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ADD/ADHD an interest deficit?
Since I've opened rADDical resources, it makes sense that people talk to me about ADD/ADHD. It's apparent that many folks think that it's all about NOT being able to pay attention. I recently received the following information from a supplement manufacturer.
Attention deficit disorder is just like the name implies-the patient or child has a very short attention span. In other words, they are able to concentrate or focus on any particular subject or project for only a very short period of time. ADHD is associated with a child who is very active and can rarely sit still. Obviously, these children are not able to focus on anything very long.
Although the name does imply it, it's not necessarily true. This is one example of the misconceptions (or incomplete truths maybe?) that exist.
People with ADD do have the ability to focus on things BUT this ability is directly related to how interesting the subject matter is to the ADDer. There is research to back up this notion. ADDCA (ADD Coach Academy) just released this video http://ow.ly/1fNWJ.
This is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that the individual can accomplish amazing things when hyper-focused. Imagine being able to work on a project and think of nothing else; no interruptions, no conflicting thoughts, nothing else; 100% of your energy is focused on completing one specific task. The curse? There ARE boring things we need to give attention to in life and quite often the ADDer struggles to complete such tasks.
In closing, one can understand why researchers are beginning to recognize ADHD as an "interest" deficit as opposed to an attention deficit. I look forward to seeing the science evolve.
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