Editorial

Neurotypical vs Neurodivergent

Posted on by Geoffrey Fuller

Neurodiversity is a good thing for many reasons. For one, an increase in neurodiversity correlates with an increase in mental health awareness. As mental health awareness increases, more people will seek mental health diagnoses. Consequently, as more people seek mental health diagnoses, more people will be diagnosed. This is an especially positive trend for ADHD because getting an ADHD diagnosis is the first step in properly managing the condition.

Furthermore, neurodiversity can promote creativity and innovation. People with mental health conditions often have unique perspectives that they can contribute to creative endeavors such as art, writing, or problem-solving.

Another benefit of neurodiversity and mental health awareness relates to how we interact with each other. As more people become aware of different mental health conditions, they can better understand each other’s differences and provide the necessary support. This improved understanding will lead to more meaningful relationships and a greater sense of acceptance in the community.

In contrast, neurotypical individuals tend to be viewed as “normal” or “average.” However, can anyone truly be considered a “neurotypical”? What if two people were taking a timed written test, one person has ADHD, while the other is neurotypical. It might seem like a person with ADHD is at a natural disadvantage. However, what if the person with ADHD had a higher IQ than the neurotypical? Then, the outcome might be comparable between the two test takers.

This comparison highlights the importance of recognizing individuality. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and it’s essential to take into consideration different individual abilities rather than just the labels given by society. For example, it is possible for two people who are labeled “neurodivergent” or “neurotypical” to have strikingly similar abilities and achievements.

I believe that we must recognize and embrace each individual’s uniqueness rather than viewing everyone as either “neurotypical” or “neurodivergent.” Furthermore, I don’t believe that anyone is genuinely “neurotypical.” Instead, as doctors learn and refine our mental health knowledge, we can all be increasingly classified as neurodiverse.

While I recognize the medically diagnostic rationale for using these labels, I believe that society is increasingly using the term “neurotypical” as a negative description of people. I don’t think pitting neurodiversity and neurotypicality against each other is a good practice. Instead, I think that pitting us against each other is destructive.

Instead, we should focus on celebrating our differences and promoting understanding through mental health awareness. Only then can we fully realize the potential of neurodiversity. In doing so, we can move closer to a society where everyone is accepted for who they are and not judged by labels.

We need to champion neurodiversity as a goal for everyone, non-exclusively. But, at the same time, we need to recognize that “normal” and “neurotypical” are unrealistic labels for anyone. No one is truly “normal.” Instead, we all fall somewhere in between.

Ultimately, embracing neurodiversity will lead to greater acceptance of mental health conditions in our society and potentially more creative solutions that come through recognizing different perspectives.

Neurodiversity vs. Neurotypical

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ADD in the 80s – 6th grade, Orange County

Posted on by Geoffrey Fuller

This is a new series I am starting, called “ADD in the 80s”. The series starts with one of my experiences in school during the 80’s. The 80’s were a unique period for ADHD. A lot of new research about ADHD was being explored and published. At the same time, that new knowledge about ADHD was not really accepted by many schools. It was an era of contradiction for ADHD.

ADD in the ’80s

6th grade, Orange County, California, Late 1980’s.

Ah, today’s Friday, the last day of the week. I wonder what’s planned for the weekend?

Slam!! Something slams down hard on my desk. I quickly turn my head to see my teacher standing at my desk. He looks pretty mad. It makes sense; I’m not exactly paying attention.

I quickly look around the class to find the current place in the textbook. Got it. I turn to the right page and look up at my teacher, hoping that this is enough to get him away from my desk.

I’ve got to keep up with the class. That was embarrassing and a bit scary with the teacher’s hand slamming down on my desk. Next page, first paragraph. I’m following along. I had better keep up to avoid the teacher getting mad again.

ADD in the 80s

Next page, second paragraph. It’s about Italy. The teacher mentions volcanoes in Italy…Mount Vesuvius. That must have been a large earthquake that followed that eruption. Next page, first paragraph…I’m keeping up with the class.

If I balance the eraser on a pencil and tape another pencil on the other end of the eraser, it could work like a Richter scale. But, wait, stop, and go back to the book, the next page third paragraph.

His hand slams again on my desk and sweeps across my desk, knocking over my newly made Richter scale. I must have been looking out the window at the grass fields again.

I didn’t even realize I was looking out the window. I thought I was following along in the book with the class. But, oh no, the class is five pages ahead of the current page in my book.

I don’t get it; I was paying attention. When did I stop paying attention and look out the windows? I did look out the window, but only for a few seconds…I thought. Based on the look on my teacher’s face, I must have been looking out the window much longer than I thought.

Why was I even looking out the window? I was trying to keep up with the class in the textbook.

My teacher is definitely beyond his regular mad now. He angrily asks me to stand outside the classroom. Now everyone is looking at me. Finally, I get up from my seat and walk out of the classroom as requested.

There are a few moments when I am outside by myself before the teacher walks out the door. In those few seconds, I go over what I had done. Why won’t I pay attention? I’m just being irresponsible, just like the teacher had told me several times a day… every day.

The teacher looks really mad. Then, he starts lecturing me about my lack of respect. I’m a bad student; I shouldn’t have been given this many chances to correct my behavior.

My teacher seems to be getting more mad as he lectures me about respect. His face is turning red, and the veins in his neck are straining as he begins to yell. I’m not sure how to handle this. I can feel my face getting hot like my face is turning red.

Ok, now he’s yelling really hard. There’s spit coming out of his mouth as he’s yelling. I wish he would stop yelling so loud…I already know I’m disrespectful. And yes, he’s probably right that I’m not going to achieve anything in life.

I’m a bit confused, though. If I lacked the intelligence to keep up with the class, why am I in this class? I should be in special education.

The kids in those special ed classes don’t get in trouble with the teachers like I do. They don’t get yelled at or get singled out embarrassingly in class. So I must be especially disrespectful and especially a bad kid. I’m different, and this is getting me in a lot of trouble.

Oh crap…I just realized that I’ve been daydreaming while he has been yelling at me. Now he is furious. He looks like he wants to hit me.

He tells me that I am the worst student he has had in his whole teaching career. He tells me that if teachers were allowed to hit students, he would definitely hit me.

I’m always in trouble with several teachers. Maybe I deserve to be hit by my teacher. Perhaps that would teach me to be a more respectful student.

I am just standing here, not sure what to do. Hopefully, he won’t hit me, and he’ll just put me in detention.

He instructs me to go inside the classroom, sit down…and shut up. So I do as I’m told, and I go inside to sit down.

ADD in the 80sIt’s ok, though, because it’s Friday, and each Friday ends with cool music and fun crafts. At least for the good students. For the students that didn’t behave or finish their homework, we moved to the right side of the classroom.

On the other side, they play whatever the kids want on the stereo while doing fun arts and crafts. On the right side, we sit in silence and do extra classwork.

It’s ok, though, because at least we’re not getting in more trouble. I’m starting to relax, as we’re left here to do extra work. The teachers really don’t care what we do on this side of the classroom…as long as we stay in our seats and don’t speak.

This is our Friday detention time. It’s how I finish off the week in class. It’s calm now, and I just sit here quietly.

How is ADHD Acquired?

Posted on by Geoffrey Fuller

I originally wrote this as an answer to a question on Quora.  The first part of this article describes the genetic origin of ADHD.  In the last portion of this article, I share some of my bad experiences with being diagnosed in the late 1970s.

It is generally accepted at this point that ADHD is primarily a genetic disorder. So, using general models of recessive gene expression, ADHD is acquired by having at least one parent with an ADHD-related gene. It seems that the more recent genetic research suggests that there may be several genes that contribute to an inherited predisposition for ADHD. Because there may be several genes that contribute to ADHD susceptibility, there is a varying and complex modeled probability of the genetic inheritance.

Further complicating the cause of ADHD is the latent onset of pronounced ADHD symptoms. Though ADHD is primarily genetic in origin, symptoms may not be observable until ADHD is triggered later in life.

From a biological and neurological perspective, ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by brain deficiencies in the prefrontal cortex and low dopamine neurotransmitter levels. The prefrontal cortex regulates the brain’s cognitive executive functions.

Additionally, although ADHD is primarily genetic in origin, environmental factors may affect how the symptoms are exhibited and how pronounced they are displayed. It is generally assumed that ADHD is present prior to any environmental effects on how pronounced the symptoms are exhibited.

So, you’re born with ADHD. Although when I was a kid, 40 years ago, my elementary school teachers were sure that ADHD was just an excuse for why I didn’t pay attention in class. In fact, a few of them would regularly pull me outside of the classroom to yell at me. They also told me that I wasn’t capable of much.

I even attended a school where we were observed in the classroom, as part of a study funded by a research grant in the 80s. By observe, I mean there were one-sided windows where they could see us, but we couldn’t see them. They would try different medications to see the effect on us and did odd studies on our reactions to adverse conditions.

I remember one study where they would give us a nickel if we answered a question correctly. Then, randomly, they would take away a nickel for correct answers, without any explanation.

The part of the experiment that made me the most nervous, was when they locked us in a small room when we got in trouble. The more I was in there, the more anxious and loud I got, which only increased the time that I was locked in the room.

It’s comforting to know that ADHD is better understood by the medical community than it was 40 years ago. It’s also comforting to know that schools treat children with ADHD better than they did 40 years ago.

I originally wrote this article as an answer on Quora.  The original Quora post is linked here.

https://www.quora.com

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Neuroplasticity and Our ADHD Brains

Posted on by Geoffrey Fuller

How do we improve our ADHD Brains with Neuroplasticity?

Besides my day job in finance, I try to read and write as much as possible. Currently, I’ve been reading a lot of books on meditation. However, I do throw in some fiction books occasionally. While reading has the obvious benefits of learning knowledge, writing strengthens the ability to distill that knowledge into a cohesive and understandable statement.

Neuroplasticity

Reading provides an endless opportunity to learn and grow our knowledge. However, one of the often forgotten conveniences of reading is its portability. You can read the same book on your tablet, eReader, cell phone, and computer, with each device syncing your latest read page across all your devices. Then, of course, there’s also the paper book, needing no cords or batteries.

Reading also provides an opportunity to relax and be told a story. Reading has the ability to engage us with new knowledge, relax us with calming stories, and relate to us through passionately written pages.

Conversely, writing has a unique ability to force us to organize our thoughts on a subject. Writing needs to cohesively summarize and hypothesize our thoughts into a clean statement that others can readily understand for writing to be effective. Writing forces us to organize and structure our thoughts around themes and plots mentally.

A true test in acquiring and understanding knowledge is explaining and relaying that knowledge through writing. That’s why teachers use essays to help students organize their understanding of new knowledge and assess that understanding.

In both reading and writing, there is an opportunity to practice concentration. For ADHD, this means being mindful of not reading for too long in a single session. If we do, we risk the chance of losing track and focus on what we are reading. This inevitably leads to rereading sections.

With ADHD and writing, the same lessons of concentration apply. If we write for too long in a single session, we begin to lose focus. When we lose focus, our writing begins to express less cohesion and organization. This is a prime opportunity to practice new techniques for concentration or strengthen our current method of concentration.

The practice of concentration in reading and writing can lead to positive changes in our brain functions. This revolves around neuroplasticity, which is the idea that our brains can grow and rebuild.

Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity is generally described as the brain’s ability to reorganize synaptic connections, create new neural pathways, and shift workloads to accommodate brain injuries. Essentially, our brains can adapt and change based on new learning and new experiences.

Broadly, neuroplasticity is grouped into two main categories, functional and structural plasticity. Functional plasticity is the brain’s ability to shift workloads away from damaged brain areas to alternate areas of the brain. Structural plasticity is the brain’s ability to adapt and change physical regions of the brain based on new experiences and learning.

For ADHD, neuroplasticity can allow us to improve our concentration and improve our performance. Specifically, neuroplasticity can change and improve the performance of our prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is one of the main areas of our brain that is affected by ADHD.

This doesn’t mean that ADHD medication isn’t as effective as neuroplasticity or that neuroplasticity replaces ADHD medication. On the contrary, I think both are complementary, helping our ADHD brains in different ways. It’s more akin to synergy, where neuroplasticity can augment the advances made by ADHD medication.

I’ll dive deeper into this science in later articles, but I wanted to introduce the potential of neuroplasticity for ADHD.

Todoist

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Office Open floor plans and ADHD, Disastrous

Posted on by Geoffrey Fuller
Office Open Floor Plans and ADHD, a disastrous cautionary tale.

 

I think office open floor plans are disastrous for ADHD. Yet, these plans seem to be applauded by their suggested increase in discussion, collaboration, and idea generation. I do mean suggestion because I don’t think I’ve seen any of these benefits materialize in actual implementation.

Open Office Floor plan

Even though the idea of office open floor plans may seem appealing to non-ADHD coworkers, I’m reasonably sure the distractions and decreased chances for concentration are not limited to only the ADHD coworkers. For obvious reasons, office open floor plans create focus difficulties for us with ADHD. However, I’ll bet the potential for loss of focus impacts everyone to some extent.

At some point, even the best coworkers with multi-tasking skills can become too distracted. It’s easily related to the law of diminishing returns. Sure, some increases in communication can be beneficial, but each ill-times interruption must have limits. How many interruptions can anyone handle without beginning to lose focus and eventually reducing productivity?

Take emails and instant messaging as parallel examples. Has anyone tried to answer every email, instant message, and text message immediately? Generally, unless one message is critical, we batch them and answer several at a later time. I can’t imagine that responding to all digital communication immediately upon receiving them, without exception, could have no impact on productivity.

The last company I worked for began this process of creating office open floor plans. First, they lowered the cubicle walls until they were the same height as our desks. Next, they rearranged the cubicle desks so that we all faced each other. Then, eventually, we lost our cubicles. This included the executives. In the end, we all had desks on wheels that could be moved anywhere in the office.

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The Parable of The Strawberry and ADHD

Posted on by Geoffrey Fuller

I’ve heard the parable of the cliff and vine told in separate ways, and with slightly different interpretations. I heard the story first in a World Religions class in college. I heard the story next in a recorded meditation session. I think the parable can have a very focused and unique application to adults with ADD outside the context of religion and meditation.

The story starts with a man walking through the forest. As he casually walks, several wolves begin to chase him. So, he begins to run as fast as he can in hopes of escaping the current danger. However, as he desperately flees, he runs into a cliff. Turning around to see the wolves, he looks around for an escape, and sees a vine growing on the edge of the cliff. As he climbs down the cliff on the vine, he sees a second pack of wolves at the bottom of the cliff. So, he realizes he can neither climb up the vine nor jump down the cliff. As his weight begins to cause the vine to tear, he notices a wild strawberry growing on the side of the cliff. He reaches with one arm to grab the strawberry. As the man eats the strawberry, he realizes it is the best tasting strawberry he has ever eaten.

In World Religions, the lesson relates to one of the primary purposes of religion. This purpose is the redemption of conscience. In the story, the man is clearly going to die in every scenario. Yet, in the end, all he thought about was the joy of finding such a wonderfully tasting strawberry. Religion takes away the stress and fear of that moment, and allows the man to enjoy that last moment. It’s the idea of prayer in many religions, that we can unburden ourselves by telling a higher power.

In meditation, the lesson was that both scenarios the man faces were unrealized dangers. They were unrealized dangers that the man could not overcome. So instead, the man seizes that which is in front of him, the current moment and the strawberry. Tomorrow’s dangers are unrealized today. So, if we allow tomorrow’s dangers to affect us today, we rob ourselves of the current moment. We lose the current moments to dangers that are not even present in the current moment.

I think this story can be applied to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in a unique context. This is especially true for adults with ADD. With attention deficit disorder in adults, we are constantly striving to achieve focused clarity in the current moment. Distractions, whether they are hyperactivity or inattentiveness, rob us of being able to concentrate on the present moment. Unlike the religious and meditative applications of the story, for adults with ADD, the strawberry, the breaking vine, and the wolves are all competing for our attention. It’s not about dismissing the other dangers of the wolves and the breaking vine on the cliff, but rather gaining the ability to focus on the strawberry.

With the religious and meditative analogies, the goal was to recognize the dangers and to actively choose not to allow them to define the current moment. More specific to adults with ADD, even if we recognize the true nature of the dangers the man faces, we are not able to actively dismiss the dangers. Merely identifying the dangers is not enough. We need to identify and block out the dangers facing the man on the cliff. For adults with ADD or anyone with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, the dangers and strawberry distract us simultaneously. Our goal is to create a window of focus that blocks out the wolves, vine, and strawberry. We strive to consciously choose focus, above the dangers ahead of us and the strawberry in front of us. Though the strawberry is in front of us, it may not be the content that needs our attention.

The Parable of the Strawberry