Stimulus

Having a Stimulus Driven Brain poses some unique challenges. On the surface the differences in functioning are unlikely to be apparent. This gives rise to a variety of myths and misperceptions about ADD/ADHD. Imagine a frozen lake. On the surface are all of the features that can be readily experienced, particularly in children. What lies below the surface is unseen. We have no idea how deep the lake is or what may be swimming in it.



Hyperactivity Can't sit still. Always on the go. Digits. Runs or climbs a lot. Restless. Talks a lot.		Impulsivity Lack self-control. Blurts out. Talks back. Interrupts. Intrudes. Difficulty awaiting turn.

Distractibility.

Disorganize. Double through. Doesn’t pay attention. Doesn’t he work. Makes careless mistakes. Doesn’t seem to listen. Loses things. His forgetful.

Low levels of neurotransmitters: norepinephrine, dopamine
and serotonin result in reduced brain activity I’m thinking tasks.

Coexisting conditions

Anxiety. Depression. Tourette’s disorder. Obsessive-compulsive disorder. Oppositional defiant disorder. Conduct disorder.

ADD increases the risk of

School failure. Suspension. Expulsion. Special-education placement. Dropping out. Not going to college. Speeding tickets. Car wrecks. Suicide attempts. Brushes with the law.

Sleep disturbance

Can’t get restful sleep. Falsely. Can’t wait. Late for school. Sleeps in class. Sleep deprived. Irritable.

Low frustration tolerance Difficulty controlling emotions.

Emotionally reactive. Short fuse. Lose his temper easily. They give up more easily. Doesn’t stick with things. Speaks or acts before thinking. Hyper concerned with own feelings. Difficulty seeing other’s perspective. Maybe self-centered. Maybe selfish.

Not learning easily from rewards and punishment.

Repeats this behavior. Doesn’t study past behavior. Doesn’t learn from past behavior. Ask without a sense of hindsight. Must have immediate rewards. Long-term rewards don’t work. Doesn’t examine on behavior. Difficulty changing his behavior. Difficulty with discipline. Less likely to follow rules. Difficulty managing on behavior.

Serious Learning Problems.

Inattention. Impulsive learning style. Disorganization. Slow cognitive processing. Poor fine motor coordination. Poor handwriting. Forgets other’s requests. Poor working memory. Can’t memorize easily. Slow math calculations. Slow retrieval of information. Poor oral expression. Difficulty describing the world in words. Difficulty rapidly putting words together. For written expression. Poor listening comprehension. Difficulty writing essays. Poor reading comprehension.

Week Executive Functioning.

Difficulty holding events in mind. Difficulty internalizing language. Difficulty with control of emotions. Difficulty taking whole part and reconstituting.

Impaired Sense of Time.

Doesn’t judge the passage of time accurately. Time creeps. Inpatient. It’s waiting. Homer takes forever. Avoids doing homework. Often late. Doesn’t have the skills to plan ahead. Forgets long-term projects were his late turning things in. Difficulty estimating time required to finish a task. Difficulty planning for future.