Thought that occured to me via a conversation I had yesterday, and something I read today.
I know a ton of folks who, absent any clinical diagnosis, identify themselves as having ADD or "minor dyslexia".
Part 1- ADD:
ADD Wiki Page
I've got an (adopted) cousin who has been diagnosed with ADHD. It's unlike anything I've ever seen. Flying around the yard, talking a mile a minute, bizzare changes in topic of conversation without reason. Spend 5 minutes around him and it becomes clear that most folks you've met who self identify as having ADD have nothing close.
Part 2- Dsylexia
wiki page
This hit me while reading the really [censored] book "Heat" by Bill Buford this morning. He describes some chef with dsylexia and the full extent of his symptoms. It's pretty severe and a lot more than just mixing up a word or two.
I'm sure we've all heard this a lot, when somebody fumbles reading something "Oh, I've got minor dyslexia." This is just my guess, but I'm pretty sure you don't. You've read too fast, you're not paying attention, you do that thing where you see a word and make an assumption as to what it is without reading it (I do this a lot), but I'm pretty sure that's not called dyslexia. I think for the most part it's called "not paying attention.".
Discussion Time:
1- Why do people self-diagnose themselves with these disorders?
My supposition is that this is because most folks don't understand the full extent of these disorders. When they find some aspect of them in themselves, the find it makes a nice crutch that they can use to defend/reconcile some of their less than awesome attributes.
2- Have you done this? Do you think you have ADD or dyslexia but have never beeen diagnosed? If so why?