Neurodiversity and ADHD have become buzzwords recently. Suddenly, it seems everyone has either been diagnosed or self-diagnosed with the help of dubious online tests. Sometimes, diagnoses can be very helpful. I personally know people who found enormous relief in having an answer for the symptoms that plague them. While diagnoses can be limiting when used as a label, they can also provide wonderful information and guide treatment approaches.
At EduHelp, we don’t diagnose our clients. One reason for this is that it simply does not fall within our scope as support learning and wellness specialists. We work closely with other specialists, such as clinical and educational psychologists, physiotherapists, social workers, psychiatrists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and paediatricians, as each brings a unique combination of experience and training to the field, ultimately benefiting our clients. This kind of integrative, transdisciplinary approach enables a more comprehensive treatment protocol that leverages the strengths of multiple adjacent and complementary fields.
Say, for example, a client comes to us with a diagnosis of ADHD. While this background information informs our approach, we still look at every client holistically to determine their strengths and areas for improvement. This means that we take everything about our clients into consideration: their family and cultural background, their age and current level of education, their social environment, medical background, belief system, any significant life events that have occurred, their school environment, interests and hobbies, etc. By taking a broader perspective on the child, we gather a lot of information about them that fills in the details of who they are.
We often hear that ‘you are not your diagnosis’, but with something like ADHD or other learning challenges, much of the time that label becomes ingrained as part of a child’s personality in the eyes of their parents, educators and the child themselves. For the person diagnosed, the danger comes when it becomes the accepted, fixed reason for behaviour or for not putting in the necessary effort to thrive. When the label comes in the form of ‘I am’, this means that it defines you, sets limits on what is achievable, and might be used as an excuse for not applying the grit and resilience needed to thrive.
ADHD is not a ‘superpower’. Neither is it a disability nor a life sentence. Instead, it is a blanket term that describes individuals whose brains function differently from others. One prominent feature of ADHD is a diminished capacity to sustain focus on things that don’t captivate the person and pique their interest. This does not mean they cannot focus. Instead, ADD/ADHD describes a potential attention spectrum that is impacted by aspects like novelty, intrigue, intrinsic or assumed value, and pressure.
People with ADHD sometimes get hyperfocused on a particular thing that they’re interested in, for example, a specific game. This can be confusing, as parents may not understand why their child can game for three hours at a time, but not sit still and pay attention for 45 minutes in class. However, consider the difference from the child’s perspective: The game is designed to be exciting, engaging, and entertaining. Players become immersed in the storylines and get a dopamine hit from all the rewards, the speed of gameplay, the graphic design elements and levelling up.
Now imagine the same child sitting in class, something they have no autonomy over, and being expected to not only sit still, but to be quiet, focus on one person talking (often about something they are not particularly interested in), and ignore the distraction of friends talking, fidgeting and asking questions that interrupt the flow. That is not even mentioning the additional potential for overstimulation from busy walls, covered in posters and art, the impact of fluorescent or LED lighting, maybe even uncomfortable school uniforms and desks. Nor does it take into consideration the impact of other somatic factors that impact the ability to concentrate, like core strength. Sometimes, what may present like ADHD on the surface, in fact, actually comes down to other factors like APD (auditory processing disorder).
Clearly, there is much to consider when talking about diagnoses, especially something that could potentially cause a person to be labelled for life. This, however, does not mean we should throw all diagnoses to the wind. Seen within a broader context, approached mindfully and from a multidisciplinary view, a learning challenge diagnosis can be helpful. The secret to dealing with such a diagnosis successfully is seeing it as one part of the whole, instead of a label that defines and limits the person’s ability to function optimally.