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Do I Have ADHD?

2017-03-10 · letter vlog · Hank · 3:59 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Health · mode: Personal essay · tags: heavy topic, self promotion

Hank, diagnosed as a child with a sensory processing disorder, describes his attention problems and asks whether he has ADHD (maybe); he argues disorders are ongoing impairments, that he is less impaired thanks to family, teachers, a fitting situation and economic advantages such as an early computer, and that no one has to figure out their own mind alone.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Childhood sensory dysfunction diagnosis; why ADHD wasn't diagnosed then; overlapping symptoms

  • ★★★ Hank says that as a little kid he was diagnosed with a learning disability, a sensory dysfunction. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Hank explains that sensory disorders mean having a hard time dealing with information coming into your senses, or getting too much or not enough of it. (hedged) — 00:00:05
  • ★★ Hank says that had he been born ten years later he probably would have been additionally or alternately diagnosed with ADHD, though he can't say for sure. (hedged) — 00:00:20
  • ★★ Hank says seven is the average age for an ADHD diagnosis, and when he was seven attention-deficit disorders weren't diagnosed or discussed as much. — 00:00:28
  • ★★ Hank says he had symptoms outside the attention-deficit box but sometimes overlapping, like mild dyslexia and motor control problems. — 00:00:37

00:00:44 — Hank's attention issues: schedules, hyperfocus, restlessness, drifting off, lateness, rage

  • ★★ Hank says he definitely has some attention issues: schedules frustrate him and he has a hard time being in the right place at the right time, as everyone who works with him knows. — 00:00:44
  • ★★ Hank says that when he can focus he gets really focused, and when forced to disengage he gets irrationally angry. — 00:00:56
  • ★ Hank says he is always searching for new things to create and wears holes in his socks fast because his toes never stop moving. (playful) — 00:01:04
  • ★★ Hank says he has gotten pretty good at managing these things with help from friends, family, tutors, teachers and now an assistant. — 00:01:11
  • ★★★ Hank says he still often hurts or annoys people he cares about by going somewhere else in his head while they talk to him. — 00:01:22
  • ★★ Hank says he is often late, which makes people think he doesn't care about them. — 00:01:30
  • ★ Hank says he sometimes has hard-to-control flashes of rage in grocery lines. — 00:01:34

00:01:38 — Disorders as ongoing impairments; support, situation and economics (the computer); environment versus brain

  • ★★ Hank notes that psychological disorders are now discussed on their new channel, SciShow Psych. — 00:01:38 · SciShow Psych

  • ★★★ Hank says disorders are only classified as disorders when they are ongoing, frustrating impairments. — 00:01:43 · mental disorder

    “disorders are only classified as disorders when they're ongoing, frustrating impairments.”

  • ★★★ Hank says that, especially now, he is less impaired by the different way his brain maybe works, thanks to great support from family and teachers. (hedged) — 00:01:48

  • ★★ Hank says he has also gotten himself into situations where the different way his brain works is maybe an advantage rather than a hindrance. (hedged) — 00:01:54
  • ★★ Hank says his parents took him to a handwriting therapist who told them to get him a computer so he could learn to type. — 00:02:05
  • ★★★ Hank says it was economics too: getting a computer was an option for his family in the 80s, giving him a tool and skill set none of his classmates had, and that is huge. — 00:02:17
  • ★★★ Hank says there are two parts to minimising the negative effects of a brain that doesn't work normally: changing the environment to suit it, and improving its function through medication, mindfulness or exercise. (hedged) — 00:02:27
  • ★★ Hank says his advantages let him succeed at changing his environment, so maybe he never had a hard enough time to look into the second part. (hedged) — 00:02:43

00:02:51 — Do I have ADHD? Maybe; learning habits; lucky and helped; a recommended video; you are not alone

  • ★★★ Asked whether he has ADHD, Hank answers maybe. (unsure) — 00:02:51
  • ★★ Hank says he is dedicated to understanding his shortcomings and building habits to deal with them, learned partly from his own body and partly from people with ADHD who talk openly about it and people who work with them. — 00:02:53
  • ★★ Hank thinks he has by now gotten through the hardest parts of living in his brain, learning to cope, and is proud of that. (hedged) — 00:03:12
  • ★★★ Hank thinks it took hard work but also a lot of help, which he got in spades through economic advantages, early diagnosis and great tutors: he has been very lucky. (hedged) — 00:03:24
  • ★★ Hank recommends a video for anyone who thinks they might have ADHD; it is very good and inspired this one (linked in the description). — 00:03:38
  • ★★★ Hank says figuring out how to live in your own mind and body is the task of your life. — 00:03:46
  • ★★★ Hank says there is no reason to think you have to take that task on alone. — 00:03:51

00:03:54 — Sign-off; blue paint on his hoodie

In the description and comments

  • ★ Hank recommends a YouTube channel full of tips he finds useful for the habits he builds, alongside habits he has developed on his own. — video description
  • ★★★ Hank adds something he didn't say in the video: he has struggled with worrying that if he gets diagnosed he will blame the disorder instead of himself and let it excuse his behaviour. — video description
  • ★★★ Hank says part of him always wants to believe he is strong and smart enough to handle any curve ball without letting anyone down, which he thinks might be destructive, so he is glad he has let himself get support from friends, family and professionals over the years. (hedged) — video description

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder · Sensory processing disorder

Also: dyslexia · mental disorder · SciShow Psych · social privilege

Only in the description or credits: How to Know if you have ADHD

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