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Does this sound like ADD or ADHD Inattention or something else?


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My DD 6 has a lot of the characteristics of ADHD Inattention, but when she wants to pay attention then she can concentrate for a long time. So she had sit and listen to a story for hours with no problem.

 

I thought that if you had ADD or ADHD Inattention that you could not concentrate even if you were interested in the topic/book/activity. So if a child can pay attention, but doesn't do it often. Is it ADHD Inattention or something else?

 

Any wisdom?

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The designation is always ADHD but then it gets additions like Inattentive.

 

Anyway, that isn't what you were asking. All types of ADHD can have along with it hyperfocusing. My uncle had it so bad that he almost got killed in WWII because he was focused on reading some book. Since I am also ADHD along with 2 out of 3 of my kids, I also personally experience hyperfocusing. Just about anything can be going on when I read and I won't notice. Now I am not always like that but enough times.

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Sorry I don't have time to post more, but short answer--yes, those with inattentive add/executive function issues are very capable of hyperfocusing.

Will try to come back later when I have more time to reply thoughtfully--

S.

diagnosed with add inattentive type as an adult (prob. exacerbated by being an unchallenged gifted kid who never had to develop discipline/study skills until college, and who was able to cope (with varying degrees of success) until the arrival of child #3. an earlier diagnosis would have made a significant difference in my life (and that of my brother with similar issues).

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My DD 6 has a lot of the characteristics of ADHD Inattention, but when she wants to pay attention then she can concentrate for a long time. So she had sit and listen to a story for hours with no problem.

 

I thought that if you had ADD or ADHD Inattention that you could not concentrate even if you were interested in the topic/book/activity. So if a child can pay attention, but doesn't do it often. Is it ADHD Inattention or something else?

 

Any wisdom?

 

The books I've recently looked at regarding ADHD all say that kids with ADHD are absolutely able to focus well on things they are interested in. One author actually came up with an alternative name for ADHD which he thought more accuractely reflected the fact that people with ADHD can focus on what they like. I wish I could remember the term but it was something like inconsistent attention disorder or variable attention disorder, or something like that.

 

When my oldest dd was in preschool overseas, the teacher came to me one day ecstatic, telling me that dd was so very, very good at watching TV. Well, we hardly watched TV, and had a tiny, old set with a bad picture, so, yes, for her, the TV was an exciting novelty, and she was good at watching it.;) Now that she's older, she loves to read historical fiction and do crafts and can be focused for hours on those things.

 

Dr. Amen has a book that discusses PET scans of the brains of people with ADD. He had brain scans done on people in a relaxed state and then scans on them when they had to concentrated on some task. According to the scan results, the relaxed brains of the ADD group were just like any other brains. However, when they had to concentrate, areas of the brains shut down. I THINK even blood flow to those areas decreased. I've now seen Amen's work cited in more recent books so I suspect it's considered credible.

 

Anwyay, when I thought about this, I realized if people with ADD really like something that they have to concentrate on, they are relaxed so their brains should functioning well. At the same time, if it's something that they have no interest in, their brains will not work optimally. As a homeschooler, this is important because it means if you can find a good curriculum match for your ADD dc, as in they like it, you'd really be ahead of the game. Also, as a guidance counselor for my dc, I want to pay serious attention to their interests as I help them consider their plans for the future.

 

Maybe this is common sense for everyone, but I find these musings helpful.

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