Dr. Thomas Brown, one of the leading researchers and clinicians in the field of AD/HD, identifies 10 myths about ADHD that are insightful and worthy of (focused) attention:
1. A person who has ADHD always has difficulty with executive functions such as focusing on a task and keeping things in mind, regardless of what they are doing.
2. If a person with ADHD really wants to focus and work effectively on a task they can make themselves do it. Using executive functions is just a matter of willpower.
3. Persons with high IQ are not likely to have executive function impairments of ADHD because they are smart enough to overcome such difficulties.
4. Executive function impairments of ADHD usually are outgrown when the person reaches their late teens or early twenties.
5. Modern research methods have established that executive function impairments are localized mainly in the prefrontal cortex.
6. Emotions and motivation are not involved in executive functions associated with ADHD.
7. The new model of ADHD as developmentally impaired executive function is completely different from the older model of ADHD.
8. ADHD-related executive function impairments are due primarily to a “chemical imbalance” in the brain.
9. For some individuals with ADHD, prescribed medications can cure their ADHD impairments so they do not need to keep taking the medication.
10. ADHD impairments sometimes last into early adulthood, but then they usually diminish before middle age.
Below is a link to Dr. Brown’s article on the topic, which includes detailed explanations as to why each of these myths are wrong.
10 myths about ADHD and why they are wrong