Redefining ADHD: The Innovator Brain

Constantly shifting between multiple name changes and symptom definitions, the psychiatric field has never handled ADD/ADHD adequately or fairly. The fifth edition of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) of the American Psychiatric Association defines ADHD as follows: "A neurodevelopmental disorder defined by impairing levels of inattention, disorganization, and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity." Let's take a close look at this. Inattention and disorganization refer to the ability to stay on task. Disorganization can also take the form of not listening and losing or misplacing materials at levels that are inconsistent with age or developmental level. Hyperactivity/impulsivity entails overactivity, fidgeting, not able to stay seated, intruding into other people's activities and inability to wait excessive for developmental age. That is why hyperactive children tend to get identified early on and those children who do not have the H in ADHD fly under the radar a bit longer. These children and adults tend to daydream and seem off in their own world (Griffin, 2014).

We will be talking more about symptoms and identifying features of ADHD as we go along. But first I want to make the case for why the profession of psychiatry has been guilty of unfairly pathologizing an entire segment of the population and would do well to reflect on the outcome of their assumptions and practices.

Disorder and Disability

But what really is ADHD? For decades people ranging from neurologists to psychologists to psychiatrists have not been able to agree. Is it really a disability and a disorder? When people believe they have a disorder, they often develop tendency to give less effort to achieve and better themselves, and they may have tried hard if they had only felt more capable. When people are told they have a disability, they are more likely to accept that they cannot overcome being disabled, and accepting this fate can become a self-fulfilling prophecy for them. Adults may fall into thinking and behaving patterns that fall short of their own expectations, patterns like giving up on trying to excel at work or on trying to communicate better with their wives or husbands. Children tend to suffer in silence and to avoid the possibility of appearing stupid and clueless in front of teachers and classmates, so they hold back from interacting. What if having this brain type meant seeing and doing things differently? What if having a rapid-firing brain wasn't all about disadvantages without advantages? Suppose people with ADHD were not forced to settle for a lifetime of disorganization, lack of planning, and poor communication? These are the questions we will be discussing as we continue to explore the truth about this brain type.

Typical approaches to the treatment and understanding of ADHD concentrate on disability and disorder. The people identified or diagnosed are seen as being permanently less capable and competent than they would have been without their disabilities. Therefore, they must adapt to lives of struggling to do the best they can in spite of serious shortcomings. Above all, they must not get their hopes up that it will be possible for them to overcome their challenges. Since the ADHD brain is neurologically "impaired" (versus wired differently as I have come to understand), medication has been used to help people achieve better focus. Traditionally the only help individuals could get for the lack of life-management skills fell into the following categories: diagnosis, medication, and therapy. However, none of these approaches addresses people's needs to build confidence in themselves through understanding how their brains operate. Medication may help people slow down and focus better, and therapy may help them cope with depression or anxiety disorders. But where is the help — and hope — that a person with this brain type can successfully fit into society and live up to expectations of others? Traditional approaches assume these people need to be fixed. Typical recommendations require people take pills and learn to accept and live with their disabilities through therapy. They are advised to lower their expectations regarding the success and productivity they can achieve. To me this has always sounded like they must resign themselves to their fates. The die is cast. I believe this cannot be further from the truth. Next I will explain how my approach and assumptions are completely different from current treatment methods and assumptions.

I have worked for almost forty years with hundreds of clients of differing ages, and I have had a dramatically different experience. I have seen people with this brain type display considerable strengths and talents when given the tools and the confidence. In my experience the people diagnosed as ADHD (when exposed to the protocol I have developed) come across more as gifted innovators than mentally and behaviorally challenged misfits. From my well-honed perspective, categorizing and labeling people with ADHD or attention deficit disorder is responsible for reinforcing weaknesses and promoting negative attitudes and perspectives both on the part of the person being identified and those with whom he or she interacts. This diagnosis becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that in turn justifies the label ADHD. Yet I have witnessed people over and over again break free of the ADHD stereotype after they see themselves from a gifted and talented perspective. They were able to gain a new vision for their lives, realize their true abilities, and embrace the confidence to succeed.

From ADHD Disorder to the Innovator Brain

In moving away from ADHD label, I will explain how I came up with the new label of innovator to describe this brain type. I will explain how ADHD really does mean innovation by using historical and contemporary examples of people, their accomplishments, and their struggles. It is critical to understand why we are wrong about the label ADD or ADHD to describe this brain type. It is important to remember that if we continue to define people by using a label that makes them feel less capable than others, they will struggle to believe in their abilities to overcome their challenges.

The label attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assumes that the brain type is a disorder and a disability. This definition comes directly from the profession of psychiatry and their diagnostic and statistical manual. Psychiatry makes decisions about a person's mental and emotional functioning according to certain precepts of what it believes constitutes mental health and what it believes constitutes mental illness. By assuming that people with ADHD are dysfunctional, the profession of psychiatry is essentially telling them that addressing their issues and improving their lives is unobtainable. If you feel that your brain is not organically equipped to change patterns of unsuitable behavior, why would you try? People with ADHD are thought to have a deficit of attention, and yet it seems to make more sense that they have a surplus of attention from their rapid-firing brains rather than a deficit. Can this brain type be a disorder when people who fall within this spectrum lead successful albeit frustrating lives, often contributing to advancements in science, medicine, and the arts, making a difference in the lives of others with compassion and understanding? There is a strong history of extraordinary world leaders, inventors, scientists, and problem solvers with the same brain type. Psychiatry describes ADHD as a neurological condition caused by lower-than-normal levels of the chemical dopamine. Since dopamine is responsible for inhibiting certain impulses in the brain, lower levels could cause a disruption in the pathways of the brain that affect behavior and motivation. However, in people described as ADHD, behaviors manifest themselves in different ways. What may be a type of strength for some could be a weakness for others. Even within the same person, impulsivity could be the best strategy for finding an immediate and effective solution to a looming problem and the worse strategy for coming to a decision after a long and laborious process. Additionally, what is motivating for one person could be challenging for another. After all, they are different people.

In order for all of us to be on the same page from now on, we need to address the truth about ADHD. Is it a disorder, or is it more aptly referred to as the super evolved gene, a rapid-firing brain, Edison gene, Einstein gene, or innovator brain? After decades of research and direct work with people, what I have found to be most true about this brain type and what seems to have the best fit is the title innovator brain. After forty years of work with people who live with this brain type, I have found this title to be the most fitting. As you will notice in chapter 1, we will still use ADHD to point out the deficiencies in the label and as a way of transitioning you, the reader, to the new title of innovator brain. By the time we get to chapter 2, we will begin to use the innovator brain type, or some version of that description, exclusively when we refer to the power of this amazing brain. In a general sense, an innovator is a person who is one of the first to introduce into reality something better than before and to open up a new area for others to participate in. The strengths of people with the so-called ADHD brain fit that definition better than any other definition I have been able to come up with in my forty years in the field. Having researched and studied the many innovators in the world, past and present, they also seem to have much in common with the ADHD brain type.

I know that many people reading this book will be able to relate to this description of how it feels to grow up ADHD because the stories are similar from person to person. ADHD follows a very recognizable path with anticipated consequences. This is an important question to ask. Why do we pretend to not understand people with the ADHD brain type when we already know so much about how they operate? Wouldn't our time and money be better spent on coming up with a way to teach and train people to manage their ADHD challenges? I believe the answer is yes, and that is why I have worked for decades to understand and find the best practices to help people feel competent, smart, and capable of managing their lives. I help them understand how they are capable of making important contributions as a result of having the ADHD brain, not in spite of having it.

History

ADHD has been called the "hidden disability" because it does not appear as a disability at all. People look normal but behave badly. They don't seem to care about themselves or others, and they do the most annoying things that frustrate us to no end. Society historically has had little compassion for people who display ADHD characteristics. As a result, people with ADHD have had no compassion for themselves. Instead of the confidence to advocate for what they needed and the belief they could obtain it, the hopes and aspirations of those labeled ADHD have been allowed to whither on the vine and fade from sight. Instead of fighting for the right to be accepted for who they are, many people with this brain type have given up their rights to have the understanding and help they need, and along with it, they have surrendered their dreams and fighting spirits. I believe that the day for blame is over and that the day for celebration is near.

If you have been labeled ADHD and have suffered with a lack of help and a lack of understanding, it is likely you did the best you could do under the circumstances. The right kind of help can still be difficult to find. Until recently and still in certain locations in this country and around the world, ADHD coaching — a type of intervention we have found to be highly effective in helping people bring their behaviors under control — is either unknown or unavailable. During our journey we will be exploring the many ways that people with a knack for superb creative talent and problem-solving abilities — mistakenly referred as ADHD or disabled and disordered — can be given the tools to bring their gifts to the world by way of the help of a professional ADHD coach.

I'm going to walk you through an exercise now that will help you compare and contrast traditional beliefs and perceptions about this brain type with my own. I have created this first list as a compilation of the things I hear people complain about and say they believe about ADHD and the way it manifests itself. Some of them you may agree with, and some of them you may disagree agree with.

• It is inherited from one or both parents.

• People with ADHD are good at compensating for their differences until demands become too high.

• Common symptoms are distractibility, impulsivity, disorganization, and a rapid-firing brain.

• People with the ADHD brain can become easily overwhelmed and thrown off course.

• It is a brain type that is primarily characterized by living in the moment without thinking about the future.

• There is a tendency to think of all activities or tasks as equal in importance.

• There are often accompanying conditions such as anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and bipolar disorder.

• People with ADHD often feel disappointed in themselves and less worthy as compared to others.

• Those who have this brain type often grow up feeling like they don't fit in.

• There is a reluctance to draw attention to oneself for fear of appearing stupid.

• People with ADHD often jangle our nerves.

While we are looking at the ADHD behaviors people complain about, we need to also look at the ADHD behaviors that serve individuals well and make it possible for them to do outstanding work and make exceptional contributions. If we don't admit this list exists and has validity, we continue to reinforce the stigma of disorder and disability by preventing people with this brain type from having confidence and hope. We knowingly inhibit their chances of living better and having worthwhile lives. My experience with the hundreds of people with ADHD I have worked with through the years has shown me that living with the stigma can take a toll in job performance, personal relationships, and self-worth.

This list will help you look candidly at what neuroscience, psychology, and ADHD coaching are discovering that changes our present understanding of the ADHD brain. Here is my list of the upside of having an ADHD brain:

• They have insatiable curiosity.

• They exhibit a higher level of creativity when it comes to solving both large and small problems.

• They have the ability to be exceptionally inventive in response to the needs around them.

• Their innovation skills are way above average and extraordinary.

• They have a natural inclination to follow their instincts and use out-of-the-box thinking

• They are often living in the moment, jumping from possibility to possibility, and finding clues.

• They follow clues to their natural conclusions.

• They have a basic sense of compassion and care for others and the problems around them.

• They have a nonlinear sense of things that helps them identify solutions more quickly.

• They dig in and "hyper focus" on something to the exclusion of everything else.

• Historically they have constituted our greatest innovators and problem solvers.

Early on while I was working with people who fit the description of this brain type, I discovered that impulsivity in one area could be considered inappropriate while impulsivity in another area could be considered good problem solving. For example, when it is necessary to follow a routine to ensure a task is completed on time, being impulsive and switching focus to other topics would likely get in the way. But when a cure for cancer is being explored, the greater the level of impulsivity, the more likely the researcher is to apply better and better methods of finding one. This is also true for disorganization. While managing a portfolio of someone's wealth requires a high level of organization, as any portfolio manager would tell you, the same portfolio manager would also say impulsivity is a good thing when one is searching and exploring better financial options. I cannot imagine Picasso inventing cubism had he not had impulsivity on his side as a welcome strategy. I help my clients embrace all of their behaviors despite what they have grown up to believe or the feedback they have gotten from others. Instead they learn to make the right distinctions between the proper and improper time to be impulsive or focused, organized or intuitive, attending to the needs of others or attending to the needs of themselves. My clients tell me that it is good news to know that they are not broken and that they don't need to be fixed. They are relieved to know that improving their behaviors, their relationships, and their abilities to communicate is something they can learn to change with practice, understanding, and the right professionals to support them.