Misdiagnosis
 

Hello,
I am on the final stretches now of receiving my Class II medical certificate. When I was younger I was diagnosed with ADD and prescribed Adderall XR. I have taken all of the steps required to get my medical including the psych. eval. I was told by a senior AME, who specializes in this sort of thing, that the only way I will be granted a medical is if the psych. evaluation shows that I don't have ADD. And he said that in the eyes of the FAA, if you are born with ADD, you have it for life. Therefore, if the tests show that I don't have ADD, it should also mean that I never had it, meaning it must have been a misdiagnosis. Now my dream has always been to become an ATC. I have a few questions concerning the ATC medical. First of all, I noticed the requirements for the ATC medical say no medical history or diagnosis of any psychosis. With the above in mind, If I pass the psych. exams, for my Class II medical, would that mean that I in fact never had a medical history of ADD? So with this in mind, how would I fill out the medical application for an ATCS medical?

Best Regards,
Robert

it sounds like you are in the process of applying for a special issuance. If you pass the psychiatric eval and testing a med cert will be issued and thus the ? on the application are accounted for. As far as misdiagnosis - dyslexia (not good) and hyperactivity were and are 'lumped' together.

I don't think I'm applying for a SI. I never had an issue with hyperactivity and I know that I'm not dyslexic. What happened was I went in to get my Class 2 in April. It got deferred and then I received a denial letter. However, the letter had a list of psychiatric tests I needed to get done for reconsideration. Now the AME I am working with said there is no SI for ADD, because, apparently, the FAA has no way of controlling whether or not you take your medicine on the day of the accident. So I got the testing done and I am going to re-apply with him this coming Friday. He said he should be able to call the agency and be able to grant me my medical the day of the exam. Basically, if I get my medical, I just want to make sure that I won't have to go through this whole mess again when I have to get my medical for ATC. My only other question is that if the tests show that I was, in fact, misdiagnosed, for my next medical, would I still need to put a check in the "Mental disorders" field on the 8500 form?

Best Regards,
Robert

i do not know the specifics about a physical for atc. If you get cleared by the psyc tests then answering no to mental disorders for this issue would be appropriate, for future faa airman exams and for any similar physical exams, IMHO

Alright. Thank you for your reply. I just didn't want to have to put down yes and then run the risk of having them defer it again.

Best Regards,
Robert

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