Very interesting article, and it makes sense that it is a human trait that was useful in previous types of societies.
I am reminded of Einstein's comments about holding on the curiosity of a child. At some stage it would be interesting to consider what a positive education might do for ADHD people to hone their abilities and curiosity rather than suppress them. Perhaps something more intellectually adventurous, like Steiner schools, may develop their curiosity and problem solving skills?
I went to a Steiner school. I have ADHD and I thrived there. I have never medicated. I went to Stanford and have had a curiosity driven career! I think it can be an advantage in the right environments
Thank you for sharing that, and I am glad to see from your interests and posts that your curiosity hasn't been dimmed! I suspect that the fact that your parents were switched on enough to consider a Steiner school as a benefit for you suggests to me that your parenting was also a strong feature in your successes.
You also mentioned medication - it is sad, I think, that medicating children has been such a feature of childhood and parenting in America. It has long seemed to me that many normal range behaviours in children are made into 'symptoms' to be managed by a drug therapy regime, when the solution may lie in the home or local environment.
I will admit to considerable scepticism of an industry that takes chemicals and tests them to see what they seem to do to animals in the hope they can be prescribed as pharmaceutical treatments for illnesses, and at the same time encourages doctors that behaviours and ailments within the range of normal are turned into 'isms' requiring treatment, all with the sole purpose of generating increased profits for drug companies and their investors.
Further, of all the things we teach kids at school, supposedly to prepare them for life, we do not teach them parenting skills and they(we) are left to work that out for themselves. Utter folly, to my mind.
Very interesting... The attempt to reframe ADHD as a strength always seemed like cope to me, and my understanding of the research was that it was clear that it involved severe deficits in multiple life domains.
(For my MA thesis, I did a review on the history of scientific controversy around ADD/WO vs ADHD, and the status of SCT (sluggish cognitive tempo) as a potential symptom cluster or possibly a distinct disorder--last I heard, Barkeley believes the research suggests the latter...SCT is a separate, although not yet officially recognized disorder, albeit one that is comorbid with ADHD about 50% of the time, much like depression and anxiety are distinct but overlapping and very frequently co-occuring.))
The fact that you can have a genuine disability and also incidentally have strengths that can help you to compensate for it always made sense to me.
But this theory has the advantage of being falsifiable, and it rings true with my experience. Openness is my most extreme Big 5 score, and I've always been extremely curious. And it has been my "superpower"; I never did assigned readings but read difficult academic material for fun instead. And I finally put my ability to educate myself to use by becoming a self-taught programmer, by basically locking myself in a room for a year, going from having no career to speak of to being a senior dev in a few years.
And I've always felt...kind of out of time or something. Even though I've always been a bit of a loner, I do well in groups. The atomization of modern society always just felt wrong to me; I just felt in my bones that that's not how humans were meant to live. I can be very self-directed, but actually do well in hierarchy. I actually loved military boot camp. And I crave stimulation and challenge. I've always been into video games, but apparently unlike most, I actually want to (and do) do those kinds of things in real life: run, jump, climb, swim, parkour, explore, martial arts, archery... I've taken up ice plunges. I just need that kind of intensity to feel alive. (See the book, "What Doesn't Kill Us".) Modernity is killing us with comfort, and it just astounds me that so many people seem to be okay with that.
I am a researcher in this field (also neurodivergent), and I would recommend checking out the following, it was an eye-opener for me (discusses the Strength's Based Approach etc...): Fung, L. K. (Ed.). (2021). Neurodiversity: From phenomenology to neurobiology and enhancing technologies. American Psychiatric Pub.
This is a great interview and a very accessible way to delve into this high-level research. The findings remind me of a hypothesis I read in a book that I can wholeheartedly recommend: "Good Reasons for Bad Feelings" by Randolph M. Nesse.
He also discusses the advantages ADHD can offer in a gatherer society, as there is always a trade-off between continuing to gather in the same area (consistency, focus) and exploring new areas (curiosity), since returns in the same area will inevitably diminish. From an evolutionary perspective, these traits can be advantageous, but as the conditions we live in have changed, they may be perceived differently.
Thom Hartmann laid out that thesis very well in his book "ADHD: A hunter in a farmer's world". It was the first look at ADHD as an evolved adaptive trait that only becomes a "disability" when the environment changes.
Yep. I wonder if ADHD’s increased diagnosis coorelates with increased exposure to seeming even actual contradictions - High Functioning ADHD so to speak although I don't know if anyone with ADHD feels high functioning.
Afterall, this isn't a Communist country - we're not expected to “ignore the contradictions.” Contradiction seem like opportunity.
It's the seeming contradictions, particularly with reality, that get me, not the constructed ones.
Absolutely love this article. It’s such a refreshing take. I particularly appreciate the discussion of practical interventions to harness patients' strengths. This is exactly the kind of paradigm shift we need to embrace neurodiversity more fully! Have shared this article in my latest email.
This is a very believable thesis and one that perhaps corresponds to my particular life experience. I look forward to more detailed research on this relationship.
The is is so interesting! As a hyper curious person with ADHD, it’s definitely true for me. I spend so much time trying to obtain information that it’s actually a distraction in itself.
I seem to recall Edward Hallowell referring to something similar in his book, Driven To Distraction. He suggested that ADHD people might have been useful to our ancestors, as their curiosity and willingness to take risks would have made them the ideal candidates to test things out to see whether something was safe.
Very interesting article, and it makes sense that it is a human trait that was useful in previous types of societies.
I am reminded of Einstein's comments about holding on the curiosity of a child. At some stage it would be interesting to consider what a positive education might do for ADHD people to hone their abilities and curiosity rather than suppress them. Perhaps something more intellectually adventurous, like Steiner schools, may develop their curiosity and problem solving skills?
I went to a Steiner school. I have ADHD and I thrived there. I have never medicated. I went to Stanford and have had a curiosity driven career! I think it can be an advantage in the right environments
Thank you for sharing that, and I am glad to see from your interests and posts that your curiosity hasn't been dimmed! I suspect that the fact that your parents were switched on enough to consider a Steiner school as a benefit for you suggests to me that your parenting was also a strong feature in your successes.
You also mentioned medication - it is sad, I think, that medicating children has been such a feature of childhood and parenting in America. It has long seemed to me that many normal range behaviours in children are made into 'symptoms' to be managed by a drug therapy regime, when the solution may lie in the home or local environment.
I will admit to considerable scepticism of an industry that takes chemicals and tests them to see what they seem to do to animals in the hope they can be prescribed as pharmaceutical treatments for illnesses, and at the same time encourages doctors that behaviours and ailments within the range of normal are turned into 'isms' requiring treatment, all with the sole purpose of generating increased profits for drug companies and their investors.
Further, of all the things we teach kids at school, supposedly to prepare them for life, we do not teach them parenting skills and they(we) are left to work that out for themselves. Utter folly, to my mind.
Very interesting... The attempt to reframe ADHD as a strength always seemed like cope to me, and my understanding of the research was that it was clear that it involved severe deficits in multiple life domains.
(For my MA thesis, I did a review on the history of scientific controversy around ADD/WO vs ADHD, and the status of SCT (sluggish cognitive tempo) as a potential symptom cluster or possibly a distinct disorder--last I heard, Barkeley believes the research suggests the latter...SCT is a separate, although not yet officially recognized disorder, albeit one that is comorbid with ADHD about 50% of the time, much like depression and anxiety are distinct but overlapping and very frequently co-occuring.))
The fact that you can have a genuine disability and also incidentally have strengths that can help you to compensate for it always made sense to me.
But this theory has the advantage of being falsifiable, and it rings true with my experience. Openness is my most extreme Big 5 score, and I've always been extremely curious. And it has been my "superpower"; I never did assigned readings but read difficult academic material for fun instead. And I finally put my ability to educate myself to use by becoming a self-taught programmer, by basically locking myself in a room for a year, going from having no career to speak of to being a senior dev in a few years.
And I've always felt...kind of out of time or something. Even though I've always been a bit of a loner, I do well in groups. The atomization of modern society always just felt wrong to me; I just felt in my bones that that's not how humans were meant to live. I can be very self-directed, but actually do well in hierarchy. I actually loved military boot camp. And I crave stimulation and challenge. I've always been into video games, but apparently unlike most, I actually want to (and do) do those kinds of things in real life: run, jump, climb, swim, parkour, explore, martial arts, archery... I've taken up ice plunges. I just need that kind of intensity to feel alive. (See the book, "What Doesn't Kill Us".) Modernity is killing us with comfort, and it just astounds me that so many people seem to be okay with that.
I am a researcher in this field (also neurodivergent), and I would recommend checking out the following, it was an eye-opener for me (discusses the Strength's Based Approach etc...): Fung, L. K. (Ed.). (2021). Neurodiversity: From phenomenology to neurobiology and enhancing technologies. American Psychiatric Pub.
This is a great interview and a very accessible way to delve into this high-level research. The findings remind me of a hypothesis I read in a book that I can wholeheartedly recommend: "Good Reasons for Bad Feelings" by Randolph M. Nesse.
He also discusses the advantages ADHD can offer in a gatherer society, as there is always a trade-off between continuing to gather in the same area (consistency, focus) and exploring new areas (curiosity), since returns in the same area will inevitably diminish. From an evolutionary perspective, these traits can be advantageous, but as the conditions we live in have changed, they may be perceived differently.
Thank you for your comment! Yes this format seems to be a great way to introduce such topics.
Yes we are big fans of Randy Nesse here and his work - there may or may not be an interview with him in the works...
So interesting thank you! As someone with ADHD who is obsessed with concepts of evolutionary mismatch this really resonated!
Thom Hartmann laid out that thesis very well in his book "ADHD: A hunter in a farmer's world". It was the first look at ADHD as an evolved adaptive trait that only becomes a "disability" when the environment changes.
i like that she acknowledges the hardships and focuses on the ‘why?’ rather than pathologizing.
Yep. I wonder if ADHD’s increased diagnosis coorelates with increased exposure to seeming even actual contradictions - High Functioning ADHD so to speak although I don't know if anyone with ADHD feels high functioning.
Afterall, this isn't a Communist country - we're not expected to “ignore the contradictions.” Contradiction seem like opportunity.
It's the seeming contradictions, particularly with reality, that get me, not the constructed ones.
I like to unravel, not unpack.
Absolutely love this article. It’s such a refreshing take. I particularly appreciate the discussion of practical interventions to harness patients' strengths. This is exactly the kind of paradigm shift we need to embrace neurodiversity more fully! Have shared this article in my latest email.
Thank you Megan appreciate it!
This is a very believable thesis and one that perhaps corresponds to my particular life experience. I look forward to more detailed research on this relationship.
Wow, this just articulated my personal default cognitive operating procedure.
The is is so interesting! As a hyper curious person with ADHD, it’s definitely true for me. I spend so much time trying to obtain information that it’s actually a distraction in itself.
I seem to recall Edward Hallowell referring to something similar in his book, Driven To Distraction. He suggested that ADHD people might have been useful to our ancestors, as their curiosity and willingness to take risks would have made them the ideal candidates to test things out to see whether something was safe.
Very interesting read!
i always knew we were the witches they feared. 😏