Concentration Proble...oo! shiny thing!

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Lately I've been having a lot of trouble, especially at work, with my concentration, and I've been trying to figure out where it stems from so I can figure out how to improve my attention span. It seems that my "daydream breaks" often start when I consider the amount of work piled on my desk or when I am trying to puzzle out how to do a difficult part of an assignment at work. Also, especially lately, I've noticed I get very stressed out during these "breaks," evidenced by the increased tempo of my foot-tapping stims.

Until recently, I thought I probably had ADD, but never went for a diagnosis or took any medication for it. Recently, I was diagnosed with AS and depression. The diagnosing psychologist said he pretty much ruled out ADD due to my ability to concentrate on the IQ and personality tests he administered to me. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought people with ADD often showed an ability to hyper-focus on things they enjoyed. For me, tests are something I love taking. I'd love to have that explained better.

Secondly, a common symptom of depression is loss of concentration. I've seen this many times, but I have yet to see it really explained. There are a lot of different ways a person can lose concentration. On the plus side, if this is the cause of the problem, medication ought to help

Thirdly, I understand many aspies have trouble with Executive Functioning. I figure this explains my chronic procrastination pretty well. It might also explain why I get stressed and lose concentration when the work piles up too much. Unfortunately, if this is the cause of the problem, I'm SOL for easy solutions. No medication for AS.

If anyone would be so kind as to describe what their concentration problems feel like, I'd love to hear about it.

I thought hyperfocus was just AS, not ADD. Anyway many of ADDs problems are common among aspies.

I could have been confused on that point. If true, I suppose that does rule out ADD.

I just really hope I can figure this out before my job performance suffers enough for them to justify firing me.

I was told by my psych that hyperfocus is common with ASD and ADHD.

I have ASD but not ADHD, and hyperfocus with difficulty attention-switching is my primary executive dysfunction issue. Once my attention is switched, I can focus intensely and work on anything, even things that I don't enjoy. I would describe my attention as a runaway train racing down one track instead of the frequent attention-switching that seems to be more common with ADHD.

First...you cannot rule out ADHD from an IQ test. Only 60% of ADHD people have an IQ discrepancy. The rest are fine. My friend has ADHD and is a genius according to his IQ test. However, I have ADHD and there was a discrepancy. This psychologist is not telling you something, because I find it shocking he would rule it out over that.

Also, look up Russell Barkley (ADHD expert) and perseveration. This is the hyper focus you speak of. There are people with ADHD who "hyper focus" but Barkley thinks it is actually perseveration and is an attention issue. The person perseveres with a certain task and is unable to shift attention (like a kid sucked into a video game). He thinks autistic people hyper focus, but ADHD people have a problem with attention shifting. So someone with ADHD will get sucked into his favorite book, knows he is supposed to be focusing on getting some other more pressing work done, but perseveres with the book because he has so much trouble shifting his attention and focusing on what needs to be done.

The whole idea that ADHD people cannot focus on anything for more than 15 minutes has been debunked. They can and do focus for sustained periods of time (this includes IQ tests).

Also, where did you take the test? It has been proven that people with ADHD can be very high performing when put in a quiet room with nothing to distract them. If there are absolutely no distractions, that could have been why you tested so well. In school settings, kids with ADHD will often take tests in separate rooms from their classmates so that their eyes don't wander and get distracted by eye candy or something other kids are doing (even as little as reaching for another pencil). People with ADHD sometimes have something like a 360 degree awareness and they soak up many things at once. I do this as well, but it's more like I have many different thoughts going on at once in my brain,

I was tested for ADHD 15 years ago so I don't remember the tests in a lot of detail. But I was able to concentrate okay on most of the tests, except the ones that involved listening and using working memory. My concentration was terrible on those and I started crying because I got so frustrated. My perfomance on those tests was a sharp contrast to the other ones, which I got very high scores on.

Yes people with ADD/ADHD can focus intensely on some things but certain tasks are always difficult. It does not matter how interesting it is or how much I enjoy it, it is still difficult. Anything that involves listening and processing verbal instructions is very difficult. It feels like I am twisting my brain into a million knots.

Yeah, I'm not entirely sure I got a very in-depth analysis from that guy. I wish I could get a second opinion (even though the first opinion agreed with my own).



a quiet room with nothing to distract me.



This part sounds very familiar to how I experience things when in a public place (like at work). I have suspected it has something to do with social anxiety, although it doesn't specifically cause me anxiety, but rather I'm just aware of everything/everyone around me. Maybe this explains it better though...

Yeah, I definitely have problems with verbal instructions. Which, of course, is my boss' favorite way to communicate with me. Just one more reason they're likely to fire me soon.

Interesting thread. I definitely have some problems like those described in this thread. It's late now, but I'd perhaps like to join the discussion later.

That's the main accomodation given in school for students with ADD, you are allowed to take tests in a quiet room with no distractions.

The first time I took the SAT, I was in a noisy room and I almost went into a rage because the sounds were so irritating to me. Pencils scratching, desks creaking, I felt like I would go insane trying to filter all that out.

The second time I took the SAT, the room just happened to be quieter and my score went up a 100 points. Background noise is a huge issue for me, I can't filter it out.

I've never had a problem with taking tests, though. I've always been the guy who hands his test in first and breaks the curve for everyone else. It's the homework and especially the projects that always killed my grades in school. My awesome test scores were what kept my grades high enough to squeak by.

That's why I suspect some executive dysfunction is going on. I just never seem to be able to find the time to get the important things done.

Hyperfocus is a recognised symptom of ADHD. Also it is important to note that ADHD in adults is different from ADHD in a child. You have to have had the symptoms of ADHD as a child to get an adult diagnosis though. Adults are less likely to be hyperactive than children, but more distractable and have concentration difficulties. I have been reading a good book about adult ADHD (which I was recently diagnosed with after Mum FINALLY remembered what I was like as a kid!).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Everything%C2%A ... 55&sr=8-57

That is obviously the UK place to buy it. It was originally written in America so I would guess you can get it there too.

@Jellybean: I like your avatar.

...back to the topic:
I've found that my diet effects my concentration a lot. If I get too hungry, I can't concentrate on a dang thing.
When I get that way, only a significant source of protein will help me. I light snack won't help at all.

The fittest, healthiest young adult can only concentrate fully for about 20 minutes, so that idea wasn't massively wrong.

ADHD and AS are not mutually exclusive. Attention problems are common to both. Some people have success with stimulants. There is nothing wrong with giving mucked up neurology a helping hand. There is also nothing wrong with letting your boss know if there is a better way to communicate with you. If you are generally good at your job there are ways to get around the weaknesses. You could communicate more by email. You could record conversations. If you aren't all that good at your job then you may be in the wrong field for your abilities.

Hyperfocus happens in ADD too.