Comment by berkes
2 years ago
> and there's alternative explanation for the symptoms from some other issues
> I feel sure that I did not have ADHD symptoms during childhood
Both are hard requirements for the indication though. (at least in my country where they use the DSM, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)
* Symptoms must not be attributable to other issues.
* ADHD must have been there all your life, so before a certain age (in my country 12yo) symptoms must have been there, and they must be acknowledged. Not necessarily that they were then attributed to ADHD, but they must have been present.
Source: i'm in the diagnosis currently. I'm 45 years old. I'm not a shrink. I'm currently actually supposed to finish my bookkeeping, hence I'm on HN.
The test I was given is called DIVA 2.0. It says it is based on DSM-IV criteria. I have no understanding of how DSM criteria evolved.
The DIVA 2.0 test notes, "Research has indicated that at adult age, four or more characteristics of attention problems and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity are sufficient for the diagnosis of ADHD to be made." I had seven out of seven characteristics for inattentive type ADHD.
I am sure I did not have the symptoms during childhood. I started facing these around 2011 and very distinctly in 2012, when I was 35 years of age.