What is ADHD?
- The name ‘ADHD’ is misleading and now considered by many scholars of ADHD to be a misnomer. Why? 1) It’s really considered a regulation disorder rather than a deficit disorder; and 2) It’s no longer seen as being so much about attention and instead to include action, motivation, energy, intention, emotion, etc. So much of self that Russell Barkley, PH.D., says let’s call it a self-regulation disorder. (Really the same as calling it an Executive Function Disorder, as Thomas Brown, Ph.D., might call it, but who knows all the affected Executive Functions by heart? See the ones affected by ADHD here: https://www.brownadhdclinic.com/the-brown-model-of-add-adhd)
- What the heck then are we talking about when we say self-regulation? Think of regulation related to ADHD as 4 S’s.
- Starting and Sustaining (attention, action, motivation, etc.)
- Stopping and Shifting (attention, action, motivation, etc.)
- Regulation differences between those with and without ADHD show up as two biases for those with ADHD:
- A bias toward what’s most interesting, exciting or, all things considered, the least mind-numbingly dull, boring, tedious, effortful; and
- A bias toward immediate gratification (what is most rewarding, least punishing right now).
- What are the costs of these biases?
- Neglect and procrastination of the boring, tedious things that save us money and time and keep others around us happy with us (less inclined to nag, throw things away, direct us regarding what to do) so that we keep our jobs, get the diplomas we want and otherwise achieve what we want to achieve
- The rewards that come with delayed gratification (e.g., graduating from college, job promotion, building your own business, buying a house, saving for retirement, going on vacation, and healthy body and mind — via exercise, enough sleep and healthy eating)
What are the causes of ADHD?
Research indicates the causes are a combination of genes and environment. The genes are necessary but insufficient. You have to inherit the genes, and ADHD is highly heritable (if you have the genes, your chance of having it may be over 70%). But this still leaves environmental factors. They turn our genes on, off, up and down. And, with ADHD, research indicates there are actually different kinds of ADHD that may have different combinations of genes and environmental “causes.” It’s complex, and some scholars suggest it is most useful to think of a spectrum (vs. categories).
What Brain Differences are there?
Research shows various differences between the brains of individuals with ADHD and without ADHD, including those related to the task-positive network(s) and default mode network (see MIT McGovern Institute research on adult ADHD), brain waves, and chemicals, with dopamine as a big chemical player. For more on dopamine, see the disrupted dopamine pathway hypothesis (or this video) and research supporting it…essentially, lower levels of dopamine for two dopamine receptors; dopamine is a neuromodulator that promises reward and motivates action. There are many other brain differences, but this is a sample.
What to do? Practice working with your brain instead of against it.
Resources
On ADHD:
OHSU’s Center for Mental Health Innovation
Jessica McCabe’s How to ADHD (Russell Barkley gave her the thumbs up a few years ago; I have found her mostly accurately reflecting the science)
tonyalippert.blog (this site)
adhddd.com/comics (Dani Donovan’s images on having ADHD; she is diagnosed with ADHD)
On the Brain(s):
Brainrules.net Videos
On Well-Being:
Greater Good Science Center at U.C. Berkeley
For Research Studies:
Tonya Lippert 
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