Contrary to popular belief, ADHD is not necessarily a deficit in attention - or inability to pay attention. ADHD is often misunderstood. It is a neurodevelopmental deviation with a complex relationship between the brain and focus.
Inattentive ADHD is usually accompanied by a struggle to maintain focus in the things that do not interest us, procrastination, and having a gazzillion thoughts in short sequence.
Hyperactive ADHD commonly has a trademark of needing to move and be on the go. There are physiological reasons for this - it is not purely related to ants in the pants and the inability to sit still.
Combined presentation ADHD can see any combination of the above at any given point in time on a spectrum.
ADHD has been hugely stigmatised over the years and even though it can be hugely challenging, it need not be debilitating. Drs Hallowell and Ratey suggested the term VAST (Variable Attention Stimulus Trait) to move away from the 'disordered' type thinking.
This implies that the brain is not implicitly wired to not be able to pay attention but rather that the brain pays attention to different things in different amounts and that this occurs on a continuum through the lifespan. Whether this will catch on or not is unclear, however it does provide a much more affirmative way of thinking about ADHD.
Destigmatising anything starts with understanding it and changing the way we think about it <3
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