Welcome to ADDAQ.ca

Our Mission
This website's purpose is simple: To provide a single easy resource point for people with Attention Deficit Disorder (or people who suspect they may have ADD) living in Greater Montreal. Translation difficulties have slowed down our expansion en français but a major overhaul on the French side is also coming in the very near future.

What is ADD?
Says Terrence D Sole, BSc, MSc, DipEd, a professional ADD coach living in Toronto, "Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), also known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurological condition that can affect your physical, social, and emotional well-being."

"Often evident from childhood, ADD may be inherited. ADD may cause impulsiveness, restlessness, disorganization, hyperactivity, distractibility, and mood swings. People with untreated ADD often have higher incidences of substance abuse, difficulties with the law, poor social and marital relationships and a low self-esteem."

Treating ADD
Again, from Terrence Sole: "ADD cannot be cured, but it can be controlled. ADD is usually controlled with the use of medication combined with psychotherapy, counselling and coaching. While medication helps in about 70% of people, lifestyle accommodations are the key to controlling ADD."

ADD or ADHD?
You say "to-may-to" and I say "to-mah-to," but in the end we're still talking about the same squishy red fruit most people think is a vegetable. At one time the terms were used in parallel, with ADHD reserved for what was once known as "hyperactivity" and ADD reserved for the subtype of ADHD with all the disorganization and relatively little of the "hyper" behaviour. In the last few years the field has standardized around ADHD, with ADHD Type 1 referring to "hyperactivity" and ADHD Type 2 known as the "primarily inattentive type." You'll see all three terms interchangably on this website.

(And besides, "ADDAQ!" just reads better than "ADHDAQ!")

Not Just for Adults Anymore
Though ADDAQ is largely devoted to the issues facing adults diagnosed with ADD, don't go away if you're looking for information and resources about childhood and adolescent ADD. There's lots of overlap, and we offer some useful information for children, teens, teachers, parents and educators here. (Who knows? As our mandate slowly expands, maybe one day we'll change the word "Adult" in ADDAQ to "Awareness".)

The Issues with ADD
Attention Deficit Disorder is a difficult, perplexing condition. Is it a genuine lifelong problem with focus and attention or just "laziness?" Is it a real "disorder" or simply a different way of thinking and seeing the world? Does it actually require medical and psychological treatment, or can it just be toughed through?

These are wrenching questions under the best of circumstances. Coming to them late in life - as adults assessed with ADD often do - can make them seem insurmountable, and living in the Montreal region doesn't help. Though things are slowly improving and the resources are out there, it's often hard to find assessment, treatment and support for Adult ADD in this city. That's why ADDAQ.ca exists.

Dealing with ADD can be infuriating. It is often overdiagnosed in children and maddeningly underdiagnosed in adults. The mass-media seems to lurch drunkenly between opposite extremes, from "Everybody has ADD, so let's put Ritalin in the drinking water!" to "Nobody has ADD, so get to work you lazy bums!" (For more information about this, click over to Does ADD Really Exist? for a statement from medical doctors and researchers worldwide.) Under these conditions getting objective, informed medical and psychological advice is crucial. Asking your physician about ADD is a good start. Anecdotally though, some general practitioners in Quebec still seem uninformed about ADD, especially adult ADD. Again, anecdotally, there have been cases of people receiving erroneous and even harmful medical advice, up to and including "There's no such thing as ADD." That's why we are presenting a list of trustworthy medical and psychological resources available to adults who have ADD or who suspect they might. Please click the ADD Resources in Montreal link for more information.