Name: The ADHD Advantage
Rating: 3.2 (527 reviews)
Author: Dale Archer

What’s in it for me? Overcome your prejudices about ADHD.

Since it was introduced as a diagnosis in 1994, over 6 million Americans have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. During the last decade, diagnoses have skyrocketed. So what’s really behind this trend? Are all these people truly “sick”?

Although more and more people “have” ADHD, it’s still stigmatized, its most common symptoms are seen as obstacles to a normal life. As a result, vast quantities of drugs are prescribed every year. Though manufactured to ease the symptoms of ADHD, these drugs can sometimes have serious, even deadly, side effects.

It’s high time we drop the stigma that surrounds ADHD. Because, as you’ll discover in these blinks, the list of successful people with ADHD is as varied as it is long, showing that there really can be an ADHD advantage.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

how ADHD helped our ancestors survive;
why a tendency to forget can be an advantage; and
why there is no Richard Branson without ADHD.

ADHD is seen as a terrible affliction and is extremely overdiagnosed.

ADHD is often considered a serious medical epidemic that’s currently sweeping America. Being diagnosed with ADHD is viewed as a curse that can break up relationships and tear families apart.

However, all is not as it seems when it comes to this disorder.

The reality is that ADHD is massively overdiagnosed. There are, of course, clinical cases of ADHD that should be treated as such. But the number of misdiagnoses is shocking. Research has revealed that as many as 1.1 million children and young people in the United States have been diagnosed inappropriately.

Why does this happen?

Well, the reasons are fairly easy to pinpoint. For one, the criteria used in diagnosing ADHD are poorly formulated, and based on the assumption that cases of ADHD are black-and-white. If an individual exhibits five out of twelve possible ADHD symptoms, they don’t have ADHD. But just one additional point leads to a positive diagnosis. This leaves no room for the fluctuating and diverse nature of the condition. ADHD occurs on a spectrum, and so should be diagnosed according to a continuous scale.

On top of this, the list of symptoms itself is flawed. ADHD symptoms are based on subjective observations by parents and doctors. Evaluative statements such as “Is often easily distracted” or “Often fails to pay close attention to details” are based on how a child’s behavior appears to the observer, which often makes diagnoses unclear and uncertain. Moreover, some symptoms don’t belong on the list at all. Hyperactivity – typically associated with ADHD – is something exhibited by nearly every child, and most grow out of it.

Finally, there are far too few ADHD specialists. There are only about 8,300 of them in the United States. Compare that with the number of family doctors – roughly 54,000 – and you see the problem. Because of this, family doctors often make diagnoses, and their lack of experience in the field makes a misdiagnosis all the more likely.

Wrongly prescribed ADHD medication wreaks havoc on the lives of young people.

The dangers of ADHD misdiagnoses become clear when we consider how many children are inappropriately prescribed medication. Between 1994 and 2010, this number grew to 800,000. How did this happen?

Financial pressure from drug manufacturers is one reason. Pro-drug medical research into ADHD is often funded by manufacturers – some of whom market their drugs directly to children. One manufacturer even subsidized comic books about the benefits of medication.

Think about ADHD from a different perspective to see its advantages.

A most crucial step in managing ADHD more effectively is changing your perspective. Rather than seeing ADHD as a disadvantage, look at its symptoms as advantages.

In this way, difficulty focusing on one task can be seen instead as the ability to multitask. ADHDers’ minds are constantly shifting from one idea to the next – an ability that allows them to keep track of several tasks simultaneously. This is incredibly useful in both business and professional sports (more on this in the coming blink!).

Many people have become very successful precisely because of their ADHD.

It’s plain to see that ADHD has its advantages. But how much of an advantage does this really give ADHDers in the real world? Let’s explore some case studies where ADHD has helped individuals to live up to their ambitions.

In the previous blink, we learned that ADHDers are resilient, creative multitaskers. They often act intuitively, without spending too much time worrying about consequences. This can prove extremely useful in the world of business, where uncertain situations and momentary opportunities call for snap decisions.

Kernaussagen in The ADHD Advantage

Über den Autor

Dale Archer is a Medical Doctor, a board-certified Psychiatrist and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He has run his own private psychiatric practice for 25 years, and was recently appointed by the Governor of Louisiana to serve on the Medical Advisory Board. In 2013, he published Better Than Normal: How What Makes You Different Can Make You Exceptional, a New York Times best seller.