CAROLYN SUSMAN

New York Times Syndicate - December 01, 1999

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. As an adult looking back on a life lived at high speed, Ronald Furman describes himself as always wanting to leap off the edge.

      A hustler, a risk-taker, a danger-seeker.

      The 53 year old, who recently moved to North Palm Beach, was married three times twice to the same woman took five years to get through high school, drank excessively, craved high speeds, and, in short, sought anything that would make him ``high.''

      Eventually, his life of dares and uncontrolled behavior landed him in jail for a year for cocaine possession.

      ``I wanted anything that would deliver stimulation to me,'' he said. ``I was self-medicating and I didn't know it.''

      What Furman was treating himself for, he found out, was a psychiatric condition most often associated with children attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

      ADHD has only within the last few years been recognized as a legitimate adult diagnosis.

      ``A lot of people were trained that people outgrew ADHD,'' said Dr. Russell Barkley, director of psychology and professor of psychiatry and neurology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

      ``We now know that's not true. Somewhere between 15-20 percent may outgrow it, but 65-75 percent continue to have symptoms that impair them markedly as adults.''

      ADHD is a neurological and genetic disorder that, Barkley said, is the most widely inherited trait of any psychiatric disorder. Estimates are that 2 million to 5 million adults have ADHD.

      It is almost impossible to acquire the syndrome in adulthood, except through trauma to the head. Most cases of adult diagnosis occur in those whose childhood disorder was not identified. And Barkley believes that the majority of adults with it ``remain undiagnosed at this time.''

      He is studying 240 adults to try to better define the symptoms and the way they affect an adult.

      The overriding signs are impulsivity and inattentiveness, and lack of inhibition and self-control. This can translate into multiple marriages, substance abuse, speeding violations and risky driving, poor job histories, difficulties in school and criminal behavior.

      Furman is almost a textbook example.

      But diagnosis is difficult, said psychologist Myles Cooley, who is treating the North Palm Beach man.

      He says it is absolutely essential that a history of such behavior date back to early childhood for a diagnosis to be on target.

      ``If I can't find any evidence through high school or college, I'm going to really question what's going on here,'' he said. Because of the difficulties in getting details from ADHD patients, he said, he often questions spouses and parents, or even goes as far as asking for report cards if they're available.

      ``The cards are likely to have notations from teachers about the child speaking out in class or being disruptive,'' he said.

      Furman said he began to question himself when he spent some time living with his mother and heard stories about his hell-raising as a child. When a friend with a similar history was diagnosed, he said it prodded his interest.

      ``People don't realize how debilitating it is. I want to be a stable individual, hold a job for a long period of time. The longest I've ever been employed is a year and a half,'' he said.

      He is currently being evaluated for medication. Drugs such as Ritalin, a stimulant, or antidepressants may be prescribed for adults, as they are sometimes for children. Patients are also trained to control their behaviors and focus better on tasks.

      ``I feel like somebody took a large backpack filled with rocks off my back,'' Furman said of his diagnosis. ``If someone else out there feels the same as I do, I'd like to have them realize they can still get help.''

      For more information, contact Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) at (800) 233-4050 or visit the Web site at http://www.chadd.org ----

      (Carolyn Susman writes for the Palm Beach Post, West Palm Beach, Fla.)

      (The Cox web site is at http://www.coxnews.com)

     c. 1999 Cox News Service

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