Let’s get acquainted!

Mike Testa, The ADD Advisor

My ADD Story

I was not diagnosed with ADD until I was 42 years old. My wife suggested “I get checked out” after she heard a radio interview with a caller who had been diagnosed with ADD in his early forties. She thought his life story sounded a lot like my own.

I dismissed my wife’s “diagnosis”—after all, I was a reasonably successful financial professional with a penchant for organization—or so I thought. Besides, I had been in counseling for years with a well-respected doctor and never once did he mention ADD.

I would later discover that much of my ‘success’ in life was the result of the many “strategies” I had unwittingly put in place over the years to manage my deficits. Strategies, that in hindsight, we are really about managing an ADD brain.

Only when our insurance changed (and I lost access to my long-time therapist) did I seek out an ADD specialist— ”just in case” my wife was on to something. She was—a month later I was formally diagnosed as having ADD and began an effective treatment program. Life has improved considerably.

Mentoring adults with ADD

After being diagnosed with an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, I joined a adult ADD group hosted by my doctor. Each week we met and discussed strategies for navigating life with ADD/ADHD.

Financial stress was a common theme in our discussions, and I learned that a significant number of adults with ADD have trouble managing the financial details of life.

Over time, I helped many of my classmates resolve their financial issues, often sharing with them strategies, techniques, and skills for ‘taming the ADD brain.’

Wanting to continue this work, I chose to refocus my practice on serving the needs of other adults who have ADD/ADHD.

Over the next several years, I enrolled in classes, trained to become a professional coach, and completed advanced coursework specific to the needs of individuals with ADD/ADHD.

For the last several years I have specialized in helping ADD-adults successfully manage the personal, financial, and business aspects of life.