Facts from ADHD Experts

ADHD facts that you need to understand your ADHD includes some information on the biology, some of the research, and challenges. This section only provides facts from proven and well-known credible sources. Let's eliminate fact from fiction!

ADHD Facts around the Biology of ADHD

There are several ways used to explain attention deficit disorder or ADHD. Dr. Edward Hallowell, a well-known psychiatrist and ADHDer who wrote several books on the subject, describes it as having a “turbocharged race-car brain” (Delivered from distraction, 2005 p 4). Dr Hallowell has written several books on ADHD including the very popular Driven to Distraction and Delivered from Distraction. He also started the Hallowell Centers that provide diagnosis and treatment for people with ADHD.

For more information on the Hallowell Centers, click here.

Thom Hartmann, well-known best-selling writer who wrote 8 books on the subject, describes ADHD not as a disorder but as a genetic difference. He created the analogy of the hunter (ADDer) and farmer (non-ADDer) to explain how the difficulty ADDers have in filtering out environmental stimuli may have improved early humans ability to survive. The problem is that we live in a non-ADD world, a farmer’s world.

Information on Thom Hartmann, including speaking engagements and books, click here.

Dr Thomas Brown, a clinical psychologist who has treated ADD for decades, describes it as impairments in the executive functions of the brain that effect the ADDer’s quality of life.

The brain’s executive functions are located in the front part of the brain (prefrontal and frontal cortex) and are responsible for organizing, prioritizing, focusing and sustaining focus, “getting started”, regulating and sustaining alertness, using working memory, managing emotions, and regulating action.

Dr Thomas Brown's Web site provides information on the biology of ADHD and some interesting discussions.

Dr. Russell Barkley, a leading research psychologist working on ADHD, describes ADD as having “more to do with lost interest than with an inability to concentrate” and suggests that increasing the interest of a project, class, subject, will increase the ADDer’s ability to focus.

Dr Barkley's official web sites offers a lot of information on ADHD.

To see more ADHD facts including information on ADHD treatment options click here