Y'all Know I'm not a Doctor
Right?
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is an poorly named and poorly understood neurological disorder.
It affects between 5-6% of the adult population, and it is recognised that people with ADHD are over-represented in technical professions. Its symptoms are usually described in negative terms; distractibility, procrastination, impatience, poor time management and difficulty managing emotions.
I'd rather have a full bottle in front of me...
The prefrontal cortex is connected to and manages other parts of the brain responsible for things like emotions, attentional control and working memory. This is has bexcome collectively known as Executive Function.
It is currently believed that impaired pathways between the parts of prefrontal cortex and other parts of the brain cause the symptoms of ADHD.
The 'What' pathway to the basal ganglia connects working memory. This is task memory, and guides our actions, plans, goals and thinking of the future.
The 'When' pathway to the cerebellum affects our perception of time and timing; when things happened, how much time has passed, sequencing our actions.
The 'Why' pathway links to the amygdialla, allowing us to manage emotions, wants and desires. This is the final arbiter of our behaviour.
The 'Who' pathway to the insular cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex manages our self-awareness. It's how we understand how we feel and what's happening to us.
It's the different combinations and level of impairment of these pathways that results in the cluster of symptoms that a person with ADHD experiences.
There are several other conditions often comorbid with ADHD, including:
- Dylexia
- Dyspraxia
- Auditory processing and other sensory disorders
- Depression and anxiety
We're all Unique Little Snowflakes
Childhood
It's fair to say I had a bit of a reputation at school.
I got in trouble all the time. I wouldn't pay attention, or I'd do things we'd just been told not to do. Or wouldn't do what I should.
My teachers all told me I was really smart.
If only I'd apply myself.
Nek Minit
About 7 years ago my son was struggling in school.
He got in trouble all the time. He wouldn't pay attention, or he'd do things he'd just been told not to do. Or wouldn't do what he should.
His teachers said he was really smart.
They thought he needed help.
That's When I Learned
The biggest predictor of having ADHD is having a parent with ADHD.
The questions the doctors asked about about his behaviour.. well, they applied to me too.
Once my son had been diagnosed with ADHD I went to see if I might have it too.
Yippee!!1!1!!!
Everyone's a winner.
The Symptom
Attention is random, not controlled
Sometimes we can't force our attention to focus on we want. Sometimes we can't force it away. That's called Hyperfocus.
"Because it has to be done" is not a motivator.
"Because it's the right thing to do" is not a motivator.
Is it fun? Will I die if I don't?
So we focus on what we're interested in, the things that give us immediate reward, and the things that will have immediate dire consequences.
Effort is no predictor of success
Ability is no predictor of success. We learn that failure is the default and success is random. Telling me to try harder makes me hate you. I'm already trying as hard as I can.
So we learn to be independant, to question authority. We never ask for help. We brutally force ourselves to solve it ourselves.
We miss bits of what's going on
What you just said? I only got 3 words of that. But I'm not rude. I do care what you say.
So we learn to fill in the gaps from other available context. We learn to intuitively connect related things and to uncover meaning.
We remember lots, but we can't recall it on demand
We often struggle to recall something even though we know we know it. Often memories just float outside our sphere of relevance and dissapear.
But then we notice something that somehow triggers that lost memory to flood back in glorious technicolour! Unfortunately the trigger is the empty fridge, the memory is yesterday's plan to pick up milk on the way home, and now we not only feel like crap, but we have to skip breakfast.
The Adaptation
When we're engaged, we dive deep
Our attention is held by things that are novel or interesting. When we find something new that catches our interest we often hyperfocus on it. Our interest in it can be all absorbing; we read everything we can find on the topic, we try things out we want to learn everything.
At some point the novelty wears off. Something else catches our interest... NEW HYPERFOCUS!!
Many people with ADHD have deep understanding across many domains.
We don't just think "outside the box." There is no box
Because of our childhood experience of getting in trouble seemingly randomly, we don't automatically respect authority, or accept the received wisdom. We don't really care how things are done "around here" if it doesn't seem to be working. And yes, we can be a bit abrasive sometimes, but impulsivity means we're very likely to speak our minds.
We See Dead P Patterns and Relationships
Spending a life piecing our understanding of the world togther from fragments of context and broken conversations leads to an ability to perceive complex patterns and relationships that most people just can't see.
This is something that has been noted by several leading ADHD researchers from clinical observation.
Hang on.. That Reminds Me..
So you're sitting in that meeting about that thing, and you're feeling like everyone's just talking and going nowhere. Suddenly a few words pierce your foggy reverie and a connection hits you out of the blue - there was this article I read last.. month? .. year?.. but anyway; its connected, and it helps us solve this impasse.
Seriously this is a thing.
That said, what I do today is a bit mad
I have a view of secutity shaped by psychology, behavioural economics and blind, relentless humanism
A lot of my work is identifying themes and patterns in complex systems*
- Hidden goals, objectives, motivations, expectations
- The anti-patterns and broken processes that lead to problems
I do this by basically feeding huge amounts of information into my brain and waiting for useful insights to fall out.
(The problem is seldom technology
And the solution never is)