[ipsofacto]

Maybe, they are all Public Defenders and don’t have time to get diagnosed.

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[ipsofacto]

The Autism community have that great saying, “if you’ve met one child with Autism, then you’ve met one one child with Autism. I think ADHD will come to viewed in the same way. Sure, the researchers will continue to think in terms of a uniform disorder, but the troops on the ground will come to a similar conclusion. The ever shrinking gap between ASD, and ADHD should bolster that change.

That educational model is changing slowly, with whole learning, global thinking, and visual spacial teaching styles are now being adopted (not just accommodated). The rise of gifted programs in the US is interesting. Reading through the traits that are often found in gifted students; one can not help but think, these kids actually have ADHD, and high IQs (ssssh don’t let the gifted kid’s parents hear that).

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[ipsofacto]

“ @Ipsofacto, there’s also the issue of all these ADHD behaviours being seen as “moral failures”, and therefore, the result of laziness, stupidity, craziness, etc. that should have been firmly “corrected” in childhood.”

I think the spectrum would explain many attitudes in our society. Such a spectrum might have many more people suffering less severe symptoms of ADHD, than the small number who’s symptoms are severe enough to meet the diagnosis.

I have often wondered if the most vocal critics of ADHD are in fact on the spectrum. Such people might find discipline, and structure are all they need to be productive, and functional. At the same time, they would still have some degree of ADHD deficits. Recognizing those deficits, and their ability to overcome those perceived vices, would lead such people to believe that their struggles are normal.

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[ipsofacto]

Nature, or nurture?

I think recent research points to both. The right structured environment can have a huge impact on the development of a child with ADHD. Unfortunately, most kids with ADHD have at least one parent with ADHD……

If as now seems likely, ADHD is a spectrum disorder with a significant percentage of the population having symptoms, but being above the diagnostic criteria; then it’s easier to see how parenting (the right structure) has in the past been perceived as being the critical factor in outcome.

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[ipsofacto]

I think we are on the cusp of a whole new way of thinking about ADHD, and Autism. There is now talk of up to 50% of kids with Autism having ADHD as well. It’s just a matter of time before neurology, and genetic scientist put it all together.

I teach adaptive skiing and snowboarding. Nearly all the kids with Autism have a parent with ADHD. The great thing about having ADHD myself is that when a kid is late, or is missing ski socks, I can have empathy for the parent, rather than being annoyed.

Of the small group of white water kayak instructors locally (maybe twenty over the years), four have kids with autism (including myself). There is, or appears to be, ADHD in all the families.

Though I’m not noticeably Aspie, I remember being fixated with symmetry as a young child. I hated London buses with their asymmetric driver cab. It maybe be that just as Autism can come with a degree of ADHD, ADHD can comes with a pinch of Autism.

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[ipsofacto]

I think Amblyopia may well be linked to ADHD. Thiamine deficiency caused neural damage is a known cause of Amblyopia. Thiamine deficiency has also been linked to ADHD. My weak eye is physically perfect, so the eye doc believes the problem is nerve or neural.

I’m really leaning toward malabsorption as a major factor in ADHD. This would explain the numerous nutrient deficiencies that seem common.

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[ipsofacto]

“I’ll just have to wing it” is one of my common thoughts too. By the seat of my pants comes to mind as well.

“Sailing close to wind” has always struck a chord with me.

I’ll gas/petrol in the morning on my way to work….

I don’t need to take notes….

I’ll get to know everyone’s names over time….

My pay will be in by the time that check clears….

I can’t face the task at the moment, but I’ll do something else to make me feel like I’m making progress….

I thought it was somewhere around here when I looked at google maps before leaving home….

No problem, I’ll get that done in no time at all…

I like to have everything organized….

Who moved my ……

Has anyone seen a ……

hello, have you found a ******** in the store/pub/station….?

just a moment while I make some space for you to sit down….

Let’s take your vehicle….

If I wait till spring, those low tire pressure warnings will go away…

I’d better get an oil change before I take the car to dealer for a service….

I only just paid that bill…

No point in looking at that bill until pay day….

I’ll only be a minute….

I’m about five minutes away….

The traffic was terrible this morning….

There must have been an accident on the freeway…..

I could go on all night

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[ipsofacto]

It’s interesting that so many people seem to go out of their way to negatively comment on ADHD. Why would anyone who is not affected by the disorder have such strong feelings?… Why would they even be reading the article, if they didn’t believe in ADHD?

I guess if you can choose to believe in religion that denies reality despite the science, you can believe anything you want to, scientifically right, or wrong.

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[ipsofacto]

What they are describing is what I would call lateral multitasking; trying to do two, or more task that require immediate attention at the same time. The timing is what makes this type of multitasking dangerous, and inefficient.

Many task require periods of waiting. Structuring these waiting periods to allow other steps, or even other task to be worked on is efficient multitasking. Cooking for example would be crazy if one waited for each part of the meal to be cooked before starting to cook the next part.

Many jobs people do are much like cooking, in that several task might be overlapped in time. I have always enjoyed finding those kind of efficiencies, as it can be very stimulating. Sure, with ADHD, there will be the occasional mess up, but the tension that potential creates, keeps the work interesting.

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[ipsofacto]

I eat a very healthy diet, but still need to supplement. research has shown that people with ADHD are more likely to be Mg deficient that the general population. So I think there is more than just diet involved. Not that that isn’t important, but sometimes it is just not enough. Medications and other medical conditions can make make deficiencies even worse.

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[ipsofacto]

Can’t help with exercise addiction, I afraid.

Reading Carrie’s post about soreness after weight training, I used to suffer the same (delayed onset muscle soreness DOMS). Since starting supplementing Mg, I haven’t had any soreness. I have been reading the DOMS remedies sold for body builders all seem to contain magnesium.

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[ipsofacto]

I could get choked up reading this thread. When it comes to parenting, we are all so conditioned to be judgmental. My wife (who also has ADHD) is a gifted program teacher; so there’s always a few 2E kids in her classroom. Sometimes I have to remind her that the kids with ADHD almost certainly have ADHD parents. She totally gets it of course, but it’s still frustrating to be the teacher.

There is one parenting program I would encourage others to look at. Love and Logic was a help to us. As ADHD parents, we are never going to provide perfect structure, and consistency, but the general theme is especially helpful given our tendency to overreact.

The first idea is that disciplinary consequences should always be logical. I think this is important because that’s the way the ADHD brain works. The second idea is that you as a parent should show empathy and understanding, while still enforcing the consequence. This so much reduces the resentment a child might feel. An clever device they emphasis, that again is great for ADHD parents, is not to feel pressured into finding an immediate, and maybe less logical consequence. It’s OK to say, “I’m so upset by what you have done, I can’t think of the right consequence at this moment. Don’t worry about it for now, I’ll come up with something later, when I feel calmer”. Of course the hard part is to remember later.

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[ipsofacto]

Scatty, yep, still no editing.

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[ipsofacto]

Satty, thanks for the invite.

I do have a vested interest. I have two grown daughters who live in the UK. Both of their lives have been severely impacted by undiagnosed ADHD.

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[ipsofacto]

Finally get to be able to post again (thanks admin), too much to hope to able to edit as well 😉

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