send this page
printer friendlyHistory of Attention Deficit Disorder Resources
In the fall of l992 Cynthia Hammer was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) by her son's pediatrician. She discovered Adults with ADD by Lynn Weiss and learned, from the book's resource list, there was another adult with ADD in Washington State--Lisa Poast in Bellingham. Cynthia called and learned that there were several of us. What a relief and joy to no longer feel alone.
In the spring of 1993 the first national ADD conference for adults was held in Ann Arbor, MI. While there, Cynthia met Brian Howell, also from Tacoma. We decided to start a support group. For over one year we met monthly at Allenmore Hospital.. Our attendance ran from three to ten, but the same people rarely came twice. We changed the format to education, more than support, with a speaker at each meeting and time for questions and answers. We relocated to Jackson Hall. With these changes, our attendance grew to forty or more people. We celebrated our 10th anniversary of being incorporated as a non-profit on February 17, 2004.
Since then we have grown to have four additional support groups:
- A Seattle adult ADHD support group that meets monthly in the Plaza Café at University Hospital. The usual attendance is 60 or more people. In addition, they simultaneously run a group for non-ADHD partners in an adjoining room
- A parents' ADHD support group that meets on Mercer Island area. This group generally is attended by 20 or so people.
- A parents' ADHD support group that meets in Tacoma at Jackson Hall which generally has 20 or more people attending.
- An adult Support Group that meets in Olympia.
Each support group is supplied with a lending library, membership materials, and forms to send monthly reports to the Attention Deficit Disorder Resources (ADD Resources) office. Guidelines for support groups and for Attention Deficit Disorder Resources (ADD Resources) volunteers have been established as well as an application form for volunteers.
We produce the Adult ADD Reader, an l35 page booklet with articles written by adults with ADD as well as national ADD authorities. Our eight page quarterly newsletter ADDult ADDvice has been produced for nine years. Past issues are now available to members online. Our members, numbering over 800, receive their newsletter on line while those without email are sent a hard copy. In addition, we send out a free monthly eNews to those who have subscribed. Past eNews are available at our website. We have a lending library with over 450 titles in books, audiotapes and videos on adult ADD. Membership for $45 the first year and $25 for renewal, includes the Adult ADD Reader, the quarterly newsletter, access to the lending library, as well as discounts on workshops and conferences. At our website we have a National ADHD Directory with over 1000 service providers in the U.S. listed. Currently, listing in the Directory is free. We hope to grow this Directory to over 5000 listings. In addition, our website (www.addresources.org) has over 100 free articles on ADHD. We are working to increase traffic to our website, believing that this will increase membership, a major source of revenue for us.
Each fall and spring we sponsor conferences on ADHD with both national ADHD authorities and local ADHD professionals presenting. In addition, we offer one or more workshops during the year for teachers, parents, adults with ADHD or professionals. We offer teleclasses and web casts for those who don't live in the Puget Sound area.
In 2002 we opened an office, legally changed our name from ADDult Support of Washington to Attention Deficit Disorder Resources, and expanded our services to all ages of people with AD/HD. The office is open Monday-Friday, noon-3 p.m. People are encouraged to contact our office for information and support. Volunteers, with occasional secretarial help, did all the work of the organization until September, 2002 when we hired 15 hours a week of secretarial help. In the fall of 2003 the Board decided to hire Cynthia Hammer as a part–time Director. Currently she works in the office on Wednesday and works at home the rest of the time, while Joan, the office aide, works Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
Our sources of income have been membership fees, sale of books and materials, an occasional grant, as well as workshop/conference fees. Yearly income since our beginning has ranged between $3,000-$40,000. In 2006, our anticipated income is $110,000 with expenses of $100.000.
Outlook for the future will be guided by the strategic plan which was developed April 2007.
