit." One reason we see more kids diagnosed today is because we put more on them. Forty or fifty years ago you didn't see kids carting a rolling suitcase/backpack home with homework books in it. They went outside and PLAYED. Kids today have less playtime and more work, so more kids are "hitting that threshhold" where they would not have before.

To me, it seems, your son as an adult has hit that threshhold with this current job and the schedule. Maybe he sees others at the office managing and he can't and now something must be wrong. Maybe nothing is wrong and he's reached his limit and it's not ideal for him.

Given his lack of ADHD history and wonderful performance, I seriously doubt this is the issue but I get that he's looking for answers. Sorry, probably not the info you were looking for.
 
Christine, Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts. I am hoping that this is situational and this job is a mismatch. We will see once the brain mapping is done.
 
There are two different approaches available.

A psychiatrist might rely on scans and reports to arrive at a diagnosis. Treatment might include medication, which more often than not, have many undesirable side effects.

An analyst, on the other hand, might talk to tour son to get him talking. She might look for associations in your son's psyche that might be relevant to his current situation. She will try to show him the merits of deep self-knowledge, and how it might help him in similar situations. There won't be medication, but the process might be a long one.

It depends on which one you prefer, and which one you son prefers. All the best! And I really hope he gets well very soon :)
 


Marker123, Thanks for your reply! Very eager to hear the results of the brain mapping. High stress positions, fatigue, not eating right in itself can definitely lead to many negative mental health symptoms; hoping that this is situational and positive steps can be taken. ::yes:: I recommended taking a good Multivitamin and Extra Vitamin D minimally while he is going through the evaluation period. So little sun from October through April in the Northeast; so many are deficient in Vitamin D. The B complex vitamin supplementation in the Multivitamin and D are crucial to cognition.
 
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one of the things my son's neurophych doctor said that stuck with me was that "everyone has a limit." One reason we see more kids diagnosed today is because we put more on them. Forty or fifty years ago you didn't see kids carting a rolling suitcase/backpack home with homework books in it. They went outside and PLAYED. Kids today have less playtime and more work, so more kids are "hitting that threshhold" where they would not have before.

I think that is so insightful!

I would never have been considered for ADHD evaluation as a student - quiet girl, second in my class, "easy" kid. But the newer description that emphasizes kids having trouble focusing on things that don't interest them (rather than on too much energy and disrupting class) has made me wonder as as adult if I do process that way, but I simply liked the "right" things? (I'm great at academic stuff, but extremely scattered with housework/errands - four projects gets started before any get finished, and nothing gets done if it's not written down. - It's just that nobody labels you for doing your housework "wrong.")

What you said about limits and the pace of life makes so much sense! I'm definitely very conscious of the fact that I have a small "Goldilocks zone" to function at my best. For example, I need some background noise, but not too loud or too many things at once, and I can have two "tabs" open, but not three... - Maybe I just had time to really figure myself out, and figure out work-arounds for things that didn't come easy to me, and today's kids don't? Maybe we're pathologizing normal reactions to stress instead of realizing it's the environment that needs fixing?

Anyway, I'm no help, OP, about brain-mapping, but I hope your son gets some answers and everything works out! I'll definitely be following the discussion.
 
I think that is so insightful!

I would never have been considered for ADHD evaluation as a student - quiet girl, second in my class, "easy" kid. But the newer description that emphasizes kids having trouble focusing on things that don't interest them (rather than on too much energy and disrupting class) has made me wonder as as adult if I do process that way, but I simply liked the "right" things? (I'm great at academic stuff, but extremely scattered with housework/errands - four projects gets started before any get finished, and nothing gets done if it's not written down. - It's just that nobody labels you for doing your housework "wrong.")

What you said about limits and the pace of life makes so much sense! I'm definitely very conscious of the fact that I have a small "Goldilocks zone" to function at my best. For example, I need some background noise, but not too loud or too many things at once, and I can have two "tabs" open, but not three... - Maybe I just had time to really figure myself out, and figure out work-arounds for things that didn't come easy to me, and today's kids don't? Maybe we're pathologizing normal reactions to stress instead of realizing it's the environment that needs fixing?

Anyway, I'm no help, OP, about brain-mapping, but I hope your son gets some answers and everything works out! I'll definitely be following the discussion.
Thank you!:goodvibes So agree with work arounds, if we are good at self evaluation and honesty with ourselves, we all need work arounds for something in life, understanding our "shortcomings" and working with them. Whatever works! When we are leaving for a trip or I need to remember to take something very important on a given day, I write a post it on the inside door, so that I ensure that the list of high priority items gets taken. ::yes::
 


Adult son, who we always considered to be very high functioning, no known issues, was an excellent student, played hs/college sports, extremely well liked by his peers, very personable, did very well in school, and has functioned as a successful professional over the last 8 1/2 years post college. He hit a "bump" in the road recently. He was in a very high stress position, working 60 hours a week, and began having retention issues, ability to focus, anxiety. He has done "self evaluation" over the last several months and thinks that there may be a possible ADHD/ADD issue. His wife and both DH and I feel that the position has largely contributed to this situation, ie situational, but nonetheless extremely concerned and worried for him. He took the first step to see a psychiatrist, who will be doing a Brain MRI to ensure that there are no medical issues with the brain(his grandpa passed away from Brain Cancer) and brain mapping to get a better "picture" of what is going on.
My question is has anyone with adult ADHD(diagnosed as an adult)done brain mapping? I did brief research and also read about neurofeedback which has success for some. Taking one step at a time,trying to get some additional information. No matter the age, as a parent, when your child is not herself/himself going through an issue, you as a parent hurt for them.:sad1: Thanks in advance for any information!:goodvibes
I can’t give input on brain mapping but I hope you keep us posted. You’re dong the right thing by taking action and supporting him in finding a diagnosis. Mental health is too often ignored so I’m so happy to read he has a strong support system during this process. All the best.
 
Dizminmouse, thank you. Will update. So agree, mental health issues seem to be so overlooked, minimized, ordismissed or swept under the rug sadly.
 
Marker123, Thanks for your reply! Very eager to hear the results of the brain mapping. High stress positions, fatigue, not eating right in itself can definitely lead to many negative mental health symptoms; hoping that this is situational and positive steps can be taken. ::yes:: I recommended taking a good Multivitamin and Extra Vitamin D minimally while he is going through the evaluation period. So little sun from October through April in the Northeast; so many are deficient in Vitamin D. The B complex vitamin supplementation in the Multivitamin and D are crucial to cognition.

I really does look situational, and I sincerely hope that's all it is. Power to you! :)
 
Thank you!:goodvibes So agree with work arounds, if we are good at self evaluation and honesty with ourselves, we all need work arounds for something in life, understanding our "shortcomings" and working with them. Whatever works! When we are leaving for a trip or I need to remember to take something very important on a given day, I write a post it on the inside door, so that I ensure that the list of high priority items gets taken. ::yes::

I don't know enough about ADHD or brain mapping to be much help, but this reads so true. I have mild/moderate hearing loss but didn't start wearing hearing aids until my 30s and only started thinking that my hearing was problematic a couple of years before that. However, when I got them, both the ENT and the audiologists commented that, based on the type/shape of hearing loss I have, I probably never heard properly (most likely congenital). Essentially, I was (without thinking about it), doing things to mitigate the issues but eventually a combination of it likely having gotten slightly worse and getting into situations that I couldn't mitigate (conference calls on speaker phone are awful), meant that I could no longer handle things without help.

Good luck to your son.
 
I don't know enough about ADHD or brain mapping to be much help, but this reads so true. I have mild/moderate hearing loss but didn't start wearing hearing aids until my 30s and only started thinking that my hearing was problematic a couple of years before that. However, when I got them, both the ENT and the audiologists commented that, based on the type/shape of hearing loss I have, I probably never heard properly (most likely congenital). Essentially, I was (without thinking about it), doing things to mitigate the issues but eventually a combination of it likely having gotten slightly worse and getting into situations that I couldn't mitigate (conference calls on speaker phone are awful), meant that I could no longer handle things without help.

Good luck to your son.
Thank you! So interesting..I can imagine how difficult conference calls are! Hope that you have found some solutions.:angel:
 

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