What Do We Mean by ADHD?
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is typically described as having three key traits: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. But what’s the brain activity behind them?
To simplify some very complex neuroscience: when there’s an uneven supply of neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine in our brains, particularly in the prefrontal cortex (the front part of the brain), it leads to inconsistent communication across our neurons. This causes uneven waves of stimulation, creating the effect of circuits being switched on and off, which can block motivation, focus, productivity and level of engagement.
What does your prefrontal cortex manage?
Planning and decision-making
Starting and finishing tasks
Staying on track
Concentrating and blocking distractions
Regulation of emotions
Nobody likes being reduced to a label. And as diagnostic labels go, ADHD is frustratingly imprecise.
It doesn’t help that many people throw the term around casually, maybe joking that “I must have ADHD” when they’ve simply overlooked or lost interest in something, as everyone does from time to time. Meanwhile, experts debate whether ADHD is an accurate – or fair – way to sum up a complex set of symptoms. In fact, we’re seeing a shift away from talking about the symptoms of ADHD in favour of identifying the behaviours or characteristics associated with a brain that simply works differently than many people’s.
The experience of living with ADHD is what really matters.
While the diagnostic label ADHD can be convenient shorthand, we need to focus on what really matters: the experience of people who live every day with ADHD.
Planning to do something but forgetting. Beginning a task but giving up. Thinking about too many things at once and struggling to set priorities. These are the kinds of behaviours that can lead to someone being formally diagnosed with ADHD. But it’s not helpful or even correct to think of them as fundamental personality features — or worse, weaknesses.
ADHD is not about what you can’t do.
When ADHD is properly treated, it’s about discovering all the things you can do — and empowering you to do them even better. The first step is to understand what’s happening in your brain that causes you to behave in particular ways. Because by better understanding causes, we can start to change outcomes.
01
Defining and isolating blockers
At Springboard, the first step in effective ADHD treatment is defining and isolating these cognitive blockers that cause a disconnect between intentions and actions. And from there, we develop a personalized coaching and therapy strategy designed to help you thrive.
02
Understanding your traits
Our Care Team helps you distinguish between your ADHD traits and your true self. Then we work with you to better understand how these traits affect all areas of life, from your personal relationships, to how you experience work or school, to your physical and emotional health.
03
Gaining deeper insights to create better outcomes
ADHD is diagnosed on a spectrum, with particular attributes and impacts varying from person to person. People with ADHD are in turn part of the broader spectrum of neurodiversity, which includes everybody. We help Springboard clients see that their brains simply work in different ways than what is arbitrarily judged normal. We then show how you can use that understanding to gain deeper insights into your own thinking and behaviours, and make adjustments to create better outcomes — for you.
ADHD is not a permanent barrier. It just challenges you to find a different path to realizing your full potential.