ADD Myths

Common Myths about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Myth: Unless a person is hyperactive, they don't have attention deficit disorder.

Fact:

• Many times, attention deficit disorder has a hyperactive component where the person has trouble sitting still for long periods of time, feels driven, as if they have an internal motor, and impulsively deals with tasks and people. Sometimes this comes out not as a physical energy but also as a mental hyperactivity where the person is constantly distracted by her own thoughts. Students with this difficulty are drawn away from tasks by intruding thoughts, pressing ideas on their day or relationships, and even other tasks pending. However, there is also an inattentive form. Symptoms include daydreaming, disorganization, distractibility, and even seeking out stimulating people or events.

Myth: If she just tried harder, I know she could do her work!

Fact:

• It can be very frustrating for parents and students when they know the overall cognitive functioning is high but work just doesn't get done. Lack of effort is then seen as the cause. However, if there is ADHD involved, effort may not be enough because the difficulty may be biochemical in nature. If a person had diabetes, we wouldn't expect them to try harder to physically produce insulin, so why would we expect a student with ADHD to try harder when the real issue is trying harder to produce neurotransmitters?

Myth: Ritalin or Adderall would help anyone study better. The medication is just a crutch.

Fact:

• Medications usually prescribed for attention deficit disorder are stimulants. If a person without ADD takes these medications, there is a stimulant effect much like that of speed. Many times it can cause anxiety, shakiness, sleeplessness, even distractibility. If the medication is working for a student with ADD, it has the opposite effect. Usually it help with focus and control of attention, lessens hyperactivity, and allows better initiation and sustaining of attention.

Myth: Once a person is on a medication that works, they are fine.

Fact:

• It depends on when the person was diagnosed and how much skills development was provided. If a person was diagnosed as a child and the person's school system and parents focused on helping the student develop organization skills, then she may do very well in such an intense environment as Mount Holyoke. However, if the person was diagnosed as an adolescent or an adult, she may not have learned basic skills of organization, time management, and structured writing. Many students with ADD depend on teachers, parents, friends, and significant others to organize their academic work and personal lives. For example, teachers may organize the steps to write a paper or parents may have the student do their homework with them after school. The structure is imposed by outside forces. Then, when the person goes to college, everything falls apart because initiating and sustaining attention, reading for hours on end, writing a structured paper with a thesis, and even making it to lectures requires internalized skills and the use of tools such as time management planners.

Myth: Students with ADHD shouldn't be in college.

Fact:

• Students with ADHD are very successful at Mount Holyoke College. However, the environment requires the student to initiate work, sustain attention, and organize her academic and personal life. The Office of Learning Skills can provide some coaching in the form of weekly half-hour appointments to help teach time management and organization but the student must be able to use the tools and do her work independently.