Kaman recalls frustrations of childhood

It was a hassle. Chris Kaman was an intelligent, but rambunctious youth.

"There was constant uproar with him," Pamela Kaman said. "You couldn't do normal things. You couldn't go to the movies as a family. It would always turn into a big thing."

Chris Kaman was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder at 2 1/2 and began taking Ritalin and Adderall soon after and through high school.

Kaman, who had trouble remembering plays and concentrating on the court in college and in the pros, disclosed Sunday that he was misdiagnosed.

Kaman actually had an anxiety disorder that caused him to overanalyze situations and scenarios.

"Growing up, I had to take the medication my whole life," said Kaman, who said he grew so frustrated taking the medication that he would come home from school and cry.

"I can't take back time. I wish I could. But I can't. It really bothered me to take the medication every day. I felt I had to take the medication to make me feel like a regular person. It was kind of backwards."

His misdiagnosis was discovered in July by Hope139, a five-year old organization based in Grandville, Michigan, that studies the brain. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, between 3% to 5% of children have ADHD, with symptoms that include hyperactivity and impulsivity.

According to Hope139's research of about 40,000 patients, up to 15% of those on medicine for hyperactivity do not have the affliction.

The medication Kaman took had the opposite effect on him, said Dr. Tim Royer, the organization's chief executive.

Kaman's brain was already working on overdrive and the medication provided an added stimulus. The dosage was increased to the point that Kaman's mind became overloaded and he became less animated. "He stopped being a behavioral problem, but he got too much medicine and it shut him down," Royer said.

Kaman stopped taking medication once he entered college at Central Michigan because he no longer had to sit in one place for more than a couple of hours.

But his concentration in college, and once he signed with the Clippers, was still lacking. He could focus on the man he was guarding, but not on weak-side defense or as Royer put it, "He could see the tree in front of him, but not the forest."