21 Myths About ADHD

As with many mental health issues (e.g. depression), there are a lot of myths regarding attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

This article describes what those myths are – and why they are myths.

ADHD Always Includes Hyperactivity

While it’s true that the “H” in ADHD stands for “hyperactivity”, there are actually seven types of ADHD – Classic, Inattentive, Over-Focused, Temporal Lobe, Limbic, Ring Of Fire, and Anxious – not all of which (e.g. Inattentive ADHD, which is also known as ADD) include hyperactivity as one of the symptoms.

Studies also show that hyperactivity tends to affect girls less than boys.

ADHD Can Be Cured With Ritalin

While it’s true that Ritalin can help improve a child’s ability to focus and reduce hyperactivity, there is a lot more to “curing” ADHD than taking medication, such as behavioural therapy, as you’ll see in this article.

ADHD Can Only Be Treated With Medication

Some research suggests that over three quarters of children with ADHD are most effectively treated with medication, but it is certainly not the only approach.

Please see my article about other methods of dealing with ADHD (e.g. dietary changes, behavioural therapy).

ADHD Is A Learning Disability

While some of the effects of ADHD can make learning difficult (e.g. the inability to concentrate and focus, as well as problems with attention span), it is not a learning disability in the way that, say, autism is.

A learning disability generally causes difficulty in learning specific skills (e.g. reading or maths).

In fact, the majority of children diagnosed with ADHD are also diagnosed with at least one other condition, including anxiety, conduct, and mood disorders, as well as learning disabilities.

ADHD Is Being Over-Diagnosed

This concern is typical of many behavioural disorders (i.e. where there are no physical tests that can confirm whether somebody has a problem or not), but studies performed in 2014 – 2015 concluded that 90% or more of these diagnoses were made using best practice guidelines.

Although it sounds like an easy cop-out, it is more likely that there is an increasing awareness of ADHD (and similar conditions).

And if one of the causes is environmental, then you would expect an increase in ADHD diagnoses, because the world we live in is becoming ever more toxic.

ADHD Is No Big Deal

There are countless people who either have ADHD, or have children with it, that would disagree with you.

It can affect all aspects of your life, including relationships and jobs, and one study found that ADHD sufferers tend to have higher blood cholesterol levels and lower credit scores, which suggests that having ADHD can cause a wider range of day-to-day living issues than previously thought.

ADHD Is Not A Real Medical Condition

This one is a really divisive topic and it may or may not in fact be a myth..

On the one hand, there are those who claim ADHD is a fictitious disease (including Dr Leon Eisenberg, a “founding father” of ADHD, who some claim admitted this a few months before his death), and that the behavioural symptoms of this disorder apply to almost every young child.

They will also cite the fact that there are more children diagnosed with it these days because the diagnostic criteria have improved (which is the same argument used to counter the epidemic of autism these days).

Some of these sceptics also point out that the Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) organization has financial ties with both Ciba-Geigy (who make Ritalin) and Shire Pharmaceuticals (who make Adderall and Vyvanse), and that diagnoses of ADHD are just a front to sell pharmaceutical products to children.

And on the other hand, there are those (including the CDC, APA, and NIH, all in the USA) who recognize ADHD as a medical condition and who cite research showing that it’s hereditary (with about 25% of ADHD sufferers having a parent with it too).

There are also studies where brain imaging was used to show there are developmental differences between children who do and do not have ADHD.

Note, though, that nobody is saying the symptoms are not real – the contention is whether it is a genuine medical condition or not, and it seems the jury is still out on that one.

In the meantime, if you or your children have symptoms of ADHD, you know all too well that the problems caused by these symptoms are all too real – and if you ask grandparents whether they recall similar issues when they or their own children were young, you’ll probably find that there have always been “problem” children, but that the prevalence was far less.

To me, a far more likely explanation is that the condition is real and that the causes include toxicity and inflammation – two factors that are behind so many health problems these days.

ADHD Stimulant Medication Can Lead To Substance Abuse

There are studies that conclude ADHD medications have no effect on substance abuse later in life.

However, it is worth noting that one popular drug, Adderall, is chemically very similar to meth, so draw your own conclusions.

Adults Do Not Get ADHD

This is wrong on two counts:

1. Since most children do not grow out of ADHD (see below for more info), that means there are still plenty of adults who still have this disorder.
2. Emerging research indicates that adults can be diagnosed with ADHD, even though they did not have it as children.

Bad Parenting Causes ADHD

There are those who claim that ADHD is the result of children not getting the attention they’ve become used to at home when they go to school.

However, this would not explain why these children display the same symptoms at home or in other situations.

Also, if this were true, how is that some parents have one or more children with the condition, and one or more without?

The fact is, when you have ADHD, you have a condition that affects how you behave.

Children With ADHD Are Over-Medicated

A study undertaken in 2015 found that around two thirds of children with ADHD were receiving medication.

There are even those who believe that not enough people with this disorder are being treated with medication.

Even so, that still leaves several million children on drugs that may have unexpected side-effects, and at least one, Adderall, that is chemically very close to meth.

Children With ADHD Cannot Focus

To a degree, kids (and adults) with ADHD are like everybody else – we all encounter situations where we find it hard to focus.

This could be because the topic is boring or repetitive, or we’re exhausted, or we have something more important on our minds, for example.

Similarly, most of us can become hyper-absorbed in what we are doing.

The problem is, when you have ADHD, these traits can be exaggerated, and their ability to sustain or shift their attention is not conscious or within their control.

Children With ADHD Need To Try Harder To Pay Attention

This is the ADHD equivalent of telling somebody who is depressed to “snap out of it”.

These children are not lazy or unmotivated – they have a condition that affects how their brain works, one result of which is that they struggle when it comes to being attentive for any significant period of time (unless it’s something that interests them greatly).

Children With ADHD Receive An Unfair Advantage

People are probably referring to the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), but this only seeks to level the playing field so that children with ADHD (and other disabilities) are able to learn with the same chance of success as other children.

Children With ADHD Will Never Be Successful

There are many famous and successful people, who have been diagnosed with ADHD, including:

• Adam Levine
• Alan Meckler
• Anne Sexton
• Cameron Herold
• Channing Tatum
• David Blaine
• Dean Kamen
• Henry Winkler
• Howie Mandel
• Jim Carrey
• Jim Caviezel
• Justin Timberlake
• Katherine Ellison
• Kendrick Meek
• Michael Phelps
• Paris Hilton
• Richard Branson
• Ryan Gosling
• Terry Bradshaw
• Woody Harrelson

It is also suspected that many famous people who are no longer with us (e.g. Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Joan Rivers, Robin Williams, and Salvador Dali) may have had ADHD, although, of course, diagnostic criteria did not exist at the time so there is no real way of knowing for certain.

Girls Don’t Get ADHD

While they typically suffer from ADHD at about half the rate as boys, it does affect girls too.

As I said elsewhere, they may not be as hyperactive as boys, although they may appear to daydream more.

The fact that ADHD in girls looks different to how it does in boys means that it may go undiagnosed in girls more frequently – or it may not be diagnosed until they are older (around five years later than boys).

Hyperactivity Only Affects Boys

I’ve touched on this elsewhere in this guide, but it bears repeating – it is true that girls display this particular symptom of ADHD less frequently than boys do, but this does not mean it never affects them all.

Hyperactivity in girls may present as being more emotional and sensitive, or even more chatty than usual. Since people don’t associate these signs as being symptomatic of ADHD, their condition is often missed.

Ritalin Causes Stunted Growth

This is a weird one, and yet some studies show that Ritalin can indeed lead to a temporary slowing down of a child’s growth.

Longer term (and I’m talking during adolescence here), normal height is typically achieved.

Too Much Sugar Causes ADHD

There is no serious research that supports this hypothesis; in fact, the knowledge we currently have about the brain and ADHD makes it highly unlikely that sugar intake could actually affect the size of parts of a child’s brain (which is something seen in ADHD sufferers).

However, it’s still worth bearing in mind that eating too much sugar is not good for us.

We All Have Some Level Of ADHD

Yes, it’s true – everybody exhibits some of the symptoms of ADHD (e.g. trouble concentrating, being distracted) on a regular basis – but that does not mean we all have ADHD.

There are many reasons for some of the typical ADHD symptoms (e.g. being tired), but remember that the brains of people with this disorder have been shown, through imaging scans, to be different to those who do no suffer from it.

That’s why, with most behavioural diagnoses (i.e. conditions for which blood tests, say, do not exist), there are specific criteria that need to be met, such as a multitude of symptoms, combined with some type of duration factor (i.e. for how long those symptoms have been present).

You Will Grow Out Of ADHD

ADHD affects approximately 6% of children (which is approximately 1 in 16), as well as 4% of adults (which is about 1 in 25), which suggests that most people do not grow out of this disorder.

Symptoms may lessen, and it’s also likely that, as adults, people are better able to manage those symptoms, making it less obvious that they are still suffering from ADHD.

Conclusion

As you can see, there is a lot of misinformation doing the rounds about ADHD, and it’s also the case that there are still many unknowns.

You’ll also notice that many of the above myths are similar to each other – but they are listed separately because the focus of the myth is different.

Whatever the truth is, if you or your children have ADHD, it needs to be dealt with in the most appropriate way for that particular individual. That may or may not involve medication, behavioural therapy, as well as number of other treatments that can work for some people.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

1. ADHD For Parents
2. ADHD Resources
3. ADHD Workbook