Does anyone think they DONT have ADHD?

[Frenchtoastie]

I keep seeing posts on instagram with various reasons why someone has ADHD and then hundreds of comments below reporting these people also have all of these symptoms.
Just wondering if anyone reads these and doesn’t relate to them? To me they are just part of being human, but maybe I am completely wrong and I have ADHD🤣

the posts generally include statement along these lines…

• I find it hard to get going or impossible to stop
• I can put off a tiny task for weeks but worry about it for hours but when I finally complete it it takes 5 minutes
• I can distracted and start cleaning after the shower and suddenly I’ve cleaned the whole house whilst wearing my towel
• Having a chair covered in clothes
• having multiple drinks on the go in the house
• needing a calender because if not I would forget appointments

So you’re telling me that my very successful friends who now have a diagnosis have a “neuro developmental disorder”

A couple are studying for phds.

I teach children who really do have developmental disorders that affect their cognition and I find that quite offensive on their behalf.

Can relate to this. I have 2 degrees but it took me several goes to get through them. I can drive, but didnt get license until mid 20s as it took me a lot longer. Etc.

I'm neuro-typical, not autistic, don't have ADHD, don't have OCD.

I'm a sometime grumpy, ageing woman (self-diagnosed). Apart form that, I'm functioning within defined parameters (whatever they are) 🤷‍♀️

No, none of my friends do and my husband doesn't. Some people like you may. Do you also have the thousand and one other issues that come with ADHD or are you denying the increasing scientific evidence that it is an actual condition?

I beg your pardon. My children have neurodevelopmental disorders affecting their cognition requiring very high levels of support. Are they not allowed to have their diagnoses because they are intelligent? Thankfully you don’t make the rules. Be offended, I really don’t care. The views of the highly qualified professionals treating them are what matters.

Yes, it's true. Look up the "replication crisis". Scientific studies - even those published in journals - in this area are routinely not able to be replicated, a key test of validity.

I don't think it is but you keep on denying that anyone can have significant impacts from ADHD and not be covered by the disability act for the specific significant impacts that it has on their life.

Can you do me the favour of being gracious enough to accept that?

I don’t! And I’m not on the spectrum either!
Also no allergies or intolerances.

Ignore,she’s talking complete nonsense as professional opinion shows.

Its a spectrum.
The clue is in the name.
I managed to get to 55 having been educated to a high level, good job etc but that doesnt mean I dont have issues that have affected my entire life... in all its aspects. .

Also... I WASNT fucking fine for 40 years. Thats the entire FUCKING point.

I think the fMRI studies are going to put paid to that argument.

Yes ADHD is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder. That is not the same as an intellectual disability, which I think could be what you are talking about.

My psychiatrist and GP both have ADHD.

i’m sure the children you teach have genuine and profound difficulties but that doesn’t invalidate the genuine difficulties of people with ADHD. You only get a diagnosis if you have significant difficulties.

Yes. Yes we do.
I have an MSc.
I still have ADHD/ASD.

Agreed!

Nope because you can think what you think about yourself, I really don’t care and am not the slightest bit interested.

The disability act protects people who have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on their ability to do normal day-to-day activities.

Yes you’ve a diagnosis of those. It’s not a neurodevelopmental condition. There’s no reliable evidence for it any more than there is for taxi drivers who learn the knowledge or those who are bilingual.

It’s an issue with executive functioning and memory often working memory. The diagnosis is a description of this.

A neurodevelopmental disorder does not automatically prevent you from getting high level qualifications.

Your offence is misplaced. The fact that somebody else has a totally different disability does not have any relevance to the disability of the children you teach.

Now if you argue that one needs benefits more than the other, I'm 100% with you there.

These are subjectively reported in adults.

We also live in an age where no time is given to learning new ways and strategies to overcome come our difficulties. There is severe information overload.

If you can learn and pass a medical exam you could certainly learn how to manage your issues better.

Of course I'm not denying it's a condition. My daughter is diagnosed with ADHD, as is my sister. I'm simply saying your example is something large numbers of NT people also do.

Some people with ADHD attribute everything they do to wrt organisation etc as "proof" of their ADHD. I obviously have no idea if you do that, so I'm not saying you were doing that with your example.

If it were a neuro developmental disorder it would have far more biological evidence than a psychiatric diagnosis.

executive functioning and memory often working memory

It's way more than that.

It does. Check out the fMRI research. There's also cognitive ability research. You are correct that there are no standardized diagnostic tests ..... yet.

All of the things in the OP are very familiar and apply to me but I've never once thought I might have ADHD and I'm in my sixties.

I'm not scatty, disorganised or have any emotional issues. I have no problems whatsoever in concentrating and applying myself to a task. I have had a successful career and relationships.
I just assume those things are all part of normal behaviour.

Surely there must be a whole lot more to it than that checklist?

Well there is

Autism and ADHD are classified as neurodevelopmental conditions because they originate in early childhood, alter how the brain grows and functions, and show strong genetic and biological roots. The independent gov review shows how both conditions are strongly genetically influenced, present from early life, and shape how a person develops communication, attention, learning, and behaviour. Symptoms of both autism and ADHD manifest during early childhood—traditionally required to appear before age 3 for autism and before age 7 to 12 for ADHD.Neuroimaging and developmental studies show that both conditions involve altered trajectories in brain maturation, affecting regions responsible for executive function, emotional regulation, and social-cognitive processing (such as the prefrontal cortex, striatum, and amygdala).
Genetic research shows that heritability for both autism and ADHD is exceptionally high (often estimated between 70% and 80%), meaning the traits are strongly passed down through families rather than caused by parenting styles or environmental upbringing. Large-scale genomic studies indicate substantial genetic overlap between autism and ADHD, which explains why they frequently co-occur (known clinically as AuDHD), with 30% to 70% of autistic individuals also presenting with ADHD traits. Both conditions involve persistent differences in executive functioning, working memory, impulse control, and emotional difficulties.While ADHD heavily links to prefrontal-striatal networks controlling attention and motor inhibition, autism involves distinct structural and functional differences in social-communication networks (like the superior temporal sulcus and fusiform gyrus) alongside sensory processing areas. [Unlike adult-onset mental health conditions (such as major depression or PTSD), neurodevelopmental conditions do not "develop" later in life as a reaction to trauma or stress; instead, neurodivergent traits persist across the lifespan, though external presentation and coping mechanisms can shift as a person ages.

Ah yes and you’ll see if you look into the Fonagy report that there’s currently an issue with diagnosis - over diagnosis.

With regards to adhd and masking, here lies the issue. The ADHD I see in children (and their parents) are exceptionally debilitating.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41766652/

This editorial argues that camouflaging, as developed in autism research, does not transfer coherently to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The executive functions required for sustained symptom concealment are precisely those impaired in ADHD. Current measures lack ADHD-specific validity, and compensatory behaviours should not be reclassified as camouflaging without dedicated theory, operational definitions and validated measurement. (My bolding)

also:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42334760/
Ontologically, camouflaging lacks stability, as it fails to identify a coherent class of phenomena distinguishable from adjacent behaviours. Epistemologically, it relies on theory-laden and circular methodologies that presuppose what they purport to measure. Logically, it embeds contradictions, particularly in attributing intentional capacities to subjects diagnosed in part on the basis of impaired social reasoning. Ethically, it operates within a dual-normative framework that pathologises deviation while privileging narrow forms of autistic legibility. We argue that deconstructing camouflaging exposes its fragility and raises fundamental questions about the normative commitments underlying psychiatric classification.