Research on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) focuses almost exclusively on the deficits associated with the disorder. According to a new study, this view is one -sided. "Almost all affected people also report positive aspects of ADHD," writes the group around Lessa Schippers and Martine Hoogman from the Radboud University in Nijwegen in the journal "Frontiers in Psychiatry".
The Dutch research team recruited 200 people for the study through an organization for ADHD. Only a few of the respondents saw no benefits at all in connection with their ADHD diagnosis. The rest named a total of more than 50 different positive qualities. They could be summarized into five core characteristics: creativity, dynamics, flexibility, social-emotional skills and cognitive abilities.
Whether someone was able to gain more or less positive things had to do with age nor with therapy experience. However, women knew more about good pages of ADHD than men, especially in the area of flexibility (51 versus 27 percent) and social-emotional skills (53 versus 34 percent).
The results fit older findings, which also found a connection between ADHD and creativity. But are these positive aspects really part of the disturbance? You don't know much about that yet, but the authors seem convinced. "Core symptoms of ADHD such as impulsiveness can be a problem, but also a strength," is her conclusion.
They recommend asking about these strengths and making them aware. This can increase self-esteem, reduce depression and improve the quality of life. This should also be taken into account in therapy. On the one hand, in order to preserve the good qualities. Although there is no evidence that psychotropic drugs for ADHD reduce creativity, this could be different for other positive aspects. On the other hand, sufferers may have wanted to abstain from medication because they do not understand ADHD as a disorder, but as a manifestation on a "neurodiverse" continuum, similar to what many autistic people do.
The researchers point out that their sample is not representative of people with AHDS and that the answers were the inner perspective of those affected. Objective measurements are necessary to confirm the self -assessments and to be able to integrate the positive aspects into the image of the disorder.
Around every 20th child suffers from ADHD, and the disorder can last for a lifetime. The most important features include hyperactivity, impulsiveness and attention problems, which are significantly more pronounced than would be appropriate for the respective age. This is often associated with cognitive problems, difficulties in school or at work and sometimes also in interpersonal relationships.
