Often has trouble staying focused on tasks at work, home or play. Frequently does not pay close attention to details or makes careless mistakes at work or while doing other tasks. Often has trouble organizing tasks or activities (misses deadlines, disorganized work).
ADHD and perfectionism would seem to have nothing in common. While perfectionism involves being detail-oriented to a fault, lack of attention to detail is a classic ADHD symptom. Still, ADHD and perfectionism often find themselves teaming up to wreak all sorts of chaos in peoples lives.
From time to time, everyone confronts such things on the job and could use a little career advice. But for adults with ADHD, staying on top of details is an endless struggle — one that brings conflict with managers, missed promotions, and a stalled career.
Perception/observation/curiosity
It sees and tolerates/appreciates new ideas, new movements, new visualizations, new concepts. Individuals with ADHD often perceive (intuitively) connections or “flows” that are not appreciated by others.
People with inattentive ADHD make careless mistakes because they have difficulty sustaining focus, following detailed instructions, and organizing tasks and activities. They are easily distracted by external stimuli, and often lose things. They may leave projects unfinished and appear not to listen when you speak.
Conversational skills and humanity
Another study highlights that people with ADHD may have higher levels of social intelligence, humor, and recognition of feeling, or empathy. Study participants recognized their own ability to have a more positive mental approach, and in turn, more “social success.”
A recent review of findings on ADHD and FFM personality suggests that, in general, ADHD has associations with the FFM traits of Neuroticism (positive), Agreeableness (negative) and Conscientiousness (negative).
But many kids and adults with ADHD are the opposite — they're messy most of the time. And it can cause problems at home, school, and work.
A lack of self-acceptance. Prohibitively expensive medications. Here, commiserate with fellow ADDitude readers as they share some of their biggest challenges of managing life with ADHD or ADD. > Creating rituals to keep track of things.
Perfectionism is the most common cognitive distortion reported in adults with ADHD. 1 It often manifests in procrastinating because conditions weren't “just right” or in a negative self-image.
Do you ever find yourself unable to focus on a task because your mind is flooded with unwanted thoughts? Do you spend hours analysing a situation, going over every detail repeatedly? These experiences could be symptoms of adult ADHD.
Executive functions have other roles which affect how someone thinks. In people with ADHD, these executive dysfunctions impact thinking in numerous ways. People with ADHD don't really think faster than people without it, but it can sometimes seem like they do. People with ADHD do think differently though, in a sense.
The mind of a person with ADHD is full of the minutiae of life (“Where are my keys?” “Where did I park the car?”), so there is little room left for new thoughts and memories. Something has to be discarded or forgotten to make room for new information. Often the information individuals with ADHD need is in their memory…
Autism is very distinct from ADHD, but the core symptoms of ADHD-Combined type, i.e., attention deficit, impulsivity, and hyperactivity, would appear to also be features of autism. ASD and ADHD are neurobiological disorders characterized by similar underlying neuropsychological “deficits”.
At Work or School
Research has found that people with ADHD have more creativity and idea generation than people without the disorder. 3 This can lead to outside-the-box thinking that is so important for innovation. Hyper-focus: Many people with ADHD become hyper-focused on things that interest them.
All types of ADHD may include weaknesses in executive functioning. Thus, children with ADHD are more likely to have problems getting started on things, and have difficulty with planning, problem-solving, and time management.
In Australia, ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders, affecting 6-7% of the population4. Even into adulthood, around 65% of those diagnosed continue to experience symptoms, with 15% still meeting the criteria for a diagnosis of ADHD5.
Similar to the hyperactive symptoms, impulsive symptoms are typically seen by the time a child is four years old and increase during the next three to four years to peak in severity when the child is seven to eight years of age.
Atypical Presentation of ADHD Symptoms
Sleep disturbances (has trouble with sleep initiation, sleep deprived, can't wake up easily, etc.) Weak executive function (poor recall of information, internalizing language, controlling emotions, problem-solving, etc.)
With ADHD, a child or teen may have rapid or impulsive speech, physical restlessness, trouble focusing, irritability, and, sometimes, defiant or oppositional behavior.
The problem: The social maturity of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD) may be a few years behind that of their peers. In addition, they have difficulty reading verbal and physical social cues, misinterpreting remarks, or not getting jokes or games.