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A frequent refrain from parents of kids diagnosed with ADHD: "My kid doesn't have problems with attention! He can play a video game for 10 hours straight! I hav

A frequent refrain from parents of kids diagnosed with ADHD: "My kid doesn't have problems with attention! He can play a video game for 10 hours straight! I have to tell him to go to the bathroom!" It's actually misnamed and many professionals are trying to shift the name to "Executive Function Disorder". The dysregulation swings both ways: can't focus on uninteresting things, but hyperfocus on interesting things. You might want to do some more research, because the resulting anxiety that you also mentioned is almost always co-morbid with ADHD. --a fellow diagnosed-as-an-adult ADHD guy who didn't know that was my problem until I was in my mid 30s. P.S. another common sign: "Johnny is a delight to have in class, but he's not working to his potential." or "Johnny gets all of his work done quickly and it's stellar work, but then he is a frequent distraction to those around him." or "Class clown who is not working to potential."

yamtaddle 4y ago
> "Johnny gets all of his work done quickly and it's stellar work, but then he is a frequent distraction to those around him." Yep, a variant on bright/"gifted" + ADHD presentation. ADHD as fuck, but smart enough that they get by kinda OK-ish regardless, and maybe even excel... until, perhaps, one day, that's not enough anymore and everything falls apart. The intelligence masks the ADHD enough that it might go undiagnosed and untreated for a long time. Fortunately, spotting these kinds of "twice exceptional" situations is a big focus in modern gifted education, so that's getting a bit better.
sph 4y ago
> It's actually misnamed and many professionals are trying to shift the name to "Executive Function Disorder". The way I describe it in a few words: focus and motivation are outside my control. I have no say in how they operate and what activates them.

yamtaddle 4y ago

> "Johnny gets all of his work done quickly and it's stellar work, but then he is a frequent distraction to those around him." Yep, a variant on bright/"gifted" + ADHD presentation. ADHD as fuck, but smart enough that they get by kinda OK-ish regardless, and maybe even excel... until, perhaps, one day, that's not enough anymore and everything falls apart. The intelligence masks the ADHD enough that it might go undiagnosed and untreated for a long time. Fortunately, spotting these kinds of "twice exceptional" situations is a big focus in modern gifted education, so that's getting a bit better.

sph 4y ago

> It's actually misnamed and many professionals are trying to shift the name to "Executive Function Disorder". The way I describe it in a few words: focus and motivation are outside my control. I have no say in how they operate and what activates them.