ADHD, Understanding us.

ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder gives completely the wrong impression of the way our brains work.  In fact, we don’t have a deficit of attention at all, we in fact have too much attention, and can have 4 or 5 things on our mind at the same time!  We are not able to ignore other stimulus going on nearby, and therefore we may have inconsistent attention.

We don’t have a disorder, or defective nervous system.  We have many positives from our ADHD nervous system.  My brain works very well, if I’m not forced to approach things in the same way as non ADHD people.  Many ADHD’ers have higher than usual IQ’s and in different ways to Neurotypicals and can think of solutions that others will not.  

ADHD can however be frustrating, because we never know when we will have full focus, and be in the zone, so time pressures and deadlines can be very stressful, and that’s why an above average number of ADHD’ers have their own businesses.  ADHD is certainly an interest based nervous system, and that is when we perform at our best.

Neurotypicals use simple thoughts to prioritise their work.  They evaluate tasks by looking at importance, what others feel are important, and rewards/punishment.

With ADHD‘ers things are different, we know what is important, we like rewards and hate punishments, but it does not motivate us.  We are more likely motivated by intrigue, the drama of an imminent deadline or competition, and because of that, we will never thrive in the usual sausage factory school environment.  We need to work our way, don’t try to squash us into the same mold as everyone else.  We are not broken, we just approach things differently.

Cognitively can help us block out the noise to help us concentrate in times that we would usually find difficult.