ADHD Isn’t

The following is my opinion. I am not an academic. I’m just a person with ADHD. There is an ocean of research about ADHD out there. I suggest you dive into it before relying on the word of any single individual. That said…

Alex approached me to do this blog and I thought it was a great idea. After all, the main reason we set up this project was to educate people about ADHD. A huge part of that must involve challenging misconceptions. There are some nasty ones out there. In fact, ADHD has been riddled with controversy since at least the 1970s. It has been at the centre of raging debate and consequently those with the disorder have been stigmatized and side-lined as other parties fought to decide whether they believed it was real, or whether medicating with stimulants was ethical, or whether ADHD was actually caused by declining standards of parental strictness, video games or sugary foods.

I have noticed a trend of people putting forward their own opinions on why the incidence of ADHD has been growing. Why are there more and more diagnoses these days? It’s a little irritating that so few spot the most likely explanation: there are more diagnoses of ADHD because there are more doctors trained to diagnose ADHD. The number of people with the disorder has remained, proportionately, the same. The number of people lucky enough to be diagnosed has, thankfully, been growing.

ADHD is not caused by social media shrinking everyone’s attention spans; that’s one of the more recent theories I heard. Naturally it was on a podcast completely unrelated to ADHD. A podcast I quite like, so the sudden ill-informed input left a bad taste in my mouth.

ADHD is neither caused nor cured by diet. Proper nutrition can improve the symptoms of ADHD. But I’ll point out that proper nutrition is known to improve everyone’s cognitive functioning, not just ADHDers. This idea is harmful because it stops parents from appropriately treating their children when they get the chance, and it encourages the idea that parents are somehow to blame for their child’s disorder. On that note…

Strict parenting does not cure ADHD. The “back in my day we just called them naughty children and caned them a bit” argument is alarming when viewed from today’s cultural context. I’m pleased to say you come across this one less and less. What is so insidious about it is there is a gritty little kernel of something in there. If you start beating your children every time they get distracted, you drastically raise the stakes for them staying focused. It doesn’t make your child better at dealing with boredom, it just makes the exercise terrifying rather than boring. They’ll try to avoid those situations all the more when they get the chance. It only results in failure at education and serious self-worth problems. As Billy Connolly said of his diagnosis late in life:

“So apparently I’ve got ADD. Doesn’t feel any different from when I thought I was stupid.”

(This is my memory — couldn’t find the exact quote.)

Oh yeah and the main problem with this argument is: you are beating up children WTF is wrong with you? Even without violence no amount of parenting skill or rule-setting is going to completely offset the symptoms of ADHD. It should be accommodated for and understood. Not driven off like the plague.

ADHD is not caused by video games. Just no. The amount of shit that has been blamed on videogames is getting weird guys. Murder, gang culture, sexism, vision loss… ADHD. Games are representative of the societies which spawn them. If a game about sex is selling loads it means people are into sex. People don’t go out and steal cars because they were taught to do so by Grand Theft Auto V. You don’t blame surgeon simulator on a massive increase in the number of home surgeries.

I guess the reasoning for this one is the same as the reasoning for the social media one. People think the instant gratification inherent to videogaming will damage your attention span. Actually, video games are one of the elements in life ADHD people are able to hyper focus on. Consequently, ADHDers often get into games in a big way. If you are a parent, you don’t have to fight this. You can even use it! 30 minutes of computer gaming represents the perfect reward for 30 minutes of tidying, or homework. Get down with the short-term rewards!

OK we’ve covered some causes. Let’s look at some other misconceptions:

ADHD isn’t real:

I just don’t know what to say to this. The idea is so damning and dismissive that the people voicing it can’t realise the harm they are causing. There’s an element of conspiracy theory to it which is partly fuelled by the way healthcare works as a business in the United States. People stand to make money from selling prescriptions. So, some parents assume they must be being ripped off. I don’t hear them making the same arguments about antibiotics, but there you go. In the UK however, the National Health Service must pay to treat ADHD. Because the NHS doesn’t stand to make any money, they don’t invest in phoney science. So, if they give you a diagnosis at cost to themselves, it doesn’t make much sense to disbelieve them. The NHS has not been conned by an American pharmaceutical company. They have been convinced by decades of research. When pressed about the controversy surrounding ADHD, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) concluded:

[…] because the current therapeutic treatment interventions and methods of diagnosis for ADHD are based on the dominant view of the academic literature. NICE […] conclude[s] that despite such criticism, ADHD represent[s] a valid clinical condition

This is drawn from the NICE guidelines for diagnosis and management of ADHD.

I have spent some time researching the proponents of this argument. Marilyn Wedge Ph.D. how I wish I’d never heard of you. I am almost annoyed at myself for looking, but I had to be sure.

Here is why this idea is so damaging:

In attacking ADHD, you are attacking some of the most shameful elements in people’s lives. Uprooting their sense of self-forgiveness, their understanding of why they struggle (and they do struggle). You spin all of that found peace around and tell them no, it’s your fault. Few know better than those diagnosed later in life what it means to not be responsible for all those hard memories.

People with ADHD are more creative than other people

This idea is especially prevalent within the ADHD community itself. It gives us something to be proud of together. So many of us fester feelings of worthlessness, it is so appealing to have something like this to hang your hat on. But as clinical psychiatrist Russell Barkley points out: these people are successful in spite of their ADHD. ADHD is not a gift. Presenting it as such is harmful to our cause. People at large will never take ADHD seriously as a disability if we insist on lauding it as a superpower. People with ADHD often end up in creative careers, but I believe they are more driven there by coping mechanisms, self-esteem trouble and turbulent lives than by inborn talent.

Maybe it’s true that people with ADHD are better at lateral thinking simply because they are distractible. But the hardest part about creating something is finishing it. People with ADHD have no help from their disorder when it comes to being prolific.

You grow out of ADHD

Fair enough — this was thought true until relatively recently. We just need the cultural view to catch up. It is now known that around 80% of diagnosed children will still show symptoms into their adulthood. I was listening to a BBC podcast a few months ago in which a bird keeper described the minds of crows as “like children with ADHD except they never grow out of it.” Perhaps we’re more similar than he realised.

ADHD isn’t just for men

For some reason boys are diagnosed at a higher rate than girls. In fact, girls with ADHD are diagnosed an average of five years later than boys. A good chunk of the reason for this is thought to be cultural. People have different expectations for the behaviour of girls than boys. Let’s not get sucked into a patriarchy discussion here.

Research indicates that ADHD manifests differently for girls. They tend to be more inattentive than hyperactive (although beware the generalisation fairy). It’s a thorny topic, but know that ADHD isn’t just for boys.

ADHD is not trivial

Because it has been so pushed back against, and because it is less obvious than Autism or Downs syndrome, ADHD is thought to be not all that serious. ADHD is no paper cut. It is profoundly disabling. Undiagnosed, ADHD is more than capable of ruining lives. Recent research shows it is a worse indicator for life expectancy than all the other major risk factors. It is worse than smoking, worse than diabetes, worse than obesity and worse than alcoholism, mainly because it can lead to all those things with a bit of impulsivity and dangerous driving thrown into the mix.

If you do nothing about it, ADHD will ruin your career and wreck your love life. It will trash your body, land you in prison and make a fool out of you. ADHD is not to be underestimated.

ADHD isn’t understood

This is the main thing ADHD isn’t. ADHD needs allies. It needs compassion and empathy. It needs people to stop attacking it. It needs a bit of support. Those who are undiagnosed need to know. Those who are diagnosed could always stand to know a bit more. If you would like to know more about what #ADHDis (or isn’t) then check out the hashtag on Twitter or Instagram. You can also check out the Adult ADHD YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3o_Syji6Ymz_Y8o5WKO4DA

or watch an expert:

https://youtu.be/YSfCdBBqNXY — Russell Barkley — Essential Ideas for parents.

Though this video is titled for parents it is perfect for anyone looking to understand their own ADHD and/or their own childhood from the perspective of ADHD. Though it is now 10 years old it is still extremely relevant. I encourage everyone to give it a look. Russell Barkley is a great communicator.

Have a nice day.