Is ADHD Really a Disorder?

"An increased need for stimulation among ADHDers has led to a medical view that ADHD is a disorder. This medical view is that ADHD involves a deficit in attention, distractibility, daydreaming, procrastination, forgetfulness, disorganisation, restlessness, boredom, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation. However, the problem with this view is that neurotypicals can also experience these symptoms when they're under-stimulated, just like ADHDers."

"To illustrate this, consider asking a neurotypical adult to sit alone and watch a television show made for young children, or to sit at a work desk doing nothing for a day. It would likely result in mind wandering, daydreaming, eyes scanning the room, fidgeting, frustration, boredom, and a desire to get up or find another interesting activity. We would not describe this individual as having an inattention, hyperactivity, mood regulation, or impulsivity disorder."

"Likewise, I argue that it would be a strange perspective to describe an ADHDer as having a disorder if sitting to watch a typical adult television show or engaging in a typical desk job for a day induces the same symptoms. The ADHDer simply has a greater need for stimulation in their activities. From this perspective, then, ADHD is not inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and mood instability; rather, these are distress symptoms that arise in everyone due to stimulatory misalignment with the environment."

An increased need for stimulation among ADHDers leads to classification of ADHD as a disorder marked by attention deficits, distractibility, daydreaming, procrastination, forgetfulness, disorganisation, restlessness, boredom, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation. Neurotypical people can display the same symptoms when under-stimulated, so those behaviors are not unique to ADHD. Unstimulating situations provoke mind wandering, scanning, fidgeting, frustration, and boredom in many adults. ADHDer individuals require greater stimulation for comparable engagement. ADHD symptoms therefore represent distress from stimulatory misalignment between person and environment rather than an intrinsic failure of attention or mood regulation. Using the label "ADHDer" affirms neurodiversity.

Read at Psychology Today