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What is ADHD?

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neurotype that occurs in both children and adults. It is characterised by differences in: 

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  • Attention (usually determined by personal interest, novelty and urgency)

  • Internal or external hyperactivity (eg: racing thoughts or increased need for movement)

  • Executive Functioning such as time management (aka time blindness)

 

From a neuroaffirming perspective, ADHD is not a deficit but rather a different way of experiencing the world, bringing its own set of strengths, perspectives and challenges. ADHD’ers will face great difficulties in environments and spaces where their neurotype is not accommodated. When ADHD’ers are forced to act and function as a neurotypical person, they are likely to become stressed. Ongoing attempts at changing your natural ways of behaving and thinking is known as masking and can lead to being sick, exhausted and burnt out.  

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Our knowledge and understanding about the ADHD neurotype is improving all the time however much work still has to be done to reframe ADHD from being a defecit to being a difference. Not worse, not better, just different. When you work with me, ADHD will not be referred to as a defecit or something to be cured or treated. I view ADHD through a neuroaffirming lense, meaning that:

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  • I aim to understand the needs of neurodivergent (ND) people from their perspective

  • I aim to adapt the environment to meet ND needs

  • I aim to understand and respect neurodivergent communication styles

  • I aim to deliver therapies that support ND people instead of trying to “make them more normal”

  • I support ND people at the sensory/somatic level

  • I use the neurotype/identity/culture model instead of the medical/pathological/disorder model

  • I work from a strengths based perspective, not defecits focused

Common myths about ADHD

There are a range of misconceptions about what ADHD is and is not. Myths can be hurtful to those with ADHD and often perpetuate misinformation. Lets de-stigmatise and de-mystify the complexities of this unique neurotype.

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You might have heard the myth ‘people with ADHD are just lazy’. In fact, ADHD is an executive function difference, making initiating and completing tasks more difficult!

 

You may have heard the phrase ‘Oh, everyone gets a bit distracted’. In fact, those with ADHD get distracted more often and with more consequences and across more life domains. .

 

You may have heard the myth, ‘people with ADHD can’t focus’. In fact ADHD’ers can hyperfocus when they direct it to a task or topic they are interested in. ADHD’ers are likely to have difficulty directing attention to routine, uninteresting or multi-step tasks.

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You may have heard the myth, ‘ADHD is only in males’. In fact, girls and women also have ADHD and many are undiagnosed or late diagnosed.

 

You may have heard the myth, ‘ADHD only impacts children’. In fact, ADHD impacts people of all ages and there is no age limit on being diagnosed.

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You may have heard the myth, ‘ADHD is a lack of attention’. In fact, ADHD’ers have an abundance of attention and trouble controlling information to attend to at any given time 

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You may have heard the myth, ‘ADHD is way overdiagnosed’. In fact, ADHD is significantly underdiagnosed. According to the best practice guidelines for managing ADHD, many adults can be misdiagnosed with other conditions such as depression, anxiety and difficulties such as emotional dysregulation. 

Executive Function Differences 

The pre-frontal cortex (PFC) is the part of our brain just behind the forehead and located inside this area of the brain is a set of skills called executive functions. Our executive functions (EF) are designed to help us with daily living, and are crucial in helping us to execute tasks. The ADHD neurotype has executive function differences and many of these are linked to common difficulties faced. 

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Need to arrive at work by 9am? The executive function of Time Management will be required.

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Required to keep a neat and tidy workspace? The Organisation EF will be required here.

Difficulties with juggling multiple tasks at once? That’s the Time Management, Planning and Goal Directed Activities executive functions.

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Do you need to focus during a presentation or on something that you are not interested in? The Attention, Organisation, Working Memory and Problem Solving executive functions will be required here.  

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Someone has frustrated you and you need to manage your emotional response? The EF of Emotional Control and Response Inhibition will be needed.

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As you can see, everyday activities require your executive functions and often it is a combination of executive functions that are being called upon in any given moment. As an ADHD’er, neurological differences and differences in executive functions mean the above scenarios will be hard. You may also experience difficulties related to:

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  • Waiting, eg: in lines, traffic, queues

  • Acting before thinking things through

  • Engaging in activities without an immediate reward

  • Getting started on tasks

  • Finishing tasks

 

The work we will do together involves ADHD management strategies that help you to work with your brain. There are many ADHD strategies we can look at to assist you with executive function differences. 

ADHD Symptoms 

The key signs and symptoms of ADHD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) cover two main areas of difficulty: inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity.

 

Some individuals may exhibit primarily inattentive symptoms whilst others show more hyperactive/impulsive signs. Or you could be a combination of the two. Do you know which type you are?

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What we typically think inattention is/looks like:

  • Difficulty concentrating

  • Difficulty staying focused

  • Forgetfulness

  • Trouble organising tasks and activities

  • Tendency to lose things

 

Other lessor known signs of inattentiveness:

  • Procrastination

  • Poor attention to detail

  • Needing to re-read information to absorb it

  • Difficulty tolerating boredom

  • Easily distracted by own thoughts

  • Strong reliance on calendars, to-do lists and reminders/alarms

 

What we typically think hyperactivity-impulsivity looks like:

  • Fidgeting and restlessness

  • Difficulty sitting for long periods

  • Difficulty engaging in quiet activities

  • Difficulty waiting

  • Difficulty thinking things through before acting

 

Other lessor known signs of hyperactivity/impulsivity:

  • Feeling restless or agitated internally

  • Difficulty relaxing/sleeping

  • Excessively driven – always doing something

  • Feeling like others operate at a slow speed

  • Can be tangential in conversations

  • Able to focus on own interests for long periods of time

Where does ADHD come from?

Whilst we are still learning and discovering new information about ADHD, what we do know is the following:

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  • ADHD runs in families. Twin studies enrolling many thousands of children around the world have shown that the heritability of ADHD has nearly the same genetic contribution to individual differences in height – meaning it is highly heritable!

 

  • There are distinct patterns of brain activity and structure of the ADHD brain compared to those who are not ADHD such as​​

    • Differences in neurotransmitter activity such as dopamine and norepinephrine

    • Reduced volume in parts of the brain involved in executive functioning such as impulse control, organisation and time management

    • Altered brain connectivity networks within the brain meaning that executive functions are impacted differently in the ADHD brain

ADHD treatment options and strategies 

ADHD is a lifelong neurotype and not something to be cured. The management strategies that work for ADHD include:

  • Medication: stimulant and non-stimulant medications are regularly prescribed and have been shown to be helpful for ADHD symptoms. You will need to meet certain criteria in order for stimulant medications to be prescribed by your Psychiatrist

  • Psychoeducation – understanding yourself as an ADHD’er!

  • Building a positive neurodivergent identity which assists with improvements in self esteem

  • Understanding your past experiences which may include impact on self esteem, feelings of shame and being different to others

  • Compassion for self!

  • Executive function accommodations for planning and organisation, focus and productivity & time management

  • Sleep and wellbeing strategies

  • Variations of mindfulness, meditation and relaxation (that work for you!)

  • Managing impulsivity

  • Study strategies

  • Boom bust cycles, pacing, energy accounting/tracking

  • Strengths identification

 

What doesn’t work?

  • Focus on rewards and punishment

  • Textbook CBT – unfortunately you cannot reframe or rethink your way out of executive dysfunction.

Contact Me/Send Referral 

Options for contacting me 

Woman Typing on laptop during telehealth psychology session

M: 0409 306 357 (call or text)

E: tegancampbellpsychology@gmail.com

For GPs and Psychiatrists, referrals can be sent via Fax

Fax: 07 2141 6079

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Alternatively, if you would like me to contact you about appointment availability or have questions, submit the form below with preferred communication method (text/phone/email).

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Tegan Campbell Psychology practices and works on the land of the Yugambeh people. We pay our respect to Elders, First Nations People, culture, and recognise the enduring connection they have to land, waterways and spirit and honour this rich cultural heritage, wisdom and resilience.

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