from germany | ADHD Information

hello,

i am a 30 year old man from from europe with adhd. i would like to know how adhd is seen in the us. here in germany adhd doesnt seem to be so poular compared to the us.

i shall move to the us end of 2006. for my job i have to do a test in the usa, if i tell them that i have adhd then i will have test accomodation. wont that lessen my chances to get a post afetrwards?? or doesnt that matter? is adhd seen as an 'anti-social' disorder ?

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

Hi! 

 

 

[QUOTE=oxalat]

hello,

i am a 30 year old man from from europe with adhd. i would like to know how adhd is seen in the us. here in germany adhd doesnt seem to be so poular compared to the us. Ok, let me rephrase and make sure I got the question right.  In Germany not so many people have ADHD? 

Or not so many people talk about ADHD?  In the U.S. lots of people talk about it - mostly because of the uptight American view of the medications used to treat it.  I have heard that ADHD is more common and/or more commonly diagnosed in the U.S.

i shall move to the us end of 2006. for my job i have to do a test in the usa, if i tell them that i have adhd then i will have test accomodation. You have to do a test.  What test?  For University?  For a professional license?  You may have to have a documentation of your diagnosis by having psychological testing done. You would need to contact the people who administer the test and find out what documentation they require.  wont that lessen my chances to get a post afetrwards?? or doesnt that matter? A post?  You mean a job right?  As far as I know, no one is allowed to say whether you were given accomodations.  People do not say at a job interview that they have ADHD.  Lots of people never say they have it to any employer - it depends on the situation.   is adhd seen as an 'anti-social' disorder ?  Most people do not understand enough about ADHD to have an opinion and don't really care why someone with ADHD has problems.  That is why we have laws requiring test accomodations and things.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

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I hope I answered your questions.  Doing some work on your English, eh? 

 

 

Hello reisa, and thanks for your reply.

in germany adhd isnt diagnosed that much.  even a lot of doctors dont know much about it. but its coming now more and more in the media.

the test i have to do is the united states medical licensing examination (usmle). i am a german physician who plans to move to the usa. i did it through my university here and am working in a hospital for 2 years now. the usmle are two 9 hour long lasting exams with 1 hour rest in between. i know myself, i couldnt concentrate nearly that long doing monotone answering the questions. i do well in my preparations but it seems impossible to do that test in such a manner. then i read about for test accomodation for adhd people. (you dont have that here in germany). 

 i talked with ecfmg and they told me that besides my final score there will bea annotaion that i had test accomodation, i talked with fellow doctors in the us, they said that might lessen my chance. when the programme directors read that they wont give you a job.

well i am in a dillema,

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I hope I answered your questions.  Doing some work on your English, eh? 

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yes, i am practicing my english every day...

 

I think it probably would lessen your chances of getting a job.  The symptom list for add is pretty scarey to an employer.

They'll not likely tell an applicant that it's their add - of course.  The applicant will just get passed over. 

However, if you really need the accommodation, then what else are you going to do?  Also, if your practicum experience has very positive recommendations, this may offset it. 

Yuck, hard choice. 

How competitive is it?  Is there a risk that you would not get accepted ANYWHERE?  If it only a matter of which program you are accepted into, it isn't such a big dilema.

1)  Do you think you could do well enough without accomodations?

2)  If you need them to pass, take them! 

3)  If you need them to do your best and have a chance at an ideal job, take them.  The worst the annotation would do is get you accepted to a less advantageous program - which would probably be the result of trying to take it without accomodations as well.

4)  Are your symptoms severe?  It could be an advantage to have the annotation, the program that accepts you would be more openminded about disabilities in general. 

When I was in law school I did not request accomodations.  Only because there was a "typing room" that anyone could use if they brought their own typewriter.  Anyone who had terrible handwriting or wanted to type their exams was allowed.  I was the only one that brought a typewriter - I had a great, distraction free room all to myself that wasn't considered an accomodation.  I wonder if they have such a thing for your test.

Your english is very good!  Just a non-American word occasionally.  I tried learning German when I was in college -- but I can't even pay attention when people are speaking english!

I don't think the annotation says ADD.  Most testing organizations have standard accomodations.  Usually time and a half across the board.  If you need accomodations for an exam, you get the same ones whether you have ADD, dyslexia, blind, or are quadriplegic. 

You are right that a lot of employers would be leery of an accom annotation - but if the accom is necessary, it is better to take it and succeed than give to up on your chosen career.