Legal recourse for an ADHD adult | ADHD Information

The "disability" component of this condition's name does not derive from the person who has the condition. It is a "disability" because of the interface between that person and the behavioral requirements of society at this moment in time.

In the past, conditions were different, and this "disability" was, instead, an advantage ...

In the Edison Gene materials, ADHD is described as "an expression of biodiversity," and that makes much more sense to the person who has it ...

DoctorQ38651.4196064815I hate the fact that ADD is under "disabilities". I don't want to be catagorized
in the same law as a parapeligic...they have a much harder time in life then
ADDers do.

[QUOTE=Fallen]Hmm great question. ADD is covered by the ADA so I'd assume we have the same legal rights. Call the ADA and ask them (if you're in the US that is.)

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm
[/QUOTE]

Fallen, Thank you for this information. I had no concept that the ADA covered people with ADD/HD. I'll be looking into it.

I have had similar feelings, and am only confounded by the fact that no one shares them ...Been there, done that.

My problem is that i believe in myself and abilities so confidently that i go, so what? Take it all away, I'll be a millionaire again... and again... and again...
[QUOTE=DoctorQ]

There is tremendous liberation in realizing you're not alone, Glen.

Now, if I can only get The System to realize that I'm not the uncooperative child it seems to believe I am, and work with me on terms I can handle ...

[/QUOTE]

It IS a great feeling isn't it? Much like that old "Twilight Zone" - where the pig-faced people shunned the pretty girl - and she found the handsome man that took her to the group of people like her where she would never see herself as ugly, or unwanted. It's nice!

Don't expect the "system" to ever see you at all. It's not living - just a hodge-podge of "normal" thinking rich people's ideals and rules that you can't either reason with or bargain with - much like a natural disaster. You can take the path of: strap in and ride through it, take MY natural instinct about it and find your own path around the worst of the system, or decide to find another system that suits you better.

Best thing you can do is decide that today - you start a whole new existence. Forget what you had - make something new! I did - left business, exgf that traded me torturing her/her torturing me, and a whole group of unsatisfied people. I began new - and you would not see me as the "old" me if you put them side to side.

There is tremendous liberation in realizing you're not alone, Glen.

I've lived with this as far back as my memory goes - around age 5 - which is to say, almost 40 years. I was just diagnosed two years ago, and to read the descriptions of others' experience was like being rescued from an island after being stranded for decades.

Now, if I can only get The System to realize that I'm not the uncooperative child it seems to believe I am, and work with me on terms I can handle ...

It's a tough job. I selected my current job based on how supportive I believed they would be about things. I wasnt wrong, my work life has improved 1000%, my part of the deal is that I take my medication and deliver results, in return I am given an incredible amount of freedom to compensate for the ADD.

Personal life adjustments are a little tougher, simply because most of my close friends and family have put up with my BS for a long time - but it's coming together. After some one on one counselling I'm now moving into a new phase with my S.O where we'll go together and try to work out the other bits and pieces.

Putting together the 'adult' side of life was tough, lots of debts, forgotten bills, broken stuff etc. Took about a year to fix up, but that was unmedicated. Now its all a breeze.

Good luck!
Hmm great question. ADD is covered by the ADA so I'd assume we have the same legal rights. Call the ADA and ask them (if you're in the US that is.)

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm

I assume you are american - you can correct me if I'm wrong.

There are no statutes that I am aware of in north america that come from someone being able to either defer or stall any financial decisions against someone for the reason of being diagnosed with ADHD. The only legal thing that ADHD can protect you from is being discriminated against for having a mental illness. Even that is shaky - there are a lot of people (including lawmakers) that wish to see ADHD seen as a scattered group of minor mental difficulities rather than an illness. It will take cases going to supreme court in both US and Canada to make any precedent.

I am struggling between telling you to pack up your suitcases and take bankrupcy as a new start - and telling you that you should talk to a bankrupcy accountant and attempt restructure your assets - taking into account that although you have ADHD - you had at least a small part in your fate.

ADHD will lead you places. It will tempt you with suggestions that at the time sound damn good. You will face anxiety and feel that you must fold up and run. It leads you to water my equine friend - but you take the drink!

I've been learning that the choices I made were influenced by ADHD - but that I had certain points I can look back at where I was in control enough that - given a little strength and reasoning - I could possibly have moved left instead of right.

The past is the past - you cannot turn back the clock.

My best recommendation - one that doesn't lay blame on you, the ADHD or other people - is for you to go to a professional accountant who specializes in bankrupcies and foreclosures. With some backing (if you have some cash left), you may be able to stall the procedures - and possibly if the bankrupcy court believes you are able to even reverse some of the debts and allow you time and space to try and move around your assets in order to save some of what you have.

It's a tricky law system - and if you are indeed american your beloved president is working to make it hard to impossible to go bankrupt without making huge payments to the government in order to settle your accounts. I don't know if they are pending or already in place - but move fast.

Maybe some of my astute colleagues here can give more solid advice. Just work to get some control - and don't worry about what caused your problems at this point. Just get out of this then you can breathe in a bit and look around.

Thanks DocQ - since taking meds and therapy I have found a deep, untapped wellspring of insight into my own life and history. I can now recall it all - and pass it along. At first I thought this vanity - until I realized that others can say "that's ME/BF/DH!!". I was at first amazed - now I know we are as alike as we are not in here. If I can save one relationship before it gets where mine imploded - it's all worth the trip you know.

Thanks to both of you for this input - I will dig deeper this afternoon

BTW, Glen, I liked your contributions to the "dating an ADHD man" thread - you were spot-on

Many of us who are adults with ADHD face significant career and relationship challenges, but one of the most difficult areas is finance. Bills overwhelm us, paperwork baffles us, deadlines come and go and we find ourselves facing inadequate funds, threatening letters, foreclosure.

Then we get help, get diagnosed, get meds, perhaps partner with someone who understands and offers organizational skills.

What do you do when your life crashed because of ADHD, and you got it back, but you need some defenses against The System to buy you time to recover?

How do you fight foreclosure? How do you fight bankruptcy? How can an ADHD adult defend himself/herself long enough to get back on the horse?

Are there any federal mechanisms that offer an ADHD adult some defense or relief?

Oh what an awesome thread!

A legal question! I am giddy - hold me back!!!!!!!!!

Legal remedies for ADhD? Not really, but in the U.S. there are safety nets in place to prevent a person from losing everything they value due to a medical problem. The thing is, these kind of remedies are hard enough to get even if you are paraplegic.

The ADA is probably not going to help you out. Have a disorder & being disabled are different. You are along the right lines with your characterization above. Being potentially covered in the ADA is not the same thing as being covered. There is no per se assumption. Besides, ADA, good luck with that.

I want to mention the Family & Medical Leave Act because that may apply to you if your children have been sick or you have been sick & you were fired. This is a pretty uniformly enforced area, I believe. This is under the department of labor so it's www.dol.gov. The most helpful area - & look under disabilities - is http://www.dol.gov/dol/audience/aud-workers.htm

Are you disabled? Can you work? Those are first tier questions concerning the future. Have you been wrongfully terminated based on manifestations of your medical problem? Did you work long enough to qualify for unemployment compensation? Did you apply for unemployment benefits & were you wrongfully denied? (You have to have actually sought the benefits, at least in my state). These are first tier questions about your past & remedies you may have.

Foreclosure & bankruptcy. I want to be clear: Nobody wants to foreclose - if they can get your money they would rather have that scenario. A lot of times people lose sleep over collection agencies & property foreclosure possibilities & in reality they are being victimized. Bankruptcy is probably not as much of a solution as you think. A lot of debts are no longer dischargeable in bankruptcy. If you have a corporation & you are talking about bankruptcy for your corporation this is an entirely different animal. Still, do not file for bankruptcy without getting a lawyer's advice first. It is too serious.

As far as debt goes, American society does not tend to care why you spend money. You can be off your rocker, but unless you are a minor (ironic, as if age determines responsibility) or you entered a contract under duress... SOL!

If you've been hurt in some way, go get a lawyer. If you live in a city there are a bunch drooling nearby. If you want to go after a party who genuinely injured you - fired you wrongfully, discriminated, etc. - you probably don't have to pay a dime. That's remedy though - not the same as dealing with current problems... If you elaborate on your situation(s) & I'll tell you what I know.

Oh yeah, & for future reference - anyone ask legal questions & I'll do my best to help ya. However, so I'm not putting myself in shoes I can't fill...

Any statements made unofficially in conjunction with these topics are meant to be conversational, for educational use only, & cannot substitute for legal consultation.

Sorry - knee jerk. I had to say this... It's like the "you know you have ADD when" but for legal professionals. I wrote this in an e-mail to my cousin. How sad is that?

I know, you're laughing at me now...

Hugs,

Put simply:

I am a very well-paid professional and have survived for most of my adult ADHD years in "consultant" mode, where I have had control of my schedule and workplace environment. My daughter became seriously ill, and this sent me into a downward spiral, and to put it simply, I went thru a two-year functionality and financial crash and had no idea what to do or where to turn for help. The woman I had a family with at the time was no help and in fact was devastatingly destructive to me. We split up for good over 3 years ago.

Now I am informally diagnosed - and by this, I mean that the symptoms were made clear to me and my personal physician agreed with them, and I tried several meds and have settled on two - though I have not yet been diagnosed by a clinical psychologist.

I am presently more productive and financially successful than ever before, but am under tremendous pressure because of my accumulated debt. My legal question is, is there any federal intervention or relief or protection available to me, because of this disability and its relation to my financial problems, to buy me time to resolve my financial difficulties?

DoctorQ38652.4100115741