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> After four years in college, which were a mix of promise and opportunities torpedoed by procrastination, I worked 10, 12, 14-hour days to finish work that I w

> After four years in college, which were a mix of promise and opportunities torpedoed by procrastination, I worked 10, 12, 14-hour days to finish work that I was more than talented enough to finish in 5 or 6 hours. My happiness suffered, health suffered, and relationships died. > Then I finally admitted that maybe it was a little more than a willpower issue. If it a matter of lacking willpower, why was I at the damn office trying to work long after everybody else had left? Whatever the hell my problem was, it wasn't work ethic. Thank you. These two paragraphs are a perfect counterpoint to the uninformed claims I hear about ADHD all the time, so I'll probably mention them the next time I hear people claim that ADHD 'doesn't exist'. I think the only real problem is that ADHD has always been improperly named[0]. The actual condition itself has very little to do with attention. The condition is named not after the cause, but after a symptom - and worse, after a symptom that is not even characteristic of the condition. Not all people with ADHD actually exhibit attention issues as their primary symptom, or even at all. It's like referring to depression as "Excessive sleep disorder". Well, sure, excessive sleep is oftentimes a symptom of depression. But taking stimulants won't (necessarily) help, and trying to force people to "just wake up" (or, more commonly, "just be happy!") isn't a solution. It's no longer socially acceptable to tell dyslexic people that their condition doesn't exist and that they are "dumb". So why is it socially acceptable to tell people with ADHD that their condition doesn't exist and that they're "just lazy"? [0] Previously it was called ADD, and before that it was oftentimes classified as auditory processing disorders, etc.

visarga 13y ago
I don't like that it's classified as a disorder. It's a different style of cognitive activity, with its advantages and disadvantages.
- spacedmountain 13y ago
  What are the advantages?
  - JohnBooty 13y ago
    It's hard to generalize, but when paired with intelligence and so forth, ADHD symptoms like restlessness, curiosity, "not fitting in" etc. can work as positives. It's often been said that these can be beneficial traits in entrepreneurs.
    - ahknight 13y ago
      > when paired with No. The other traits are themselves beneficial. Do not confuse their success in spite of their ADHD with success because of their ADHD.
  - exelius 13y ago
    People with ADHD tend to be very fast thinkers -- indeed this is part of the "problem" because while we're having a conversation with someone, we've thought through every consequence of what you just said before you finish your sentence. Because of this, we tend to get to "outside the box" type solutions much more quickly than others because we can effectively execute parallel tasks in our minds and come up with an answer to a complex problem quickly. The issue then comes in translating the issue in a way that can be communicated with others; so much so that when someone with severe ADHD seems to be very pensive in thought, they're likely just trying to work through how to verbalize what they've been thinking since before you finished talking. Another hallmark of ADHD is actually the ability to "hyperfocus", which is almost an autistic-like quality. If I'm working on something I'm intensely interested in, I can work on it all day long and not notice that I forgot to eat both lunch and dinner. This happens whether stimulants are involved or not. It comes off as a lack of attention because, well, you ignore everything else unconsciously. When "hyperfocus" happens, you can lose tracks of large periods of time (we're talking 6 hours go by and it legitimately feels like 15 minutes.) I do agree that it's not so much a "disorder" as it is just a different way of functioning. It's advantageous in some lines of work (a lot of software developers tend to be ADHD because of the hyperfocus) and disadvantageous in others. There are coping strategies, but it's no different than the types of things non-ADHD people have to learn how to do -- the strategies just end up being a little different and focused more on reminding us to do things.
- darkarmani 13y ago
  > I don't like that it's classified as a disorder. It's a different style of cognitive activity, with its advantages and disadvantages. I'm sure the same can be said about all of the disorders like depression or anything else.
- ahknight 13y ago
  > advantages NO. NO. NO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xpEBE9VDWw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xpEBE9VDWw
  - exelius 13y ago
    It's not a "gift" or an "advantage", but it's not necessarily a disadvantage either IF the individual learns the proper coping strategies and can structure their work/life in a way that can make the ADHD less of a liability. It takes hard work.
    - jasonlotito 13y ago
      Learning to overcome disadvantages doesn't cease to make them disadvantages.
      - exelius 13y ago
        Ok, well how about this: I don't ever remember what happens in meetings. Because of this, I learned to take really good notes. As a result of my coping strategy, I always have a distinct advantage over people who don't have ADHD. I can look at my notes from 6 months ago and tell you what we talked about in a meeting. I don't really think of it as a "disadvantage" because it's really just about knowing your personal limitations. One of mine is that I can't remember shit. Some people struggle with complex math problems (which I would say is a bigger weakness than memory issues which are easily solved with an iPhone and a notebook.) It doesn't have to be a weakness if you manage it.
        flagg 13y ago
        Not being able to keep a complex math problem in ones head would be a memory problem as well, would it not... before my age 34 diagnosis - forget math all together... my working memory was abysmal; now I am completing 2nd year IT: ComSci. I have a chance, thanks to that "demon" stimulant medication, and a environment, where I am not told I am "lazy" any more. This article, while seemingly accurate, leaves out the obvious rare case of actual ADHD.
- ajcarpy2005 13y ago
  Sorry but that sounds like an after-the-fact rationalization rather than a sensible statement, especially given the piles of evidence that inflammation causes ADHD. I mean, sure, a chronic infection can teach you something but that doesn't mean we shouldn't fix it.
darkarmani 13y ago
> I think the only real problem is that ADHD has always been improperly named[0]. The actual condition itself has very little to do with attention. I think it should be called "executive function disorder."
- ahknight 13y ago
  Too broad; Asperger's is also considered an EF disorder. While there are many similarities (people in support groups for either tend to call the other "cousins") they are very different in presentation. Yes, it is an EF disorder, but one of many on the spectrum of EF disorders. That said, I can think of no better name at the moment.

visarga 13y ago

I don't like that it's classified as a disorder. It's a different style of cognitive activity, with its advantages and disadvantages.

spacedmountain 13y ago
What are the advantages?
- JohnBooty 13y ago
  It's hard to generalize, but when paired with intelligence and so forth, ADHD symptoms like restlessness, curiosity, "not fitting in" etc. can work as positives. It's often been said that these can be beneficial traits in entrepreneurs.
  - ahknight 13y ago
    > when paired with No. The other traits are themselves beneficial. Do not confuse their success in spite of their ADHD with success because of their ADHD.
- exelius 13y ago
  People with ADHD tend to be very fast thinkers -- indeed this is part of the "problem" because while we're having a conversation with someone, we've thought through every consequence of what you just said before you finish your sentence. Because of this, we tend to get to "outside the box" type solutions much more quickly than others because we can effectively execute parallel tasks in our minds and come up with an answer to a complex problem quickly. The issue then comes in translating the issue in a way that can be communicated with others; so much so that when someone with severe ADHD seems to be very pensive in thought, they're likely just trying to work through how to verbalize what they've been thinking since before you finished talking. Another hallmark of ADHD is actually the ability to "hyperfocus", which is almost an autistic-like quality. If I'm working on something I'm intensely interested in, I can work on it all day long and not notice that I forgot to eat both lunch and dinner. This happens whether stimulants are involved or not. It comes off as a lack of attention because, well, you ignore everything else unconsciously. When "hyperfocus" happens, you can lose tracks of large periods of time (we're talking 6 hours go by and it legitimately feels like 15 minutes.) I do agree that it's not so much a "disorder" as it is just a different way of functioning. It's advantageous in some lines of work (a lot of software developers tend to be ADHD because of the hyperfocus) and disadvantageous in others. There are coping strategies, but it's no different than the types of things non-ADHD people have to learn how to do -- the strategies just end up being a little different and focused more on reminding us to do things.
darkarmani 13y ago
> I don't like that it's classified as a disorder. It's a different style of cognitive activity, with its advantages and disadvantages. I'm sure the same can be said about all of the disorders like depression or anything else.
ahknight 13y ago
> advantages NO. NO. NO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xpEBE9VDWw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xpEBE9VDWw
- exelius 13y ago
  It's not a "gift" or an "advantage", but it's not necessarily a disadvantage either IF the individual learns the proper coping strategies and can structure their work/life in a way that can make the ADHD less of a liability. It takes hard work.
  - jasonlotito 13y ago
    Learning to overcome disadvantages doesn't cease to make them disadvantages.
    - exelius 13y ago
      Ok, well how about this: I don't ever remember what happens in meetings. Because of this, I learned to take really good notes. As a result of my coping strategy, I always have a distinct advantage over people who don't have ADHD. I can look at my notes from 6 months ago and tell you what we talked about in a meeting. I don't really think of it as a "disadvantage" because it's really just about knowing your personal limitations. One of mine is that I can't remember shit. Some people struggle with complex math problems (which I would say is a bigger weakness than memory issues which are easily solved with an iPhone and a notebook.) It doesn't have to be a weakness if you manage it.
      - flagg 13y ago
        Not being able to keep a complex math problem in ones head would be a memory problem as well, would it not... before my age 34 diagnosis - forget math all together... my working memory was abysmal; now I am completing 2nd year IT: ComSci. I have a chance, thanks to that "demon" stimulant medication, and a environment, where I am not told I am "lazy" any more. This article, while seemingly accurate, leaves out the obvious rare case of actual ADHD.
ajcarpy2005 13y ago
Sorry but that sounds like an after-the-fact rationalization rather than a sensible statement, especially given the piles of evidence that inflammation causes ADHD. I mean, sure, a chronic infection can teach you something but that doesn't mean we shouldn't fix it.

darkarmani 13y ago

> I think the only real problem is that ADHD has always been improperly named[0]. The actual condition itself has very little to do with attention. I think it should be called "executive function disorder."

ahknight 13y ago
Too broad; Asperger's is also considered an EF disorder. While there are many similarities (people in support groups for either tend to call the other "cousins") they are very different in presentation. Yes, it is an EF disorder, but one of many on the spectrum of EF disorders. That said, I can think of no better name at the moment.