What is Hyperfocus?

Many people assume that anyone with ADHD can't focus. But in fact, ADHDers can often find themselves hyperfocused. Here's a bit more on that extreme from ADDitude Magazine.

Focus on hyperfocus

It's no secret that children and adults with attention deficit disorder (ADD ADHD) often struggle to focus on tasks they find uninteresting. High distractibility -- in children with ADHD who are unable to stay focused on a classroom lecture or in adults with ADD who never get around to doing their paperwork -- is a key ADHD symptom and diagnosis criterion.

What you might not know about ADHD is that there's another side: the tendency for children and adults with attention deficit disorder to focus very intently on things that do interest them. At times, the focus is so strong that they become oblivious to the world around them.

For children, the object of "hyperfocus" might be playing a video game or watching TV. For adults, it might be shopping or surfing the Internet. But whatever holds the attention, the result is the same: Unless something or someone interrupts, hours drift by as important tasks and relationships fall by the wayside. "People who think ADD means having a short attention span misunderstand what ADD is," says Kathleen Nadeau, Ph.D., a psychologist in Silver Spring, Maryland, and the author of ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life. "A better way to look at it is that people with ADD have a disregulated attention system."

Read more at ADDitude magazine -

http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/612.html