Adult ADHD Myths

Who knew that wearing my new t-shirt to the farmer’s market would cause such a fuss?  Instead of my usual sharing of brief assessments about sugar-snap peas or shitake mushrooms with other shoppers, I was drawn into a “debate” about ADHD.

Sure, I’m accustomed to ranting ADHD-denyers on the rough-and-tumble Internet, but not while strolling amid the produce vendors on a sunny Saturday morning.  Still, it was good to know that my verbal “gaslight-proof” skills match my written ones.

First, what does “gaslight” mean?  It harkens to the 1944 film Gaslight, wherein Charles Boyer’s character cravenly manipulates Ingrid Bergman’s character  to believe that she is insane. In psychological terms, “gaslighters” say and do things to make their victims question their perceptions, their knowledge, and their beliefs – all in an attempt to fulfill the gaslighter’s egocentric needs (financial gain, need to control others or to force others to conform to the gaslighter’s beliefs and perceptions, etc.).

Second, this wasn’t just any t-shirt. It was a strikingly good-looking t-shirt created for a Stride for ADHD Pride.  My friend Natalie Knochenhauer, founder of the Philadelphia non-profit ADHD Aware, does all such things with style and substance. Read the rest of this entry »

Since I posted this blog entry on recent research from neuroscientist Nora Volkow and colleagues, more detailed stories interpreting the study’s findings have become available. In particular, this report from MedPage today targets clinicians. That site also includes an audio interview with Dr. Volkow, below (despite a strong Spanish accent, Dr. Volkow does a good job of making complex concepts understandable to the layperson, in my opinion).

Okay, the headlines this week may not come as news to us. But, following the recent ADHD Hall of Shame entry, science-based reportage comes as welcome relief. The following news sources, among others, report the latest study by NIDA Director Nora Volkow and colleagues showing that, well, ADHD is real. Read all about it.

Here’s a sampling of the breaking headlines, followed by the press release from the researcher:

• BBC News: ADHD Brain Chemistry Clue Found
  US researchers have pinned down new differences in the brain chemistry of people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They found ADHD patients lack key proteins which allow them to experience a sense of reward and motivation. Read the rest of this entry »

High intelligence does not protect you from the effects of ADHD, a recent study indicates. Unfortunately, too many people mistakenly assume that high IQ rules out ADHD entirely.

Psychologist Thomas E. Brown, a prominent ADHD expert and assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine, has previously conducted several studies to learn more about high IQ individuals with ADHD. The latest effort is now available from the online edition of the Journal of Attention Disorders (for a fee to non-subscribers) and will be published in the September print edition.

The scoop, according to the press release from the Yale University Office of Public Affairs: Read the rest of this entry »

Is ADHD a modern “invention,” created by computers, fast food, or even…Big Pharma? Recorded history says no. In fact, a recently discovered medical text from 1798 describes, in some detail, disorders of attention, including the observation that some are likely hereditary.

Physician Alexander Crichton (pictured right, at his Cambridge University graduation) provided the first known medical description of disorders of attention in his three-volume medical textbook. Moreover, “he certainly deserves credit for being the first to describe adults with attention disorders,” says ADHD expert Russell Barkley, Ph.D., writing a commentary about Crichton’s work and its modern relevancies in the February issue of The ADHD Report, a newsletter that follows research and trends in the field of attention disorders.

Until the discovery of Crichton’s three-volume textbook (by the two Washington University researchers who wrote a paper introducing it), most medical historians acknowledged physician George Still as providing the first description of symptoms of what we today call ADHD, in children.

Specifically, in his lectures before the Royal Society of Medicine and later writing for the medical journal Lancet in 1902, Still Read the rest of this entry »

Myths about ADHD are persistent and pervasive. That’s why I created a nonsense-busting chapter in the book called “But I Heard That…: More Background for the Unconvinced.”

Myth #1 is excerpted here, and now here’s #2:

“ADHD is just an excuse for irresponsibility.”

Psychologist and ADHD expert J. Russell Ramsay has heard that line so many times he’s named it one of his top three myths about ADHD (the other two follow in future myth-munching posts).

As the associate director at the University of Pennsylvania’s Adult ADHD Treatment and Research Program, he’s noticed that clients often expend much-higher-than-average time and effort trying to meet their responsibilities—typically “twice the effort for half the result.” Instead of seeking an easy way out, he argues, “They want to gain a measure of predictable cause-and-effect in their lives.” Read the rest of this entry »

The best part of having a blog is being able to share with you wonderful essays written by other people. After all, my journalistic background is as an editor — the person who assembles and polishes the entire magazine or newspaper. Recognizing talent is what I do best!

My friend Lew Mills, PhD, MFT is a San Diego-based psychotherapist with remarkably thoughtful perspectives on ADHD. Having it himself and having children with ADHD, Lew knows of what he speaks. I’ve always enjoyed his writing, and I’m pleased that he’s allowed me to share this one — about why being “special” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Think Different Differently

by Lew Mills, PhD, MFT

What is the most universal appeal in commercial advertising?

OK, yes, sex. Sure, I’d like to believe that the model in the beer ad is really flirting specifically with me. But really, our culture’s most beckoning appeal is to be “different.” The Apple Computer campaign, advocating that you “think different”, exploits it directly. Read the rest of this entry »

A physician with the World Anti-Doping Agency contends that ADD (as he calls it) is being overdiagnosed in major-league baseball. More importantly, it is over treated with medication. On what does he base this? The fact that he has rarely diagnosed the condition throughout his career.

Fail to see the logic? Me, too.

Just when I think this blog can move on to topics other than ADHD medical treatment, another flagrant show of ADHD ignorance makes the headlines. Being a big believer in speaking truth to misperception, I just can’t let it pass.

Besides, it’s pretty good timing. You know those physicians-in-denial-about-ADHD that Dr. Charles Parker wrote about last time? This physician serves as a good example. Read the rest of this entry »

Many of us banged our head against the wall for years, never knowing that we were even dealing with Adult ADHD. The problem wasn’t just our ignorance. No, worse than that, the problem was that we believed the myths — totally wrong ideas about what Adult ADHD is and isn’t.

Respondents to the ADHD Partner Survey explain why they missed the signs of ADHD in their relationships (sometimes for decades) at my other blog, ADHDRollerCoaster.org:

In the next few posts here, I’ll excerpt a chapter from Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.? so we can bust common myths about Adult ADHD one by one.

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“Never in a million years would I have suspected ADHD!” Jennifer explains to the support-group for the partners of adults with ADHD. “I thought ADHD was a hyperactive little boy’s disorder. My husband is Read the rest of this entry »