Quote:
Originally posted by SummerChild
I'm starting to think that ADHD is kind of like the newest syndrome: road rage disease - yes I heard on the news that it's an actual disease now.
Come on. I have trouble concentrating sometimes and daydream as well. However, I think that I'm probably just not disciplined enough. I have a question: if daydreaming is a sign of ADHD, then are those who have been diagnosed with ADHD able to maintain concentration on the daydream or there a skipping from one daydream to another? My daydreams are pretty much one long daydream until I come out of it and go back to whatever I'm doing. For that reason, I guess I feel like if I can concentrate enough to maintain a daydream then why can't I do that for work sometimes? I think that I'm more of a procrastinator than an ADHD-diagnosed person. Is it possible that some kids are just escaping to a world that is more palatable than their homework? I used to do it soemtimes. I usually daydream only when there is soemthing that I'm supposed to be doing that I don't want to do. For me it's a procrastination technique basically.
I think that some kids really do have trouble concentrating for biological reasons but I think that some of them just need to be disciplined and taught that they have to focus on and *complete* the task at hand before going on to something else. I also think that some of the parents are just feeding some of them too much sugar or not giving them the nutrients that they need or they are not getting enough sleep. I know a 2-year old that goes to bed at 9 at night. To me, that is too late but whatever floats the mother's boat. I know *I* have trouble concentrating when I do not get sleep so if this child was in school I wonder if she would have the same problem.
SC
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That's why I think doctors need to stop calling this Attention
Deficit Disorder. This is more of a condition about arousal than having a short attention span. A lot of people with ADD or ADHD not only pay too little attention, but sometimes they pay
too much attention. It is called "hyperfocus". Some can go hours playing video games, particpating in sports, socializing, or surfing the internet. These kinds of activities give ADD people the stimulation they need. Sitting down working on something passive like homework may not be stimulating enough. The area of the brain effected by ADD is actually underactive, these people seek constant activity to compensate. Obviously paying too much attention can lead to as much, or more problems than not paying enough attention. The stimulation can be addicting and is very hard to pull away from. I'm not a doctor though, I hope I explained this correctly.
The daydreaming in ADD usually isn't voluntary. It just happens. When I drift off, I'm often unaware of it until a couple of minutes later or if someone tells me. I almost never have one long daydream either, it's more like one thought firing off after another, sometimes completely unrelated to each other. I probably had like seven or eight unrelated thoughts popping into my head while typing this post. Everyone daydreams, but it becomes a problem if you're not able to turn it off or control the direction.
The sugar=hyperactivity thing has been disproven for years.
But, I do agree that proper nutrition won't hurt, and in some cases may help.