What It Is and Isn't

What is this condition, how do you get it, how is it diagnosed, can it be cured and how is it best treated? A condition that needs 4 words to adequately describe it must indeed be complex. What picture comes to mind when someone mentions the name? A naughty little boy with too much energy causing chaos in the classroom, the shopping mall, or at home? You may be right - some hyperactive boys may have ADHD, but the condition is far more complex than just hyperactivity.

It is so easy to paste a label on someone. Everyone, whether they have ADHD or not, has at least two or three ADHD symptoms. ADHD often presents with symptoms that may be similar, or even identical to other conditions. Each person who has ADHD is affected differently.

On its own, ADHD is a complex condition that is characterised by paradoxes and what we call “Incomprehensibles.” These will be explained in detail in other parts of the website. When you have finished reading this website you will have a very good understanding of exactly what Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder is and, importantly, what it isn´t.

We explain the different types of ADHD, as well as looking at the symptoms and impairments. We also talk about the Co-occurring Conditions that may be present in someone with ADHD and the consequences of having ADHD for both children and adults. Throughout this book we refer to those who have ADHD as ADDers. It is much less of a mouthful and includes children and adults with the full spectrum of ADHD symptoms.

Let's now delve further into what ADHD really is. We're going to look at facts backed up by proper research and solid evidence. Ever since 1798 when Sir Alexander Crichton defined a condition similar to ADHD, medical science has explored this paradoxical condition.
His definition was a simple one-liner; ‟The incapacity of attending with a necessary degree of constancy to any one object.”

The next significant event occurred in 1944 when one Leandro Pannizon synthesized a compound called methylphenidate. Ten years later in 1954 Ciba-Geigy Pharmaceutical Company marketed this compound as Ritalin. This replaced Benzedrine as the medication of choice for ADHD, and it has remained so to date.

Somewhere along the line an entire library of stories masquerading as facts sped around the world. We have seen some of these stories already in previous chapters. I spend quite a bit of time checking whether something I have heard or read is factual. This can be a murky business as non-experts blatantly masquerade as knowledgeable people who can be trusted.

Then there is relatively new concept of ‟alternative facts” first introduced to the world by Kellyanne Conway a senior counsellor to US President Donald Trump back in January 2017.  She later tried to define the term as ‟Partly cloudy, partly sunny,” or ‟the glass half full or the glass half empty.” None of her explanations held any sway for long.

The reason for the above is that you will find facts that are verifiable. Assumptions and speculation are clearly identified as such. There are always people who want to profit from desperate ADHD parents by selling them products that promise to cure ADHD without having scientific research to back up their claims.

This is especially true when it comes to Over-the-Counter medications and supplements where there is no - or little requirement to prove claims about the product. The controversy surrounding Ritalin acted as a turbo-charger for the creation of myths and alternative facts, leading to the non treatment of many young people, and adults as well.

In my humble opinion this is at very least scandalous treatment of children. In fairness, many Mothers not to medicate their children as they believed these alternative facts, and one should give them the benefit of the doubt. One group of people who are not in the same league are those who believe that ADHD - and maybe other conditions as well - can be treated and even cured by diet. The selective use of foods can never deliver the effectiveness of medication. Use food as a preventative measure, and as a supplement to medication, but not as front line medication competitor!

There is no magic bullet to cure ADHD and neither is there one on the horizon. But why would you want to change the positives that ADHD and coupled with appropriate medications? Before spending money on ‟miracle products” ask to see peer reviewed scientific research proving their claims. Many will claim to have ‟decades of research.” In this case the question that must be answered is, ‟if your research is so good, why don't you offer it to your peers to review it?”

Nearly every major invention in world history was created by someone who had ADHD. Later in this book you will learn about the left and right brain, and how left-brain dominant people would have to have every kind of luck if they were to deliberately create a new invention!

Most creative people have some form of ADHD. ADDers are important in the world order, but generally our behaviour is different to non-ADHD people, we simply do not conform. Sometimes conformity is inflicted, even hammered into us.

 Image Top: Maggy Bullet 

Image Middle: Dave Pughe-Parry  

Image Bottom: Franz Bachinger