What is NOT Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
What is NOT ADD/ADHD!
ADD/ADHD is a controversial diagnosis. Not all the medical communities have embraced the diagnosis. Some clinicians think it is a normal variant; others think it is a disorder with unknown etiology; and still others think it is a disorder that follows the traditional disease model of “one cause, one cure”.
No matter how you interpret the disorder, there are still plenty of uncertainties about this disorder that researchers, clinicians, and health professionals are trying to make sense out of. Within the past decade, there are more observations and guidelines added to differentiate subtypes of ADD/ADHD as compare with the initial epidemic of newly diagnosed cases of ADD in the 1980’s. By observing and describing a “new” ADD/ADHD trait, this is not the equivalent of understanding the disorder. Rather, this points to the notion of how complex ADD/ADHD really is. Furthermore, it illustrates how much we still don’t understand about this disorder.
ADD/ADHD is not only an attention deficit disorder but rather an attention variability trait that favors human survival. Those with ADD/ADHD tend to compete better against the unknowns of our societal challenges as a non-agricultural society. The industrial revolution may have masked the ADD/ADHD traits through the skills and crafts needed for their livelihood during this era. Their skills, crafts, and some creativity allowed the ADDADHD person to be accepted as a person with enhanced value to the community.
Along came the technology revolution where the exactness of following instructions in a specific sequence is critical. This is necessary to a "language" to communicate with artificial intelligence (i.e. computers). Any deviation from the exactness of any small bit of information create a large gap in communication. Thus, "unable to communicate".
Therefore, a new "language" is necessary for the ADD/ADHD person to learn in order to compete successfully within the society they live. I think what we are observing is this lag (delay) in the ADD/ADHD not catching up to the guidelines set forth by the linear society in which they live.
What I mean by this is that there are rules in certain sequence that people must follow in order to arrive at the outcome. The ADD/ADHD evaluate the situation and quickly come to a strategy plan different from their linear counterpart. The ADD/ADHD person may not be able to delineate in detail the steps necessary to reach the outcome. They just do it, innately!
This is difficult concept for the linear people to grasp and understand. My hope would be for the ADD/ADHD person to embrace technology so that it can assist them to better function in our society. This is not to make light of their education and schooling. Reading, writing and arthrimetic is still the building blocks of success.
In my opinion, ADD/ADHD is a complex syndrome of traits that are part of the bigger picture of being a survivalist in the ever-changing world (environment) we live in; whether this is the U.S., Asia, Europe, Africa, or North and South America. Other parts of the world don’t look at ADD?ADHD traits as a “disease”, but rather an attribute.
Moreover, according to medial textbooks, the prevalence of the disorder is in the range of 7 to 10% of the U.S. pediatric population. In some cases, clinicians and researchers infered that ADD/ADHD children grow out of it by adulthood.
However, I think the prevalence rate as a whole in the U.S. is much higher; more consistent with a two to three times prevalence rate stated in traditional medical textbooks. Therefore, I will extend myself and estimate the true prevalence rate to be approximately 15 to 20 percent of the population.
ADD is not only an attention deficit disorder but have a paradoxical ability to “hyperfocus”. This hyperfocus ability is a survival trait and commonly contradicts the notion of an deficit disorder in the area of attention.
I am not using a play of words to explain this order. This is factually and observable in people with ADD/ADHD. Some ADD/ADHD people who have "attention deficit" can hyperfocus on a book, project, or assignment until it is completed.
I ponder about the notion that ADD/ADHD as a "paradoxical disorder" while I was in medicine. It is quite unlikely to have an "attention deficit" and the ability to "hyperfocus" within the same person. Therefore, this rationale does not hold water as an explaination for ADD/ADHD. Does this make sense?
For example; Let's take the concept of attention and try to rationalize our linear thinking to cope with the understanding of ADD/ADHD. The term deficit means you have (significantly) less than normal. Here the definition of "normal" becomes elusive. What is "normal" attention? Who decide what is normal attention? How do we measure normal attention? What is the relevancy of having normal attention? Until we can honestly answer those questions, we don't have a working definition of this disorder.
By merely describing a disorder has no relavancy to having an understanding of the disorder. If you don't understand the disorder, how can you treat the disorder? Sound confusing???
ADD/ADHD is not a livelong bondage to a life's disappointments.
ADD/ADHD is not a predisposition to end up in a penatentary; even though there's a disproportional high number of inmates who may have "ADD/ADHD". Having ADD/ADHD doesn't mean they will become criminals. That's a "fairy tale" scare tactic on the part of the mass media to increase profits at the expense of the "ADD/ADHD' afflicted person.
ADD/ADHD is not a diagnosis associated with a lower intelligence; on the contrary, ADD/ADHD people are very intelligent and creative. Their creativity usually gravitates toward their career choices in the entertainment, art field, and entreupreurs. Certain times when their intelligence is mis-align and mis-guided by integrity challenged people, they get into trouble with authority.
ADD/ADHD is not a gloom and doom diagnosis.
ADD/ADHD is not a pre-determined destiny of failures and disappointments. In fact, they are typically “late bloomers”; because they have made enough “mistakes” earlier and have learned from them. Once the lessons are learned, they will excel at their newly found passion. As supporters, we must be patient and wait for them to grow and contribute.
ADD/ADHD is not a traditional “Psychiatric” disorder such as schizophrenia, manic-depressive, etc. There are no cures for ADD, only pharmaceutical medications to medicate the person to behave acceptably within societal guidelines. Therefore, the same pharmaceutical regimen may have very different effects in different ADD/ADHD “patients”.
ADD/ADHD is not an attention disorder but an attention variability trait. When you find the ADD person’s passion, the “attention” part of the disorder will be diminished significantly or completely be eliminated.
ADD/ADHD is not a disorder of impulsivity. It is a way of processing informaiton in the decision making process. It is usually quick and somethings acted out before the consequencies are fully thoughtout. However, with appropriate coaching, schooling, and support, this same impulsivity will enhance an ADD/ADHD person’s value in society. My thought would be the notion that it is better to decide and take a stance rather than not deciding because of the fear of failure. If one never fails, one never lived! ADD/ADHD lives a full live.
ADD is not some restlessness or hyperactive individual with uncontrolled hyperactivity to do harm against someone (“bully”), something (“trouble-maker”), or “nervous energy”. ADD/ADHD is more consistent with the brain physiology of boredom. The analogy is to that of the “sleep mode”, “energy saving mode”, or “rest mode” of the computer. However, the brain needs some input of signals (i.e.“restless leg”, "fidgeting" etc.) to keep the person attentive to the task at hand. If not, the ADD.ADHD person would literally fall asleep.
Daydreaming is also another way of increasing signals to the brain. This is conscious controlled of placing impulses to activate the "bored brain"
The caveat of my what is not ADD/ADHD may be summary in "...he goes by the beat of a different drummer..."
ADD/ADHD is a controversial diagnosis. Not all the medical communities have embraced the diagnosis. Some clinicians think it is a normal variant; others think it is a disorder with unknown etiology; and still others think it is a disorder that follows the traditional disease model of “one cause, one cure”.
No matter how you interpret the disorder, there are still plenty of uncertainties about this disorder that researchers, clinicians, and health professionals are trying to make sense out of. Within the past decade, there are more observations and guidelines added to differentiate subtypes of ADD/ADHD as compare with the initial epidemic of newly diagnosed cases of ADD in the 1980’s. By observing and describing a “new” ADD/ADHD trait, this is not the equivalent of understanding the disorder. Rather, this points to the notion of how complex ADD/ADHD really is. Furthermore, it illustrates how much we still don’t understand about this disorder.
ADD/ADHD is not only an attention deficit disorder but rather an attention variability trait that favors human survival. Those with ADD/ADHD tend to compete better against the unknowns of our societal challenges as a non-agricultural society. The industrial revolution may have masked the ADD/ADHD traits through the skills and crafts needed for their livelihood during this era. Their skills, crafts, and some creativity allowed the ADDADHD person to be accepted as a person with enhanced value to the community.
Along came the technology revolution where the exactness of following instructions in a specific sequence is critical. This is necessary to a "language" to communicate with artificial intelligence (i.e. computers). Any deviation from the exactness of any small bit of information create a large gap in communication. Thus, "unable to communicate".
Therefore, a new "language" is necessary for the ADD/ADHD person to learn in order to compete successfully within the society they live. I think what we are observing is this lag (delay) in the ADD/ADHD not catching up to the guidelines set forth by the linear society in which they live.
What I mean by this is that there are rules in certain sequence that people must follow in order to arrive at the outcome. The ADD/ADHD evaluate the situation and quickly come to a strategy plan different from their linear counterpart. The ADD/ADHD person may not be able to delineate in detail the steps necessary to reach the outcome. They just do it, innately!
This is difficult concept for the linear people to grasp and understand. My hope would be for the ADD/ADHD person to embrace technology so that it can assist them to better function in our society. This is not to make light of their education and schooling. Reading, writing and arthrimetic is still the building blocks of success.
In my opinion, ADD/ADHD is a complex syndrome of traits that are part of the bigger picture of being a survivalist in the ever-changing world (environment) we live in; whether this is the U.S., Asia, Europe, Africa, or North and South America. Other parts of the world don’t look at ADD?ADHD traits as a “disease”, but rather an attribute.
Moreover, according to medial textbooks, the prevalence of the disorder is in the range of 7 to 10% of the U.S. pediatric population. In some cases, clinicians and researchers infered that ADD/ADHD children grow out of it by adulthood.
However, I think the prevalence rate as a whole in the U.S. is much higher; more consistent with a two to three times prevalence rate stated in traditional medical textbooks. Therefore, I will extend myself and estimate the true prevalence rate to be approximately 15 to 20 percent of the population.
ADD is not only an attention deficit disorder but have a paradoxical ability to “hyperfocus”. This hyperfocus ability is a survival trait and commonly contradicts the notion of an deficit disorder in the area of attention.
I am not using a play of words to explain this order. This is factually and observable in people with ADD/ADHD. Some ADD/ADHD people who have "attention deficit" can hyperfocus on a book, project, or assignment until it is completed.
I ponder about the notion that ADD/ADHD as a "paradoxical disorder" while I was in medicine. It is quite unlikely to have an "attention deficit" and the ability to "hyperfocus" within the same person. Therefore, this rationale does not hold water as an explaination for ADD/ADHD. Does this make sense?
For example; Let's take the concept of attention and try to rationalize our linear thinking to cope with the understanding of ADD/ADHD. The term deficit means you have (significantly) less than normal. Here the definition of "normal" becomes elusive. What is "normal" attention? Who decide what is normal attention? How do we measure normal attention? What is the relevancy of having normal attention? Until we can honestly answer those questions, we don't have a working definition of this disorder.
By merely describing a disorder has no relavancy to having an understanding of the disorder. If you don't understand the disorder, how can you treat the disorder? Sound confusing???
ADD/ADHD is not a livelong bondage to a life's disappointments.
ADD/ADHD is not a predisposition to end up in a penatentary; even though there's a disproportional high number of inmates who may have "ADD/ADHD". Having ADD/ADHD doesn't mean they will become criminals. That's a "fairy tale" scare tactic on the part of the mass media to increase profits at the expense of the "ADD/ADHD' afflicted person.
ADD/ADHD is not a diagnosis associated with a lower intelligence; on the contrary, ADD/ADHD people are very intelligent and creative. Their creativity usually gravitates toward their career choices in the entertainment, art field, and entreupreurs. Certain times when their intelligence is mis-align and mis-guided by integrity challenged people, they get into trouble with authority.
ADD/ADHD is not a gloom and doom diagnosis.
ADD/ADHD is not a pre-determined destiny of failures and disappointments. In fact, they are typically “late bloomers”; because they have made enough “mistakes” earlier and have learned from them. Once the lessons are learned, they will excel at their newly found passion. As supporters, we must be patient and wait for them to grow and contribute.
ADD/ADHD is not a traditional “Psychiatric” disorder such as schizophrenia, manic-depressive, etc. There are no cures for ADD, only pharmaceutical medications to medicate the person to behave acceptably within societal guidelines. Therefore, the same pharmaceutical regimen may have very different effects in different ADD/ADHD “patients”.
ADD/ADHD is not an attention disorder but an attention variability trait. When you find the ADD person’s passion, the “attention” part of the disorder will be diminished significantly or completely be eliminated.
ADD/ADHD is not a disorder of impulsivity. It is a way of processing informaiton in the decision making process. It is usually quick and somethings acted out before the consequencies are fully thoughtout. However, with appropriate coaching, schooling, and support, this same impulsivity will enhance an ADD/ADHD person’s value in society. My thought would be the notion that it is better to decide and take a stance rather than not deciding because of the fear of failure. If one never fails, one never lived! ADD/ADHD lives a full live.
ADD is not some restlessness or hyperactive individual with uncontrolled hyperactivity to do harm against someone (“bully”), something (“trouble-maker”), or “nervous energy”. ADD/ADHD is more consistent with the brain physiology of boredom. The analogy is to that of the “sleep mode”, “energy saving mode”, or “rest mode” of the computer. However, the brain needs some input of signals (i.e.“restless leg”, "fidgeting" etc.) to keep the person attentive to the task at hand. If not, the ADD.ADHD person would literally fall asleep.
Daydreaming is also another way of increasing signals to the brain. This is conscious controlled of placing impulses to activate the "bored brain"
The caveat of my what is not ADD/ADHD may be summary in "...he goes by the beat of a different drummer..."
posted by Dr Chan at 7:55 PM
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