[walterbell]

Have you been to an ADD conference where you are surrounded by hundreds of similarly-wired brains? Neurotypical is defined by the local majority. In a hunter-gatherer society, slow reaction time means no dinner. Don't be fooled by labels which originate in specific social contexts. Environmental impedance mismatches can be addressed by changing the human or changing the environment.

[falcolas]

You know what else means no dinner in a hunter society? Your spear breaking because you forgot to fire harden it. Scaring away the pretty because you inadvertently bumped into a tree (inadvertently bumping into things on a regular basis is an indicator of ADHD). In a gathering society: not gathering because a butterfly distracted you. That's the effect of ADHD.

ADHD doesn't make you some magical hunter, patience does. Reaction time has nothing to do with ADHD, it comes from paying attention when the stimuli comes about, something a person with ADHD can't do.

As for "normal", I base it off the figure of 95%. That is, our brains are different from 95% of humanity. That strikes me as a good definition of abnormal, better than "I surround myself with th those like me, so I'm totally normal".

[walterbell]

If everyone has a spear-hardening "problem", there will be external structure and rituals to ensure that this activity is not forgotten. Reaction time is explicitly measured by one clinical test which diagnoses ADHD.

There is no normal, that's the main point. If you get enough people with "AD(H)D" in a room, and ask a few questions about preferred cognitive styles (sound, light, touch, motor movement) you will discover clusters of preferences and a wide range of differences.

The label ADHD is most useful as a search term for a vocabulary of common challenges. Naming any problem is necessary to develop shared solutions. Prior to the advent of this term, non-neurotypical people independently named their logistical challenges and independently re-invented solutions.

Are you familiar with the term hyperfocus? Is that a strength or weakness?

[techdragon]

If you want to be really correct it's a simple label for what is otherwise a spectrum of symptomatic severity due to underlying neurological issues.

I've met plenty of people who are 100% ADHD, both parents, all their children, it is inheritable, and the degree to which each person needed treatment for their personal ADHD symptoms tends to vary a lot. ADHD isn't a binary condition, you can have ADHD tendencies, mild ADHD, severe ADHD, etc.

The frustration felt by those suffering with the worst symptoms when people fail to appreciate their condition is hard to fix. While Autism has been the subject of the decade thanks to a particularly disgusting pustule of a human being publishing a particular fraudulent paper in a medical journal, ADHD is quietly toyed with now and then. Most improvements to treatment for ADHD have been accidental and is further hampered by the usual concerns regarding psychoactive pharmacology, what is a legal treatment in one jurisdiction is an illicit narcotic in others.

We're all human, I like lots of other people, have ADHD. Consequently I'm going to post this as written rather than try to edit away the lack of a clear direction or good summation. I've learned to cut my losses on tangential trains of thought, this one has already lead to a rather mushy breakfast :-/

[colechristensen]

What are these conferences?

[walterbell]

Last year's Adult ADHD conference: http://www.cvent.com/events/adda-s-15th-international-adult-...

Tapes from older conferences: http://www.audiotapes.com/browse.asp?Topic=3

There is useful practical information buried among clinical studies and pathology discussions.