Description of the Film from the totallyadd.com website. The description can be found at: http://totallyadd.com/about/the-film/

ADD & Loving It?! is a refreshing, witty and inspiring documentary about adult Attention Deficit Disorder (also known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD). The one-hour film, which will be broadcast on Canwest Global Television in the fall, is hosted by actor/comedian Patrick McKenna and written, produced and directed by fellow comedian, Rick Green.

ADD & Loving It?! explores and explains the disorder by following Patrick’s journey for a diagnosis so he can confirm what he’s always suspected – that he has ADD. Along the way, Patrick and his wife Janis open up about their challenges and struggles, something Janis admits “we’ve spent our whole lives trying to hide.”

Patrick notes, “Some people think the diagnosis is the kiss of death, while others think there’s no such thing; it’s nothing, it’s all made up.” But after talking with the experts and with ordinary people, as well as drawing from his own experience, he confirms that ADD is real. It’s genetic, it can destroy lives, and adults with ADD have a higher rate of accidents, addictions, suicide, bankruptcy, divorce, illegal drug use and financial problems.

Patrick uses his gift of comedy to demonstrate the three characteristics of ADD – inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. He uncovers the 18 symptoms used to diagnose ADD in childhood, and illustrates how these traits develop by adulthood. After all, adults learn not to bounce in their chairs during meetings, while kids in grade three rarely go bankrupt.

Janis guides Patrick through several ADD quizzes and their banter sets a warm, loving tone for the film. Patrick’s high score leads ADD expert Dr. Umesh Jain to diagnose Patrick with ADD. Patrick is stunned but begins to see his life from a whole new perspective and recognizes how much his ADD has cost him and his family. And realization becomes motivation. Now that he knows he has ADD, he can deal with it.

The experts interviewed are among the top names in the field of ADD in North America – Stephen Kurtz, Kate Kelly, Edward Hallowell, Annick Vincent and Margaret Weiss to name a few. No film has ever assembled such a powerhouse team. As each expert explains the details about ADD, he or she is backed up by at least two or three others. What you will see and hear is information from the most reliable sources on the topic of adult ADD.

The film creates recognition and laughter. That in itself is healing, especially for those struggling in isolation. Research has shown that laughter does improve health. While laughter may not be the best or the only medicine, it’s certainly the easiest to swallow.

“Although we’ve had counselling, and I’ve talked about it until I was blue in the face, it wasn’t until my fiancé saw your documentary that he “got it.” … I’ve never been able to put the whole picture together for him.” Focus Group Participant

In the end, Patrick realizes that he had resisted being diagnosed and getting treatment because “pretty much everything I knew was told to me by people who had no idea either.” He finds his own answer to the film title’s question, “You can’t love your ADD. But you can have ADD and love life.”

Bryan Hutchinson

Bryan, a published author, shares media based information on ADHD as well as personal stories that are usually presented in a very humorous light!

What About Bryan?

After struggling through a painful childhood, a frustrating young adulthood, and a decade in therapy, Bryan Hutchinson finally found the key to unlocking the complexities of his mind. He was diagnosed with ADHD, type 1 (inattentive) at 37 years old – and after his initial shock at the diagnosis, he was ultimately filled with liberation and validation, knowing finally that he wasn’t simply lazy, or a failure, or incapable of sustaining relationships and living a life of purpose. He embarked on a journey of self-discovery, learning along the way the power of positive thinking and reframing his negative self-image into a positive one filled with optimism.
As he learned more about ADHD, and met more and more people like him, who had felt like failures for their entire lives, who lived with pain and self-loathing every day, who felt powerless to change their lives, Bryan was filled with a need to bring to others the peace and hope that he himself had found. He wrote his first book, “One Boy’s Struggle: A Memoir – Surviving Life with Undiagnosed ADD” in the hope that people reading his book would know that the higher ground is out there, and more importantly, no matter how far down you are, the higher ground is within your grasp. Bryan has come so far, through therapy and mentorship, that it’s often assumed by those that don’t know him or haven’t read his book, that his ADHD is only a mild case. It’s only after you understand where he came from, that his current success becomes inspirational.

Bryan has become an advocate in the ADHD community. His blog, www.ADDerWorld.com , is an online journal of his experiences and opinions concerning life and ADHD. In many ways Bryan’s blog is a continuance of his first book. His second book, “The Brilliant Reality of ADHD”, is a collection of his personal blog posts, as well as new articles written especially for the book. He also created the www.ADDerWorld.ning.com social network, which is quickly growing to be one of the largest and most active ADHD websites on the net, where those touched by ADHD can come together as a community to support and encourage each other in both struggles and triumphs. Bryan’s dream for ADDer World is for it to become an organization of motivational encouragement, spreading positive thinking and positive redirection for those struggling with the frustrations of ADHD. He has participated in limited public speaking and looks forward to expanding in that area to continue to assist others in various ways, highlighting the realities of ADHD, and showing how positive thinking can help ADDers take control of their traits and realize their talents.
Bryan is married to a wonderfully supportive and inspiring woman, Joan. She has been a true guiding force in Bryan’s life, showing him unconditional support and unfailing belief in his abilities. Bryan and Joan spend time together watching movies and taking day trips to different cities, just to walk around and experience the sights. He devotes most of his spare time to advancing ADDer World, providing hope and inspiration for people with ADHD everywhere.
 
 

Sample Post
http://adderworld.com/blog1/2009/06/29/is-it-adhd-or-bad-luck/#more-1965
 
 

Is it ADHD or Bad Luck?
June 29th, 2009 · 25 Comments · 01 My Thoughts

A few weeks ago I was reminded of something which I sincerely and vehemently believed for a long time: Which was that I was cursed with a terrible case of life-long bad luck (if you have ADHD then you know what I am talking about). In my imagination I figured I must have done something terribly wrong in a past life and; therefore, I was paying the price for it in this life. Well, I was later diagnosed with ADHD, just as awful, I thought at the time, but not as unmanageable as pure, cross-a-black-cat, break-a-mirror, step-on-a-crack, bad luck.

Let me tell you what happened, and feel free to let me know if something similar has happened to you. Nobody wants to be alone in their follies, right?

I was checking text messages on my iphone, while following after Joan into a local McDonald’s. She was gaining some distance ahead of me and went in before me. Without looking up I opened the door and the edge of it caught me just above my left eye and on the ridge of my nose! It hurt so bad that I saw black for a few moments. My hands shot up to cover the area (dropped my iphone!) and I started saying a few choice words, you know, to help dull the pain, and when I took my hands away they were covered in blood (good thing I dropped my iphone). To make matters worse, I noticed three little girls looking up at me pointing, two had their mouths open in shock and the third had her other hand over her mouth, clearly trying to stifle her giggles! Worse still, the employees just stared at me without asking if I was okay or needed, I don’t know, maybe a napkin, or an ambulance perhaps?

Finally, I realized this was more serious than a bump and dashed into the bathroom and spent about 45 minutes cleaning myself up and getting the blood to nearly stop, it was an insistent bleeder. Meanwhile, Joan was searching for me everywhere, freaking out, especially after finding my iphone (yeah, think about that a moment). She finally knocked on the bathroom door and looked in. When she saw me, she was horrified and wanted to take me to the hospital (I had to calm her down), but all I wanted was some coffee and a salad – oh, and an extra large band-aid would have helped.

When we made it to the counter the staff still did not offer me any condolence or assistance – it is a good thing it wasn’t as bad as it looked or worse. I know it was my fault, but Jeeze, maybe a couple band-aids could have been offered. I was too embarrassed to ask, and wouldn’t let Joan ask either. I used a couple napkins to cover my wounds (I was a spectacle), we ordered our food and ate – I mean, I have ADHD, so this wasn’t my first run-in (pun intended), I knew what to do and it wasn’t going to stop me from eating.

The whole incident left a mark, in more ways than one.

Before I was actually diagnosed with ADHD, I did this sort of thing all of the time. Diagnosis didn’t cure me of such mishaps, but they are less frequent now and they usually do not draw blood, well, not as much.

Tara McGillicuddy, the author of http://myaddblog.com, is a woman with ADHD who is a professional ADHD Coach. Her blog is full of useful information about books, seminars, support groups and personal insights into the mind of a woman with ADHD. It is an insightful blog that helps anyone dealing with ADHD.
 
Tara McGillicuddy

I am a Senior Certified ADHD Coach and a woman with ADHD.

Tara McGillicuddy is an Senior Certified ADHD Coach . She has been educating and supporting people with ADD through her website Living with ADD for several years. She is also the director of ADDClasses.com.

Tara is a professional member of the ADHD Coaches Organization and the Institute for the Advancement of ADHD Coaching.
 
 
Sample blog post

This blog post can be found at http://www.myaddblog.com/2009/04/adult-adhd-and-thinking-the-worst.html

Adult ADHD and Thinking the Worst

It’s quite common for Adults with ADHD to automatically think the worst and jump to the wrong conclusions. Some of it is do to impulsivity and some of it is due to past experiences. When Adults with ADHD have a poor self image we automatically think the worst about ourselves and it’s quite often not the case.

So when you are thinking the worst about yourself stop for a few moments to ask yourself if you have all the facts. If you don’t then it’s probably a good idea to try and get them. As adults with ADHD we beat up ourselves enough for real things and we don’t need to beat ourselves up for things that may not even be true.