Reply #113: Yup, always inherited. I can't think of a single person [View All]

[Raksha]

in my immediate family who did NOT have ADD/ADHD. That's with 20/20 hindsight, of course. As I said in another post downthread, I didn't realize myself I had it until I was 57 years old.

And I can also vouch for the fact that in many cases--mine, for example--a lifetime of undiagnosed and untreated ADD is a major cause of poverty. But that isn't always the case. ADDers are often very intelligent and gifted in other ways, and often have a great deal of drive and creativity. If they can somehow manage to keep their distractibility in check, they can often be highly successful entrepreneurs. But that depends a great deal on environment, and on whether you can manage to get through childhood and adolescence with some minimal degree of self-esteem intact. I didn't. But other ADDers of my acquaintance did.

The "gift/curse debate" is a perpetual hot-button topic in the ADD community (and there is one).