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ADHD/ADD
What is it really?
 D. Blayne Laws, M.D.
 Graduated in 1997 from Loma Linda University
School of Medicine in Loma Linda, California.
 Residency in Family Practice, at the Texas Tech
University Health Science Center in Odessa, Texas.
 Private practice since 2000.
 ADHD/ADD What is it really?

• There is no such thing as ADD!

• I know, Some of you are thinking,
• “I knew it, those kids just need a spanking more
discipline”.
This means we are
going off topic.
 ADHD/ADD What is it really?
 DSM V
 Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders,
Fifth Edition
 Theguide book for diagnosing mental health
conditions.
The Official Medical Diagnoses
 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,
Predominantly Inattentive Type

 ICD10 F90.0
(The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition)

 Commonly known as “ADD”

 All of the energy goes inward!
 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,
Predominantly Hyperactive Impulsive Type

 ICD10 F90.1
 Commonly known as “ADHD”
 All of the energy goes outward!
 Very impulsive
 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,
Combined Type
 ICD10 F90.2
 Also known as “ADHD”
 All of the energy goes outward!
 Very impulsive
 And no focus.
See I told you there was no such thing as ADD!
Not officially anyway.
Now that we have all of the “Official” stuff
out of the way!
Let me tell you what its all about!
 Understanding the ADHD brain
• Understanding the ADHD brain and
nervous system is really the key.
• Our understanding, over the past
20 years has reveled that the ADHD
brain is not a broken version of a
normal brain that needs to be fixed.
 Understanding ADHD

• It is actually a normal brain in it’s own right.

• It’s hard wired differently.
• Its was designed with a different purpose.
• It has different strengths
• Different weaknesses
• Different chemistry
 Understanding ADHD

• Having ADHD is like being left handed.

• The world is designed for right handed people. It’s
not that the right hand is better, it’s the default.
• Left handed people have to use special tools.
 Understanding ADHD
• Having ADHD is like being left handed.
• The world is designed for right handed people. It’s not that the right hand is better, it’s the default.
• Left handed people have to use special tools.

• It has nothing to do with intellect or dexterity

• They just need the right tool to meet their
potential in a right handed world.
Recent studies have shown that the average IQ
for people with ADHD is ………

120
 Understanding ADHD
Another analogy I have come across is comparing the
• hunter-gatherer
• and the farmer.
 Understanding ADHD
The farmer represents the neuro typical
or average person.
• They are very good at doing one thing at a time.
• They focus on that one thing until it’s finished and then
move on to the next task.
• They spend part of their mental energy making a list
• They will prioritize the list
• They’ll do the most important thing first
• and the least important thing last.
 Understanding ADHD

They spend part of their extra

mental energy keeping a calendar.
 Understanding ADHD
They spend part of their extra mental
energy keeping a calendar.
They need to know:
• when to plant,
• when to water,
• when to fertilize,
• when to harvest,
• when to do their
maintenance,
 Understanding ADHD

They’re typically not very good at:

• Being creative
• Solving problems
• Thinking outside the box
• Coming up with solutions on the fly
How many of you have seen this puzzle before?
Raise your hands.
Can it be done with 3 lines?
How about 1 line?

How many of you solved it without help?

Don’t raise your hands!!!!
 Understanding ADHD
They typically have a learning style
that is part to whole.
• You start off with small bits of
information
• You add a little bit at a time
• Until you build up the picture
of what you are trying to
learn.
Understanding ADHD
The ADHD brain:
 What job would you choose?

A. Work 40 hrs for $400

B. Work 80 hrs for $400

A lot of parents unknowingly ask their ADHD child to pick B.

They don't have a problem, they just need to

try harder !
Understanding ADHD
The ADHD brain:
 Understanding ADHD

The hunter-gatherer brain is

nearly the opposite of the
farmer brain.

They are typically whole to part

learners.
 Understanding ADHD
They are typically whole to part learners.

• Big picture first

• Then the framework
• Then the details last.
 Understanding ADHD

• The hunter-gatherer’s job is

to survive right now.

• He needs to be very aware

of everything around him.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

 Understanding ADHD

• His brain has been designed

to take in a large amount of
data very quickly.
• Through all five senses

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

 Understanding ADHD

They’re constantly scanning

their internal and external
environment.
 Understanding ADHD

Like a radar
Constantly scanning
 Understanding ADHD

Any time anything changes

their attention immediately
goes to that thing.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed

under CC BY-ND
 Understanding ADHD

For them to be able to survive

they need to be very aware of
everything that is going on
around them!

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

 Understanding ADHD

• They don’t spend their extra

mental energy prioritizing a
list of things to do.

• They very much live in the

moment!
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND
 Understanding ADHD

• They also don’t spend a lot

of energy keeping a
calendar…
• What’s going to happen
tomorrow, next month, next
season, or next year.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

 Understanding ADHD

• Keeping a calendar is a
waste of time.
• Their world is constantly
changing and they are
constantly on the move.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC
 Understanding ADHD

If you don’t survive right now,

None of the planning matters!
 Understanding ADHD

They spend most of their

energy being:
• Creative
• Solving problems
• Coming up with solutions on
the fly
• Thinking outside the box
 Understanding ADHD

They have this amazing

ability…they’re going to sense
all the changes that are going
on around them.
 Understanding ADHD

• They hear the water

• See the berries,
• Or notice the cougar
sneaking up behind them.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

 Understanding ADHD

They need to know if there’s a

funny smell in the breeze, or if
the wind changes.
 Understanding ADHD

They need to know if there’s a

change in the temperature or in
the humidity or see the storm
clouds are rolling in.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

 Understanding ADHD

All of that information is very

valuable for them. They take it
all in, they process it very
quickly , and they pull out the
nuggets they need.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

 Understanding ADHD

They discard everything

else, make a new plan and
move on. It’s very dynamic,
very active.
 Understanding ADHD

When you take the ability to

process their environment
rapidly and put it in a
classroom, it becomes a
problem.
 Understanding ADHD

They cannot turn off the

radar.
They’re still going to process
everything that’s going on
around them.
 Understanding ADHD

• They were designed to learn

with all their senses.
• In a standard classroom we
limit them to two:
1. hearing
2. seeing.
 Understanding ADHD

The average K-12 classroom

has about 25 kids:
• They’re all moving,
• They’re all making noise.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

 Understanding ADHD

• There are people walking up

and down the hall.
• Guys are mowing the grass.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

 Understanding ADHD

• The birds are flying by

• The lighting is changing as
the clouds go by
• The temperature in the room
is going up and down
• The blower fan is going on
and off
 Understanding ADHD

• The teacher is talking

• They’re thinking about things
in their own mind
• The tag in their shirt is itchy
• The kid next to them smells
funny
 Understanding ADHD

They’re processing all of this

information continuously!
 Understanding ADHD

So they’re going to have a hard

time absorbing the “important”
information.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

 Understanding ADHD

If we take the farmer and put

him in the wilderness he’s not
going to perform very well
either.
 Understanding ADHD

He’s going to focus on his map

and his compass. He’s not
going to be aware of all the
stuff going on around him.
 Understanding ADHD

He’s going to get caught by the

storm, or starve, or eaten by
the cougar.
 Understanding ADHD

So again, one is not better

than the other, they’re just
different. When they’re in the
right environment they thrive,
but in the wrong environment
they struggle.
In my practice:

Over half of adults with newly diagnosed ADHD who are treated with appropriate medications
will receive a raise in pay or promotion within 6 to 12 months. Of the other half most of them
are self employed.
Understanding ADHD
 Understanding ADHD
Hyper Focus:
A state of focus so intense, that the world
around you and even time itself disappears.
 Understanding ADHD
A state of focus so intense, that the world around
you and even time itself disappears.

This is the thing that throws everybody off.

• If people with ADHD could never focus there would be no

controversy over the diagnosis.
• The problem is they can focus, and sometimes they can
focus very well for a long time.
 Understanding ADHD

• It’s very confusing for the

farmer brains, when they’re
looking at this trying to
explain what’s going on.
• For them, their focus is
based on priority.
 Understanding ADHD

• The more important the task,

the more they focus on it.
• They have the ability to turn
their focus on and off.
 Understanding ADHD

• They assume that’s true for

everyone, but it’s not.
• The hyper focus of ADHD is
automatic, it’s not a choice.
 Understanding ADHD

• The person with ADHD can’t

turn the focus on or off when
they want to.
• It just happens.
• It happens when the cougar
shows up.
 Understanding ADHD

• The hunter-gatherer sees the

cougar, “oh crud, there’s a
cougar.”
• The radar immediately turns
off, and they go into hyper
focus mode.
 Understanding ADHD

• They will stay on that task

until they take care of
business.
• Or something more
threatening comes along.
 Understanding ADHD

The hyper focus of ADHD is triggered By a sense of urgency!

1. Things that are new, novel, or
intriguing.
2. Things that you are interested in.
3. Competition
4. Video games
5. Shopping
 Understanding ADHD
When they are hyper focused, their sense
of the passage of time changes.
 Understanding ADHD
When they are hyper focused, their sense
of the passage of time changes.
 Understanding ADHD

When they are engaged and hyper

focused 5 hours can feel like 5 min.
 Understanding ADHD

The opposite is also true.

When bored 5 minutes can feel like an eternity.
Understanding ADHD
 Understanding ADHD

Treatment
1. Proper Diagnosis
2. Proper Pharmacotherapy
a. Proper molecule
b. Proper delivery
c. Proper dose
d. Proper timing
e. Proper frequency
 Understanding ADHD
Treatment
But stimulant medications are bad for you and lead to addictions!

False and False

When used correctly the stimulant medications are very

safe and reduce the risk of addiction.
 Understanding ADHD
Treatment
False and False

When used correctly the stimulant medications are very safe and reduce the risk of addiction.

• One of the problems people with ADHD

have is remembering to take their
medication.
• I have never met a junkie that forgot to
take his next fix.
 Understanding ADHD
Treatment

What about side effects and the zombie kids?

Misuse of, or over medication.

 Understanding ADHD
Treatment

Other things you can do to help treat the symptoms of ADHD

• Working with your brain instead of against it
• Exercise
• Getting good sleep
• Making the environment work for you
 Understanding ADHD
Treatment

Other things you can do to help treat the symptoms of ADHD

Finding the best time for your focus
Nutritional supplements
Good communication skills
Technology
Open storage
Q&A
A Special thanks to my loving wife Heather.
She makes my life easy so I can teach

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ADHD Letter From the Teacher