ADHD-Europe

ADAPT

Verein ADAPT (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders – Working Group for the Advancement of Individuals with AD/HD and Specific Learning Disabilities) is a non-profit organisation which was founded in Vienna, Austria, in 1999 by concerned parents, educators and therapists.

Its main goal is to support families, educators and therapists who are confronted with children and adolescents with ADHD with/without hyperactivity, specific learning difficulties and other comorbidities (accompanying medical and social problems). Although not specifically stated in the association’s statutes, ADAPT also aims to assist those adults who suspect that they, too, may have AD/HD, like some of their younger relatives, as well as adults who have already received a diagnosis.

We are particularly concerned about the possible consequences for adolescents and adults with this syndrome who have neither been diagnosed nor treated and who may be suffering from psychiatric disorders (e.g. anxiety, depression), addiction (to alcohol, nicotine, drugs or gambling) and/or social problems (e.g. financial trouble, divorce, violence, homelessness). At the same time, we acknowledge that there are certainly people of all ages and in all societies with this syndrome whose lives are not greatly impaired by it, mainly because the structures within their families, educational systems or professional lives provide them with exactly what is required for them to thrive. There are also those with unique talents, who, despite impairment in certain areas, are able to rise to great creative heights and become great leaders, artists, writers, musicians or inventors. If ADAPT is able to support families and educators in Austria while AD/HD children are still young, it is our hope that these selfsame people will become successful adults one day, using the aspects of their personalities which are so typical of AD/HD to help them achieve this aim.
Besides the ADAPT Newsletter, which is published 4 times per year and read all over Austria, sales of specialized literature and the mailing of news regarding AD/HD from the Internet, we lend books and videos to members and organize meetings in Vienna every month, either with a speaker or purely for discussion and making new acquaintances, a regular discussion group for parents and teachers, as well as regular meetings for adults. Lectures are also given by ADAPT board members.  New support groups in the provinces (with their own names and types of organization) receive support in the form of information and the opportunity to publicize their work all over Austria in our newsletter.

The association’s statutes stress the "compilation and dissemination of information and scientific papers”, which to us means providing members with background material obtained from the field of evidence-based medicine and not from dubious sources where the term "peer-reviewed journal” is unknown.

Our website, http://www.adapt.at  is our primary information broadcasting resource.
ADAPT cooperates closely with other Austrian and European associations for the advancement of individuals with AD/HD.  We take part in congresses, EU meetings and other cross-border functions on a regular basis, are in constant e-mail contact with associations and professionals, both in Austria and around the world, and hope that this intensive networking will enable those in Austria who find AD/HD an impairment at some stage of their lives to enjoy a more promising future.

Verein ADAPT is a non-profit association which depends on membership fees and donations for its continued existence. All the work is done by unpaid volunteers who dedicate a great deal of their spare time to the AD/HD cause in Austria. Why do we do it, you may ask…..well, considering the lack of knowledge of the subject and virtual absence of any ADHD networking here prior to 1999, we felt that it would not be fair to keep all the information we had gleaned from abroad to ourselves, merely for the benefit of a limited circle of individuals. So we founded ADAPT and, as with any other organization of this kind, landed ourselves with an enormous volume of work, which would ideally be done by paid staff in addition to volunteers. Unfortunately, our means do not yet permit us to employ anyone or even to have an office. We hope that the situation will improve in the not too distant future.

It is possible to join ADAPT in person, by mail or online, by filling in the form entitled "Mitgliedschaft” on the "Wir über uns” page and transferring the membership fee separately to our bank account. Donations are, of course, always more than welcome (Bank: PSK; sort code: 60 000; acct. no. 9211 0795)!