Can people with ADHD/ADD have focus?

Post Reply New Topic

I can't remember where I heard it, but they said hyperfocus is possible.
What is it about the ADHD brain which makes this possible?
I'm still learning the basics about ADHD and I now know that it's more about being noticing everything rather than having no focus at all.
Thanks

If it really interests me, I can really focus on it.

If it doesn't interest me, I can't stay focused on it at all.

There's not much in-between.

True, but I thought it was like with near everybody? If you bored you can easily zone out rather or not you have ADD/ADHD?

I don't see why not. But it might be individual. Some people might not like the subject, but if they set aside distractions, they can put forth the effort and pay attention.

This thread does not belong in this forum, it belongs in this forum: http://www.wrongplanet.net/forum35.html

I always figured that the hyperfocus in ADHD was similar to the hyperfocus in ASD -- that hyperfocus was just one aspect of having problems regulating your attention.

Ah, apologies. I was unsure where to post it, but I reasoned that ADHD/ADD is not psychological so I that's why I didn't post it there. Also:

is in the description for this forum.

So, if I got it wrong then I am sorry.

I can but its hard.

It requires for me to have my energi levels at max.

For there not to be anything else to distract me at all or annoy med.

And something that is interesting.

Even when i can focus its not for very long anymore. i get mentally tired very easily.

No, it's not like that with everybody - some people can bring home stacks of boring paperwork from their job and sit down and force themselves to plow through it. I can't do that - I will become distracted by every little noise, get up to get a drink and wander off on a thousand other little tasks and never get back to the paperwork. If you tied me to a chair and made me sit there until it was done, I would drift off into my own mind and not come back until the deadline was past. If it doesn't FASCINATE me, I just cannot focus on it.

OTOH, if I develop an interest in the most obscure subject, that no one else in the world cares about, I will study it, I will work on it, I will sit up nights making models of it. I will forget to eat, sleep, shave or answer the phone while I devour stacks of books on the subject. I will fill a garage with a shrine to it, learning every conceivable detail and bore others endlessly talking about it, because it's so compelling to me, surely everyone should know about this wonderful, amazing subject. THAT is hyper-focus. Also known as "obsession."

Hey-guys I know I hadn't posted sense, but my anxiety has been bothering me about not posting, sadly I just don't really see myself posting in this forum.

This is the case with me. I'm not hyperactive, but I have hyper focus, which in turn makes me more inattentive. If it's a movie, video game, or film/drawing project, I have no problem focusing at all.

If it's stimulating enough, they will keep their focus. Problem with ADHD is they need more stimulation to keep still or to keep their focus which is why they fidget while focusing or concentrating or why they usually listen to music while on the job because it keeps them stimulated to focus. I think they learn to compensate so it may seem like they grow out of it because adults have more freedom and when you are a kid, you are constantly told what to do and how to do things so their needs are not met so hence a diagnoses. Adults can pick their own environment that works well with them and if they have a boss that doesn't enforce the no headphones rule.

My son isn't diagnosed with anything but he cannot sit still but when he is watching youtube, no problem. He also gets bored easily and I think he controls himself better now that he is older. Some kids are just more active than others and don't have ADHD but his attention span and his inability to sit still impact him in school but his IEP helps him so there are no complaints and no behavior.