Adults

First and foremost, we recommend that you go for a consultation with a specialist in learning disabilities and ADHD. In this conversation, present your difficulties and get an idea of the possibilities that stand before you. It's likely that the next step will be an evaluation. Together you will decide which kind of evaluation is appropriate for you. As a result of the conversations and/or evaluation, different treatment programs will be recommended for you. At The Nitzan Association we'd be glad to help you in case you choose to receive our assistance. Lately, we have established a support group for adults.

Learning disabilities are a "gift" for life. However, based on experience we see that the ability to cope gets stronger. The way learning disabilities influence the person changes, as the person becomes an adult. First and foremost, we learn to cope better with the different problems and to create ways of getting around many of them. Many people adopt for themselves a certain way of life that fits their different disabilities so that at times the weaknesses turn into strengths. But mainly, dealing with life is different than dealing with school, so that you don't have to deal with these difficulties at the same intensity and pressure as in school and childhood experiences.

However, there are certain crossroads in life when learning disabilities and/or ADHD raise their head, mainly during periods of change and adaptation to new situations. A new job, studies, stresses and changes in family life, demands of a relationship, a move from one place to another, and so on and so forth; changes influence every person. With the help of proper preparation, a system of support of friends and family, and occasionally with professional help, these crises can be eased, dealing with them properly and even to leave them strengthened.

At Nitzan, we've developed a service for the adult population, the Nitzan Plus Center for Adults that provides support for adults with learning disabilities and ADHD. The center provides, under one roof, evaluation and treatment services which help adults progress in one or more of the areas of life in which they need support and guidance.

In recent years, the demand has increased for a body that will offer services for adults in the area of career planning includes the following aspects: work, study, free-time, and the community. 

Assessments can be conducted at any age and it's important to assess the source of the difficulty so that it will be possible to treat and to decrease the frustrations that many people are dragging with them all of their lives...Evaluations for ADHD are conducted by psychiatrists and neurologists who specialize in attention-deficit, and also specialize according to age. It's important to receive the appropriate assistance, namely that of a specialist in ADHD among adults. Similarly, you should take in account that frequently the difficulties are intertwined, for example, learning disabilities and ADHD frequently appear together; therefore, a precise evaluation is very important in order to discern what is the primary difficulty and what is secondary. The difficulties that you describe are likely to be complicated and to include not only ADHD; therefore, a broad, multi-dimensional perspective of the problem is important. This approach can be found at a portion of the evaluation centers, such as the Multi-disciplinary Evaluation Center of The Nitzan Association. The evaluation process at the Multi-disciplinary Evaluation Center of The Nitzan Association includes introductory (intake) meetings with an evaluator, who accompanies the entire evaluation process, including the clinical interview conducted by a psychiatrist. In this way, the opportunity is given for professionals from different fields to have their impression and consult with each other, to consider the presence of other or additional difficulties that occasionally require other treatments or evaluations (a didactic evaluation for example). In conclusion, we want to stress that it's very important to evaluate and treat, so that you can maximize the potential hidden in you and to remove the obstacles to your success.

It's true that sometimes tiredness is felt during performance of mental tasks for people with ADHD or learning disabilities. The description of difficulty waking up in the morning and feeling tired during the day arouses suspicion of a sleeping disorder. By the way, the need to sleep or decreased energy in the afternoon is universal and results from small hormonal changes similar to those of the evening.

Good for you that you want to understand yourself and continue moving ahead! I think it's always possible. You describe characteristics of ADHD. You should seek out a specialist in this area, who is usually a psychiatrist who specializes in ADHD or a neurologist. We, at Nitzan, have a Multi-disciplinary Center where you'll meet with a psychiatrist and be accompanied by an educator who specializes in evaluation and treatment of people with learning disabilities. Occasionally, an additional test is required which is conducted on a computer in order to verify the diagnosis of ADHD and to see which areas it affects. An additional section of the computerized test is conducted after taking Ritalin. This is in order to examine if and how to the pill helps you cope.

In many cases, we recommend taking advantage of an additional treatment, sometimes remedial instruction, which is also available for every age, and sometimes "coaching" with a coach who specializes in this field and who will accompany you during your studies in case you need it and which you'll set together.