I’m interested if it’s not too much trouble. My current plan is to try and find any local resources or recommendations for doctors specializing in adult ADHD specifically. I was going to get around to that after the holidays. For sure. Probably.
So I’m always down for more info and more possible avenues I can explore. Especially since I don’t know if I’ll find what I’m looking for. Or when.
I used an online service called Klarity. My provider has moved to a different company called Kiwihealth. You can search and see if they have someone available for your state. You need access to a laptop with a camera to do the remote testing. You can do the telehealth visits with a phone.
They do not accept insurance and charge pretty reasonable fees. I had to go to a local LabCorp and have them take three vials of blood to do 16 tests of my general health. Honestly I was happy to do this because I don’t go to the doctor unless I’m totally fucked up.
There are three things that are key to getting diagnosed. Explain why you think you have ADHD, and how severely it affects your life. This part is critical - explain how once you read about the symptoms of ADHD it made many of the difficulties of your childhood make sense. Because ADHD is a lifetime neurodivergent condition, it’s not something that you get, it’s something you’ve always had.
Third is the remote test. It’s hard to explain but it’s pretty simple. If you feel like you’re doing too well then fuck up on purpose. I just tried without trying to focus super hard and it measured me as top 7% of severity. I was shocked.
Yeah, any kind of electronic or reaction based test concerns me a little because I’ve been a gamer my entire life, so my experience doing similar activities is going to affect my results when compared against a control that hasn’t spent almost 40 years practicing. Fucking up on purpose doesn’t seem great either, but it’s definitely something I’ve thought about if I found myself in that situation. It would be really nice if I didn’t need to, but that’s wishful thinking.
I’m well set up for telehealth and I really appreciate the info! I’ll definitely take a look. If I can find a local place that accepts insurance, that would be a big help financially, but I’m glad to have somewhere to look if that doesn’t pan out for any number of reasons.
Don’t worry about the test. I’ve played videogames since the original Mario. My oldest memory is actually my mom waking me up to see the end because my dad beat it.
I appreciate the reassurance at least. I still think the results will be skewed from what they would be if I didn’t have that level of familiarity and practice, but I can at least hope it won’t be significant enough to matter. Or, better yet, that more weight will be placed on the human elements like actually talking with me. I guess mostly it’s just wanting to actually feel heard and understood instead of having my concerns and experiences dismissed yet again. We wouldn’t still be undiagnosed in our forties if people listened.
I’m sorry you were so discouraged by the first experience. I was hot mad after mine, then I got the bill with crap on it like overtime, I was furious. I took the tests then had 15 minute phone call a week later. That’s when I was told my work would be too hard for someone with ADHD.
I wish you luck in your search. Don’t bomb the computer part on purpose or it will be suspicious. It was quite difficult, surprise surprise, because we have ADHD.
I’m interested if it’s not too much trouble. My current plan is to try and find any local resources or recommendations for doctors specializing in adult ADHD specifically. I was going to get around to that after the holidays. For sure. Probably.
So I’m always down for more info and more possible avenues I can explore. Especially since I don’t know if I’ll find what I’m looking for. Or when.
I used an online service called Klarity. My provider has moved to a different company called Kiwihealth. You can search and see if they have someone available for your state. You need access to a laptop with a camera to do the remote testing. You can do the telehealth visits with a phone.
They do not accept insurance and charge pretty reasonable fees. I had to go to a local LabCorp and have them take three vials of blood to do 16 tests of my general health. Honestly I was happy to do this because I don’t go to the doctor unless I’m totally fucked up.
There are three things that are key to getting diagnosed. Explain why you think you have ADHD, and how severely it affects your life. This part is critical - explain how once you read about the symptoms of ADHD it made many of the difficulties of your childhood make sense. Because ADHD is a lifetime neurodivergent condition, it’s not something that you get, it’s something you’ve always had.
Third is the remote test. It’s hard to explain but it’s pretty simple. If you feel like you’re doing too well then fuck up on purpose. I just tried without trying to focus super hard and it measured me as top 7% of severity. I was shocked.
Yeah, any kind of electronic or reaction based test concerns me a little because I’ve been a gamer my entire life, so my experience doing similar activities is going to affect my results when compared against a control that hasn’t spent almost 40 years practicing. Fucking up on purpose doesn’t seem great either, but it’s definitely something I’ve thought about if I found myself in that situation. It would be really nice if I didn’t need to, but that’s wishful thinking.
I’m well set up for telehealth and I really appreciate the info! I’ll definitely take a look. If I can find a local place that accepts insurance, that would be a big help financially, but I’m glad to have somewhere to look if that doesn’t pan out for any number of reasons.
Don’t worry about the test. I’ve played videogames since the original Mario. My oldest memory is actually my mom waking me up to see the end because my dad beat it.
This shit will come at you ridiculously fast.
I appreciate the reassurance at least. I still think the results will be skewed from what they would be if I didn’t have that level of familiarity and practice, but I can at least hope it won’t be significant enough to matter. Or, better yet, that more weight will be placed on the human elements like actually talking with me. I guess mostly it’s just wanting to actually feel heard and understood instead of having my concerns and experiences dismissed yet again. We wouldn’t still be undiagnosed in our forties if people listened.
I’m sorry you were so discouraged by the first experience. I was hot mad after mine, then I got the bill with crap on it like overtime, I was furious. I took the tests then had 15 minute phone call a week later. That’s when I was told my work would be too hard for someone with ADHD.
I wish you luck in your search. Don’t bomb the computer part on purpose or it will be suspicious. It was quite difficult, surprise surprise, because we have ADHD.