Real Talk

10 Things About ADHD Parents Must Know

by Kevyn Gohu
May 4, 2023

ADHD is a lot more than kids and people not being able to sit down and focus.

Whenever someone mentions ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), the first thing that comes to mind is a child who can’t sit down, always running around, and can’t focus. Or in Tagalog, these kids are the makulit ones or the kids that teachers and parents say hindi mapakali. While those are the most common forms of ADHD in children, they may look different in others. It’s why there are different medicines. Some help control a person’s activity and impulses, such as Ritalin and there are others that make it easier to focus like Concerta. Here are ten things parents need to know about ADHD.

1. ADHD has different types

There have been different ways of categorizing ADHD variations. Some say there are three main types and four sub-types of ADHD while some will say there are seven main types. But because ADHD shows itself differently, pediatricians — especially those who specialize in development — define the disorder depending on which symptoms are present. Below are the three most known types:

Hyperactive-Impulsive Type. Considered the least common, people with this kind of ADHD have a lot of energy but are not easily distracted, according to John Hopkins Medical School. However, they are also prone to hyper fixation — they put so much effort and attention into something that it’s extremely difficult to break their focus away from it.
Inattentive and Distractible Type. Those who have the Inattentive ADHD Type are not usually the ones running around and screaming. Rather, they are the ones teachers and parents catch daydreaming. Energy-wise, they are not hard to run after. But they are hard to sit down and talk to. They also tend to come out as more sensitive because they’re processing a bunch of things all at once.
Combined Type. Considered the most common form of ADHD hence the stereotype, Combined ADHD is when they can’t control their energy and focus. They are quick to jump topics, lose their things, and easily get overwhelmed all at the same time.

Eventually, ADHD also developed four new types which some studies originally considered as sub-types while others acknowledge them as a specific variation.

Limbic Type. The depressive kind of ADHD; those who have Limbic ADHD often suffer from low mood, excessive helplessness and guilt, and low self-esteem to the point of self-loathing.
Temporal Lobe Type. Those who have this variant of ADHD may act irritable and suffer lapses in memory.
Ring of Fire Type. Personality-wise, some will claim they are the “nastier” variant. Highly unpredictable, they are extremely sensitive to things around them (i.e. light, sound, etc.) which makes them extra irritable and anxious.
Anxious Type. This kind of ADHD shows the most physical symptoms. Constant headaches and stomachaches, and they often freeze up. They also tend to be the most pessimistic.

2. People with ADHD have inconsistent (not poor) performance

Poor performance differs from inconsistent performance where the former calls out the lack of quality. Since the energy levels of those with ADHD are highly influenced by the chemicals in their brain, they will have days wherein they are performing great and days where they are just “stuck.” Unfortunately, it’s not easy to control which can frustrate people, appearing lazy to those who don’t understand.

3. One of the cooler abilities of ADHD: Strong Pattern Recognition

In those who have ADHD, a part of their brain known as the Amygdala works differently. Because the Amygdala helps people decide, judge, and process emotions, some of those with ADHD can appear more empathetic. Kids and adults with ADHD, although some may think they’re oversensitive, have a strong sense of intuition, pick up vibes, can read people’s intentions, and may appear to have the ability to predict the future.

Unfortunately, this makes it harder for them to enjoy stories because they can “predict” who dies and what the ending is.

4. Lazy Lightning: The preference for shortcuts

Many of us, especially those who are highly conservative, hate shortcuts. But those with ADHD have a term for an over-reliance on shortcuts: lazy lightning. They define it as the “easiest and quickest” way to do a task. Doing this helps them because it lessens one thing to worry about. It’s the saying, “out of sight, out of mind” which is why when cleaning up, they usually just dump everything in a box and live with a “clean” mess.

5. Those with ADHD are frustrated with themselves more than anyone

People often think that kids or adults with ADHD don’t get frustrated. But that’s far from the truth: their hyper-fixation makes them more aware of their flaws than anyone. Unfortunately, there’s only so much the mind can do when controlling their impulses. Sometimes, these episodes hit out of nowhere which makes it difficult for them to make friends. Most people with ADHD also suffer from depression or anxiety because of it.

Those with ADHD also suffer something known as Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria, making them more susceptible to criticism. They feel that they’re never good enough and they think everyone hates them precisely because they know their flaws better than anyone.

6. It’s a result of dopamine dysregulation.

The brain relies on a lot of neurochemicals with Dopamine being responsible for most of a person’s behaviors. Unfortunately, ADHD makes the brain unable to control how much Dopamine to release. With their brains erratically releasing the said neurochemical, they can go from 0 to 100 immediately when trying to motivate themselves. Unfortunately, this also makes them highly sensitive to frustration, disappointment, and anger with themselves and other people.

7. Those who have it are often creative

While a lot of studies talk about the negative impact of ADHD, some have discovered that those who do have it may have a greater sense of creativity. Their divergent way of thinking allows them to solve problems in a more creative way although, those who are more traditional and conservative may find themselves at odds because their methods may “break” society’s preferred structure.

8. People can wean off ADHD medicines

Kind of like how moms wean their babies off breastfeeding gradually, kids and adults can gradually wean themselves off their maintenance medicines. However, it’s not something they can just stop. When they need to wean off, they need constant supervision and contact with their psychiatrist in case symptoms get worse.

9. ADHD can exist and even cause other mental disorders

A lot of times, ADHD can be the underlying cause of other mental health problems like anxiety, depression, and many others. With the constant stress of trying to control their brain, kids, teens, and adults can suffer from depression because of how helpless they feel when the symptoms hit and they have a hard time controlling it.

10. People with ADHD don’t maliciously break rules

What differentiates ADHD from Narcissism is that although both break the boundaries, those with ADHD just need a reminder of where the line is. Narcissists willfully ignore those boundaries and constantly push them, making all sorts of excuses to justify their actions. However, this isn’t to say that those with ADHD can’t become narcissists. But unless narcissists have a psychiatric history of hyperactivity and impulsive behavior since childhood, they can’t claim ADHD.

ADHD: A Divergent Way Of Thinking

ADHD became a disorder because of how much distress it causes in daily life. In a world that heavily depends on structure, those who have it may find it difficult to adapt. But some studies argue that ADHD may be an evolution of humankind that we don’t fully understand yet. Before diagnosing, however, always check with your pediatrician. There’s a lot to consider before diagnosing.

References

Baird, J., Stevenson, J. C., & Williams, D. C. (2000). The evolution of ADHD: a disorder of communication?. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 75(1), 17-35.

Boot, N., Nevicka, B., & Baas, M. (2020). Creativity in ADHD: goal-directed motivation and domain specificity. Journal of attention disorders, 24(13), 1857-1866.

Collings, R. D. (2003). Differences between ADHD inattentive and combined types on the CPT. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 25, 177-189.

Gonzalez-Carpio, G., Serrano, J. P., & Nieto, M. (2017). Creativity in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Psychology, 8(03), 319.

Hoogman, M., Stolte, M., Baas, M., & Kroesbergen, E. (2020). Creativity and ADHD: A review of behavioral studies, the effect of psychostimulants and neural underpinnings. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 119, 66-85.

Milich, R., Balentine, A. C., & Lynam, D. R. (2001). ADHD combined type and ADHD predominantly inattentive type are distinct and unrelated disorders. Clinical psychology: science and practice, 8(4), 463.

Swanepoel, A., Music, G., Launer, J., & Reiss, M. J. (2017). How evolutionary thinking can help us to understand ADHD. BJPsych Advances, 23(6), 410-418.

Weiss, M., Worling, D., & Wasdell, M. (2003). A chart review study of the inattentive and combined types of ADHD. Journal of attention disorders, 7(1), 1-9.