ADHD Blows

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (or ADD in popular terms) has been perceived for the most part in our society as a disorder not too serious compared to other debilitating disease. In some ways it's true. I suppose it depends on the severity. We see the stereotypical grade school child getting poor grades and the subsequent prescription of magical drugs to counteract it. We even use term for condescending purposes, diagnosing friends or family when they're acting crazy.

However, socially, ADHD can be devestating to the individual suffering as well as those around him.

I know an adult individual with ADHD. This person cannot concentrate. People, including his fiance, would try to have meaningful conversation with him but he can't keep his mind on the subject for more than 10 seconds. They would have conversations about family and the future when he would look away and not pay attention to the conversation at hand. I would be talking to him and he would look away and interrupt with "cool, look at that". This is really frustrating. (I am reminded of the Simpsons episode where Homer sees his long lost twin brother "Guy Incognito" but then gets distracted by the dog with the bushy tail) Many times, he would forget what he was talking about or what anyone else was talking about. His symptom would kick in, for example, when you're ranting to him about something or other, when he interrupts with some ridiculous subject because he has lost track of what was happening. At these times, you want to just kick the crap out of him but your frontal lobe kicks in instead and prevents you from doing so.

Medication helps somewhat but in the end, ADHD blows donkey chunks.