Face It — People with ADHD Are Wired Differently

9 Comments: Face It — People with ADHD Are Wired Differently

1. Hi cactusflower99, I am deeply sorry to hear that you suffered extreme abuse as a child.

   Your experience, however, is not universal. I have ADHD and did not suffer abuse. My children have ADHD and my wife and I did not abuse them.

   Paying attention to the ADHD research allows us to ‘blame’ the right cause. ADHD is passed down inter-generationally through our genes, not our actions, beliefs or attitudes.

2. cactusflower99
   I was diagnosed in 2018 at age 55 I’m an individual with ADHD that wasn’t subjected to extreme psychological, emotional abuse during the critical developmental years (0-7) since being diagnosed I now believe both my parents were ADHD so were my grandparents on my father’s side, my brother, my nephews, their mother, aunts, and uncles, as well as both my children, all undiagnosed, My children and I, can’t recall any traumas, I can’t really speak for the others apart from to say I know of no trauma, though I had no idea I was ADHD I knew from my own experience how to treat and get the best from my undiagnosed ADHD kids, I had no problem with them, unfortunately, their school was totally inapt and lacked any knowledge on how to care for ADHD kids they caused us no end of grief. Perhaps school was the trauma, thankfully that was all a very long time ago.

3. As an adult woman with ADHD, I’ve been learning a great deal about ADHD from different perspectives for many years now. I believe that ADHD is the result of childhood trauma which is passed from one generation to the next. I truly believe you will not find a single individual with ADHD that wasn’t subjected to extreme psychological, emotional abuse during the critical developmental years (0-7). I am one such individual.

   If parents raising ADHD children want their lives to improve, they have to work on themselves. ADHD is passed down inter-generationally. Until the adult raising the ADHD child comes to term with their own traumatic childhoods, they won’t be able to help their kids.

4. For whatever reason, I am not able to reply directly to the comment above about treatment being so expensive. I have ADHD and I’m a stay at home mom. I have a psychology degree and I was identified gifted as a child. I am 49 years old and don’t believe I would be able to hold down a job the way my brain is working right now. I’m doing the best I can with trying to help my kids, especially my daughter, who really seems to be on the extreme end.

   My husband is a police officer and while we do have insurance, no psychologists who are worth their salt take insurance. We can’t afford a coach. We can’t afford a tutor.

   I really feel like I would like to Go back to work, but my husband does not understand what my daughter is going through, because he does not have that as part of his own experience. I feel like I have to be the one to be the front runner on this.

   I am mentally exhausted end it affects my anxiety and depression. I feel like I am not able to help my daughter to the degree that she needs.

5. Thank you for the article. Great content. Could you please share the references to the scientific studies cited in the article? That would be helpful to inform the readers about the significance and magnitude of the results summarized in the article. Thanks again!

6. This is an excellent article, thank you so much. Hard facts are so important. So much of what you read about ADHD and try to explain to ‘non-believers’ all sounds quite vague and like you’re trying to come up with excuses but this is actual facts and figures so thank you!

   Funny note, I wrote this comment days ago but must have got distracted before pressing post comment 🙂

7. This is an excellent article, thank you so much. Hard facts are so important. So much of what you read about ADHD and try to explain to ‘non-believers’ all sounds quite vague and like you’re trying to come up with excuses but this is actual facts and figures so thank you!

8. I believe ADHD to be about the most expensive “dis-ease” to have. If you’re lucky and have really, really, really good insurance, you can get medication and therapy without breaking the bank. Despite the NIH stating that coaching is one of the pillars of ADHD treatment, it isn’t “medical” so isn’t covered by insurance. Add in appropriate supplements, and my estimate is that, even with really good medical insurance, if you get complete appropriate care for ADHD, it will probably cost you $500 a month out of pocket. Since most ADHD adults make, on average, 40% less than their peers in the same field and are usually in fields below what there capabilities might be if they didn’t have the “dis-ease” in the first place (ex: paralegal instead of lawyer; nurse instead of doctor; vet tech instead of veterinarian), most can barely live, let alone get the help they need. There is nothing as frustrating as knowing that, but for a bit of money, you might, just might, be able to live the rest of your life decently. For those of us who were in already well into our failed adulthoods before there was an acknowledgement of ADHD in adults, it’s all too little too late.

9. Medications are helpful but understanding what helps each person reach there fullest potential is very important. Everyone has different Adhd problems. I have two children that are Adhd. One cried in frustration and one acted out. If you listen to them they’ll tell you how to help. You might not like the music I’d always say but stop to hear the lyrics. Most people with Adhd have what I call lagging skills. These skills are things normal people have like communication skills. I tell my son to count to 3 before taking. He’ll say the first thing that comes to mind and we’ll know that isn’t always the best thing to say. The hardest thing to understand with people with Adhd is they’re all different thinkers and handle situations differently. First, accept the problem. Second, what are there lagging skills and last work on improving how they handle these issues.