The Misunderstanding Called ‘ADHD’

THE MISUNDERSTANDING

CALLED 'ADHD'

Sophie Hunka, Year 13, Gellhorn

ADHD is one of those disorders that are really poorly named. ‘Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ’ , also known as “ can ’t sit still disease ” . Having ADHD myself, I don ’t feel as if this label is entirely accurate, in fact, my attention deficit and hyperactive tendencies aren ’t even the worst part of my disorder. It is only the part of my disorder that affects other people—particularly neurotypical people—either through being overly chatty, jumping from subject to subject, or even just bouncing my leg. My own disorder is named on how other people perceive it. Most people probably know the key hallmarks of ADHD: a lack of focus, daydreaming, slow at work, impulsive, etc., but there are so many other aspects that the people around me aren ’t even aware of and are simply brushed off. It is also worth noting that a lot of the symptoms or features I am discussing in this article are not exclusive to ADHD and may overlap with other disorders such as bipolar disorder, depression, autism and more. These are just my experiences.

ADHD is a neurodivergent disorder that develops throughout childhood and is quite similar to autism, also being a neurodivergent. Autism and ADHD are largely linked biologically and how their symptoms can overlap. A key example of this is the difficulty in understanding social cues. People with ADHD or Autism may have difficulty with eye contact, getting into other people ' s space, reading when it is appropriate to speak and oversharing. So dear teachers and friends, I promise I didn ’t intend to be rude when I did these things, they ’ re simply in my nature. Plus, these things aren ’t necessarily a ‘disadvantage ’ . Many popular actors and YouTubers have ADHD including Emma Chamberlain, Dream and Paris Hilton. Part of their appeal is their eccentric personalities, demonstrating how some people can turn their apparent ‘disadvantage ’ into an asset.

Something I wish someone gave me a heads up that with my ADHD diagnosis, along came ‘Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria ’ . This is a very extreme response to a perceived or real-life rejection that one has experienced. This may express itself in disappointment, frustration, angry outbursts, low self-esteem and anxiety. This occurs in about 99% of teens and adults who have ADHD and doctors speculate it often occurs because of an overactive brain.

The brain of someone with ADHD is extremely overactive and hypersensitive in an attempt to increase their dopamine. Any type of rejection or perceived negative emotions can trigger a stress response and cause an emotional ‘ overreaction ’ considered inappropriate for the situation. This feature has led me to a number of uncomfortable situations with teachers and friends wondering why I was left hurt over a situation that they considered to be normal.

ARTWORK BY RACHEL LI, YEAR 12, WU

Although I have no idea how to deal with this and still suffer with it daily, I do know it helps to express to those around me exactly why I feel the way I do and that I just need some space to deal with it.

Another similarity ADHD has with Autism is something I like to call ‘the ick’ . This is hypersensitivity to certain stimuli because the brains of neurodivergent individuals function and perceive the world in a very different way. The best example of this is food. Personally, I can ’t stand the texture of mushrooms. Even the sight of them makes me want to throw up and accidentally eating one is a disaster. A friend I have can ’t stand bubbly drinks so she ’ s never had soft drinks in her life, the sound, texture and taste of it just freaks her out. One of the difficulties I’ ve found with being hypersensitive to food is being labelled as a ‘ picky eater ’ which is weirdly looked down upon. It is often associated with being rude, childish, or worst of all, ‘ unsophisticated’ but that' s not always the case. I promise I’ m not intending to be rude or snobby, bean sprouts are just masquerading as noodles and that makes me uncomfortable. This hypersensitivity can also take place with certain sounds, smells, tastes and textures in any environment. You may have a friend who can ’t stand the sound of velcro or doesn ’t like the feeling of cotton against their skin. If someone you know expresses they have a hypersensitivity to something (ADHD or not) try to adhere to it and make reasonable accommodations. I’ m very grateful for the dinner chef in Harrow who has accommodated me to make sure I have a meal with no textures that make me uncomfortable!

The most notable part of ADHD, being its distractibility, is largely caused by an impairment in executive functioning. Executive function helps allocate mental tasks to other parts of the brain such as focus, processing verbal information and starting tasks. You know how when you climb into bed and turn off the lights, you suddenly have to go to the bathroom but it takes you a minute to convince yourself it’ s worth it? That' s how I feel when I have to start any task. I’ ve spent hours just looking at a blank Google Document, trying to even start an essay (sorry Ms Crofton). So far I have tried to let my teachers know that I may struggle finishing assignments on time and I also set early due dates for myself to try and make sure it gets done on time.

Lastly, my most apparent ‘ annoying ’ trait is stimming. Whether it' s the clicking of pens, bouncing of legs, whistling or flapping of hands. Stimming is the shortened name of ‘ selfstimulating behaviours ’ and usually is simple, repetitive self-soothing actions. Everybody stims to a certain degree, cracking your knuckles when you are nervous or cupping your hands together when you ' re frustrated is a stim. Although there is no

‘ clear ’ cause of stimming, scientists assume it helps block extra sensory input or provide extra sensory input as needed. This was the original purpose of things such as fidget spinners and fidget cubes. It allows those who need to stim a way to do it without bothering the people around them. I know that I sometimes shake my hands or fidget within my classes and it can be very distracting for the people around me. In the past, I’ ve attempted to use something like a stress ball to help reduce distractions; however, in class, I was met with some criticism from those around me. I hope an article like this will make these tools more acceptable within a classroom setting.

ADHD and other neurotypical disorders have been labelled a ‘Disability ’ and I still don 't know how I feel about this. I wouldn ’t recommend this disorder to neurotypicals because it does come with a lot of downfalls (some of which are included within this article) that significantly disadvantage me. However, I wouldn 't feel like me without it. Hyper focusing on an interesting topic in class helps me complete most of my homework assignments, being sensitive to stimuli has made me a better photographer and visual editor, and a dysfunctional central executive has helped me with multitasking my assignments and broadening my interests.

Although ADHD is almost exclusively represented through children, children with ADHD will grow up to be adults with ADHD which is why it’ s so important to learn how to manage symptoms of your disorder and educate those around you on what these symptoms may look like. If you would like to know more about ADHD and things you can do to help, ‘3 Defining Features of ADHD That Everyone Overlooks ’ by ‘ADDitude ’ is an interesting resource.