One thing that frustrates me beyond anything is the notion that ADHD is just a made-up term to explain away the common behavioral problems of school-age boys. That people who presumably have this disorder are, in fact, just “lazy,” that “bad parenting” is somehow involved, that they simply “lack willpower.” This archaic idea has been refuted time and time again and yet there are still those who resist the idea that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder has any value as an actual medical condition. If you, like me, have heard these arguments and are uncertain of what you can do to sway the minds of those who hold this opinion, then this blog post is for you. In the upcoming paragraphs, you will find statistically sound scientific evidence of the differences in the brains of people who have ADHD, both young and old, in comparison to a person without ADHD, or what would be referred to in the psychology world as a “neurotypical” brain. This post will be very information-heavy and I apologize. I promise to have something lighter for you to read in my next post.
It makes sense to me that the concept of ADHD would be difficult to wrap one’s head around for those who do not, themselves, have it, or care for someone who has it, as the person suffering from ADHD is prone to the same problems that we all have from time to time– impulsiveness, difficulty transitioning from one task to another, or emotional outbursts, for example. It is not that the person with ADHD has issues in these areas and presumes that no one else can possibly know what that is like, but rather the degree to which the person with ADHD experiences these issues.
Take transitioning from one task to another, for example, everyone, from time to time, has difficulty going from doing something that they really love–say, watching a movie or reading a captivating novel– to something less desirable such as a chore or running an errand. Neurotypical and non-neurotypical alike may find this transition hard to bear. However, imagine, if you will, a world in which not only that transition was difficult, but also the transition from doing something you don’t actually enjoy doing to something that you urgently need to do such as taking a break from folding laundry in order to eat or use the bathroom. You keep telling yourself “I’ll eat after I fold one more shirt.” or “I’ll pee after I’ve hung up these pants.” but when the time comes, you find yourself, instead, folding yet another shirt or hanging yet another pair of pants. That is one of the things I deal with on a daily basis as a person who has ADHD.
As it turns out, it isn’t at all a matter of laziness or will power and has nothing to do with how your parents raised you. Or, conversely, if you are the parent reading this on behalf of your child, fear not. Just the fact that you are on the internet, searching for answers, looking for support, shows how dedicated you are to trying to do right by your child. And from my mother to you: you are not alone. The truth is that ADHD starts in the brain, and from a very young age. Researchers still disagree exactly as to what causes it, though they do tend to concur that a large part of ADHD is due to genetics. Other things that have been suggested as possible causes are brain injury, lead exposure, cigarette and alcohol exposure in the womb, and nutrition or sugar consumption. None of these suggestions, however, have any basis in actual research. They are more speculative than anything and many doctors have dismissed them as possible causes entirely. Regardless of the cause, however, researchers have done several studies to try and explain exactly how ADHD affects the brain, so when I talk to people who believe that ADHD is not real, this is where I tend to begin. It is easy to argue against the psychology of ADHD as that is something that cannot be seen. It is much more difficult to argue against something that can be seen: the difference between the ADHD and the neurotypical brain, which I have outlined below. It may not change anyone’s opinion, but my hope is that, if nothing else, you will have peace of mind knowing that you are not lazy or crazy or a terrible parent.
As previously stated, the differences in an ADHD brain and a neurotypical one can already be found at an early age. One study showed that by the time a child reached 4 or 5 years of age, differences could already be observed between the brains of those with ADHD and those without and that the severity of these differences correlated with the severity of symptoms experienced. What exactly are these differences? Well, much of it has to do with the size of the brain, which, overall, is smaller in those who have ADHD, particularly in areas that are responsible for executive functioning (things like memory, organization, impulsiveness, emotional regulation, and the ability to focus and transition attention), and areas that support those functions. Size of a person’s brain has nothing to do with intelligence, in fact, people with ADHD have been found to have IQ’s all across the spectrum, but it does affect the neural pathway– in particular, connections between the frontal cortex area and the visual processing area are shown to communicate using alternate pathways– which means that those of us with ADHD not only think differently, but we also interpret visual cues differently. Not only that, but it also takes more time to mature (between 1 and 3 years longer) and some never quite make it to full brain maturity. Even those that do will continue to show difficulty with executive functions, regardless of whether or not they are currently or have ever been medicated for ADHD.
So you may be asking, “if they can find all this with brain scans, why don’t they just use this method as a diagnostic tool?”
Well, there are a few reasons for this, one of the most obvious being fMRI’s, PET scans, and other scanning techniques are–in comparison– much more expensive to perform than subjective tests. However, this isn’t the main, or even the best reason brain scans are not used. First of all, a brain scan will only account for how the brain was functioning at the precise moment the scan was taken. It cannot account for the ways in which function might be affected under various circumstances. There is also the matter of the way scan data is compiled, in that researchers generally average the data, so it may not apply to a particular individual, and the fact is that ADHD brain research is still relatively new, so the criteria has not been normalized enough for ADHD to be reliably diagnosed through these types of scans. Therefore, at least for now, subjective tests done by the individual as well as close family, employers, and teachers, currently collect more reliable data in which to confirm a diagnosis.
I realize this was a lot of information to take in. I hope that you found it informative, however, and if you are interested in finding out more information, I have linked a handful of websites that go more in-depth than what I wrote about here, even referencing specific studies that have been done in the past five years or so. If I hadn’t have chosen behavioral psychology as my focus, I probably would have gone into biological/neurological psychology as I find the inner workings of the brain extremely fascinating. I promise my next blog will not be so information-heavy but thank you for sticking with me nonetheless. Please leave comments if you have any questions you think I might be able to answer, or you can find me on social media through my Facebook Page, Twitter, or Instagram.
Links:
https://verywellmind.com/the-adhd-brain-4129396
https://sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170216105919.htm
https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/the-brains-structure-and-function
“everyone, from time to time, has difficulty going from doing something that they really love–say, watching a movie or reading a captivating novel– to something less desirable such as a chore or running an errand. […] However, imagine, if you will, a world in which not only that transition was difficult, but also the transition from doing something you don’t actually enjoy doing to something that you urgently need to do such as taking a break from folding laundry in order to eat or use the bathroom.”
^^ This is a really useful way of explaining it, thank you!
I’m so glad you found it helpful! Thank you for reading my post!