Advantages of ADHD

Written by: Martin Winkler

First version: 22 Jul 2008. Latest revision: 22 Jul 2008.

Question:

What are the advantages of ADHD? What are positive aspects of ADHD?

Answer:

While diagnostic criteria and treatment plans focus on negative aspects of hyperactivity, impulsive problems or attention deficits, there are a lot of positive aspects of ADHD children, adolescents or adults. Not all ADHD people will have all these positive traits or qualities but usually you will find a broad variety of strengths.

This is one of the reasons why many parents do not want their children to be changed by psychopharmacotherapy or behavioural treatment. Some positive aspects of ADHD can be:

creativity
charming personality, warmheartedness
good judge of character
sense of humour
quick to grasp essentials
flexibility
intuitiveness
sensitive to surrounding environment
enthusiastic, passionate
forgives mistakes
tries to do better next time
willing to take risks

More Information

Difference between DAMP (Deficits in Attention, Motor Control and Perception) and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) Difference between ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) Different types of ADHD Age of onset Persistence of symptoms of adhd Inflexibility Impulsiveness Toddlers and ADHD Distractibility Change of symptoms Situational variation Procrastination Obesity Messiness, Messies syndrome Domains of impairment ADHD Symptoms and ADHD treatment in Children - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - Myths and Truth; Links

Sources, references