Q: I am 40 and all my life I have struggled with organising myself – retaining information.  If I’m asked to do 3 things, generally I do the first thing (possibly not completing it) and completely forgetting about the others. I can not stop my foot from tapping constantly or twitching. My head is always full of noise, I just cant cope anymore. These are only a small number of the the things I am suffering with… Is this ADD or ADHD???

I am not a medical doctor or a psychologist so I cannot tell you definitively that you do or do not have ADHD.  What I can say is that yes, it does sound like you may have some executive function challenges. The best thing you can do is find a qualified doctor to do the testing. If the answer is yes, you can access many more resources with the official diagnosis than without.

If you have a primary care doctor, I would talk to them first and perhaps ask for a recommendation for evaluation. If you don’t have a regular physician here are some resources to start with:

ADDA maintains a searchable directory – https://add.org/professional-directory/

CHADD professional directory – https://chadd.org/professional-directory/

CHADD also has some information available on diagnosis – https://chadd.org/for-adults/diagnosis-of-adhd-in-adults/

Getting the diagnosis will require a bit of persistence on your part, but it is the first step toward getting your questions answered.

You have found a great resource in the ADDA community, so make sure you sign up as a member.

Stay in touch,

-liz