More and more people are being diagnosed with mental problems these days - whether it’s ADHD, Asperger’s, Bipolar one of the others I’ve never heard of.  In some instances, these are serious issues that need to be treated with medications.  In others, treatment is being administered but is seemingly unnecessary.  Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of stories online about parents of children that can’t sit still in class.  These parents are being advised by teachers and principals to medicate them.  Instead, perhaps we should consider changes in the classroom to accommodate children who don’t do well in the traditional class.  After all, these students seem to be quickly becoming the majority.

I was one of these children.  Besides being dyslexic, nothing was really said to me about the fact that I just couldn’t pay attention in class - unless it was a subject of particular interest, such as art, earth science, or creative writing.  Or perhaps it was said, but I didn’t pay attention because it just didn’t interest me.  These issues followed me into college until I finally decided the classroom setting just wasn’t for me.  I couldn’t imagine forcing myself to comprehend subjects like Economics and Accounting that were required for my degree.

The idea that perhaps I was one of these different people never occurred to me.  I thought that because I was able to focus so intently on subjects that interested me, it was impossible to have something like ADD.  That was, until the other day.  I was using a popular site called stumbleupon.  You choose a few interests, click a button, and it bounces you around to different sites of interest.  As you rate pages using thumbs up or down, it refines your interests.  Despite never visiting an ADHD site, I stumbledupon a site relating to a study for this disorder.

The website detailed new(ish) information about sleep problems that haunt many people with ADHD (link below).  I learned that my ‘insomnia’ was very possibly due to this disorder.   One point that was of particular interest was what they called, “Initiation Insomnia.”  Here’s an excerpt:

About three-fourths of all adults with ADHD report inability to “shut off my mind so I can fall asleep at night.” Many describe themselves as “night owls” who get a burst of energy when the sun goes down. Others report that they feel tired throughout the day, but as soon as the head hits the pillow, the mind clicks on. Their thoughts jump or bounce from one worry to another. Unfortunately, many of these adults describe their thoughts as “racing,” prompting a misdiagnosis of bipolar mood disorder, when this is nothing more than the mental restlessness of ADHD. [....] sleep disturbances associated with ADHD generally appear later in life, at around age 12 ½, on average. [.....] by age 30, more than 70 percent of adults with ADHD report that they spend more than one hour trying to fall asleep at night.

Woah.  That’s me, alright.  I’ve taken medication to assist my sleeping since I was 12, when I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia.  Lately, it’s just not doing the whole job.  I generally sleep fine, but getting to sleep is a whole different story.  The last section of the first page had a link to ‘hyperfocus.’

What you might not know about ADHD is that there’s another side: the tendency for children and adults with attention deficit disorder to focus very intently on things that do interest them. At times, the focus is so strong that they become oblivious to the world around them.

Double woah.  Moral of the story:  Just because you can focus very intently on things, does not mean you are exempt from the possibility of being ADHD.

I remembered looking through some old report cards my Mom gave me years ago.  The teachers were either very critical of my ability to pay attention in class, or very impressed with it.  Looking back, I’m glad I was never singled out as ADHD.  I don’t believe drugging me would have had any benefit besides perhaps improving my school performance.  At home, my parents encouraged my interests with frequent visits to the library and lots of art supplies.

In fact, I believe drugging me would have had a very poor result.  As you can see from some of these animations, I embrace ‘hyperfocus’, spending hours taking tutorials and playing in Photoshop.  But when I was done learning what I wanted to learn, I lost interest, and subsequently stopped animating.  Occasionally, when I have a new idea, I’ll jump back into them - perhaps because new ideas are interesting to me and easy to focus on.

I’m undecided as to mentioning this to my doctors.  If I’m right, which really is an IF, I doubt I’d want to do anything about it.  He recently prescribed something to help me get to sleep that seems to be helping.  Beyond issues with sleep, I don’t believe this is a real problem for me.  People tend to find their niche’ based on their personality.  In the ‘hyperfocus’ link below, you’ll find how many have learned to use this to their advantage.

With the devices, toys, and distractions available to children today, I don’t see this issue going away with drugs.  Today’s kids multitask at a rate never before seen in history.  It’s only natural that they would have problems paying attention in the traditional classroom.  The good news is, it’s easy to find innovative teachers who are dealing with this issue in creative and exciting ways.  Let’s hope these teachers soon outnumber those that turn to medication for answers.

ADHD Sleep Problems: Causes and Tips to Rest Better Tonight!

Learn About ADHD: Focus on Hyperfocus

Stumbleupon.com (embrace your short attention span!)

Image credit: Eye to Eye National