The structure of my post left much to be desired, so I thank you for reading it and taking a moment to comment.
As for the matter of your question, there is a large body of data showing a strong correlation between the cognitive dysfunctions giving rise to ADHD and the suite of behaviors that guide an individual’s ability to plan ahead, understand and incorporate delayed reward, manage impulsivity and the like. Studies of adults w/ADHD and non-ADHD control cohorts regularly reveal significant differences in quality of life, especially with regard to personal finances.
The behavior I described as being time-insensitive is called “hyper-focus” in clinical settings. Hyper-focus in people with ADHD presents as a less extreme expression of similar traits found in persons with Autism. Some popular press writers who “defend” ADHD often highlight “hyper-focus” as a positive characteristic which, properly managed, can aid an ADHD person to higher levels of achievement. The problem is that “managing” behaviors and/or emotional responses in real-time is one of the defining neurocognitive deficits of attention disorders.
Lastly, keep in mind that every limp is not indicative of a broken ankle. The limp may be the result of a wholly different cause. That’s why the diagnostic process is so critical to any and all healthcare engagements. Poor or hastily rendered diagnoses guarantee the “patient” is doubly screwed - 1) true ailment/dysfunction is not treated and 2) treatments for misdiagnosed “condition” may well induce new problems or complications of their own.
One additional point I’d like to address pertains to the portents of neruophysical basis for ADHD.
Researchers are revealing more and more evidence indicating a robust causal relationship between various aspects of the brain’s architecture and the resulting behavior/cognitive dysfunctions known as ADHD. Here’s a link to one recently issued study finding focusing on this very subject.
Inside the Adult ADHD Brain
As for ADHD"s heritability, it is thought to be highly heritable. Two examples indicating its trans-generational genetic impact are 1) young mothers constitute the fastest growing cohort of ADHD diagnoses and prescribed stimulant users. These individual’s are often found to ADHD after one or ore of their children is diagnosed. 2) Numerous studies of heritability suggest that the rate of heritability for ADHD is nearly as robust as is height.
One more point on important ADHD research results that are still relatively unknown across the general population. It had long been the case that experts believed that ADHD was a disorder that was temporary in nature. It was believed that organic, but not debilitating attributes shaping the human developmental process varied individually. ADHD was then fitted to that model’s assumption leading experts to say that the condition affected boys (with rare exception) and would self-resolve as the developmental process matured - boys into men.
The experts were wrong - and not in a small way. It is now the consensus view among child psych/developmental specialists that ADHD does not self-resolve. The statistics are still inexact, but meta-analyses of contemporary research indicates that as many as 65% of childhood ADHD patients will continue to present with the disorder into and throughout adulthood.
In regard to gender-based distribution, the experts failed as well. Women and girls are just as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD as men and boys. Numerous characteristics belonging to “role” definitions functioned to mask the true prevalence of the condition in girls which then was translated to extrapolations of adult females with ADHD that were wildly off-target. As I wrote above, young mothers are - at present - the fastest growing cohort of individuals being diagnosed with ADHD. The clinical reality of women’s experiences has sparked a wide-spread effort to refocus and clarify the symptom definitions of ADHD with the social, cultural and gender distinctions that are common to girls and teens.
In the end, helping more individuals at an early age reduces the number of men and women who suddenly discover that they’ve been living with a eminently manageable condition for decades.
