What is high functioning ADHD like? (2024)

What is high functioning ADHD like?

High-functioning ADHD could mean: you experience severe symptoms but have developed “work arounds” to carry on with daily tasks and responsibilities. your symptoms are mild, and you're able to function with minimal impairment. symptoms are greatly impairing in some areas but you're highly functional in others.

What does high-functioning ADHD feel like?

High-Functioning ADHD Symptoms

Running late and forgetting dates. Struggling to manage your time. Constantly procrastinating. Trouble sitting still and reading for long periods.

What is high-functioning ADHD in high achievers?

A high achiever's ADHD can look like being plagued with feelings of boredom, requiring work that feels stimulating and starting projects with intense excitement to then lose focus or motivation soon after. The challenges high-functioning individuals face can cause their ADHD to go undetected or unnoticed.

How would you describe what ADHD feels like?

She describes having ADHD like this: "It's a chronic sense of overwhelmed. It feels like you're being attacked in all areas of your daily life -- like sounds, and lights, and sensory things can be overwhelming." Matlen is the author of Survival Tips for Women with ADHD.

How is it to have high IQ with ADHD?

ADHD can make completing tasks such as school work, homework, or work projects much more difficult. However, there is no clear link between ADHD and IQ. A person may have a high, average, or low IQ score and also have ADHD. ADHD may cause a person to interrupt in class or perform poorly on tests.

Who are the clever people with ADHD?

Entrepreneurs. There are some well-known very high-achieving ADHD entrepreneurs including Richard Branson, Bill Gates and Walt Disney. Richard Branson had no interest in anything academic. Still, once he was able to harness his talents and imagination in his own way, he began to build a phenomenal business empire.

How do you study with high functioning ADHD?

Ensure that you eat well and stay hydrated. Studies have also shown that exercise can improve attention and cognitive function in those with ADHD. Make time in your schedule to include these stimulation activities. Try listening to music, playing your favorite sports, or chatting with someone you love.

Do people with ADHD have higher brain activity?

Scientists have seen differences in the way the brain functions in kids with ADHD. There is a network of structures called the default mode network (DMN), which is usually less active when a child does a task that requires paying attention. In children with ADHD, it's more active than usual.

Can I have ADHD and be academically successful?

While ADHD can most certainly complicate things in the classroom at any age, it's still totally possible for us to achieve academic success. With the right skills and enough support, we can ace exams, pass courses, and—eventually—graduate.

What does an ADHD shutdown look like?

Differences in emotions in people with ADHD can lead to 'shutdowns', where someone is so overwhelmed with emotions that they space out, may find it hard to speak or move and may struggle to articulate what they are feeling until they can process their emotions.

Do people with ADHD think faster?

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.

What it feels like to be a woman with ADHD?

Impact on Day-to-Day Life

Studies show that women with ADHD tend to have very low self-esteem. They also seem to have more emotional and psychological distress compared to adult men with ADHD. Depending on the severity of their condition, some women manage to hide their symptoms to avoid shame and rejection.

What is ADHD childlike behavior?

Kids -- they squirm in their chairs; they run when you tell them to walk; they stop in the middle of cleaning their room to play with their toys. These are all normal parts of being a kid. But some of this behavior can also be a sign of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Are people with ADHD good at math?

Aside from issues with working memory, issues with focus are why students with ADHD tend to struggle with math problems. Staying intently focused on a single task takes a ton of mental energy, which often conflicts with the desire that many kids with ADHD have for constantly changing stimulation.

Can ADHD be masked by intelligence?

High IQ may “mask” the diagnosis of ADHD by compensating for deficits in executive functions in treatment-naïve adults with ADHD.

What is silent ADHD?

Inattentive ADHD is characterized by, as the name implies, an inability to focus. This is a more subtle symptom than the hyperactive behavior that's commonly associated with ADHD. The mere fact that signs can be so quiet is part of what makes inattentive type ADHD difficult to diagnose in so many cases.

What disorder is most commonly mistaken for ADHD?

What is the hidden side of adult ADHD?

Hyperfocus: the other side of the coin

While you're probably aware that people with ADHD have trouble focusing on tasks that aren't interesting to them, you may not know that there's another side: a tendency to become absorbed in tasks that are stimulating and rewarding. This paradoxical symptom is called hyperfocus.

What are the quirks of ADHD?

We often find the most creative environment is up against a deadline. We can focus on a TV show that is nearly mindless, despite the fact that we are often of above average intelligence. We can't read a detailed book despite the fact that we may be very knowledgeable on the subject of the book.

What are the personality quirks of ADHD?

Distractibility, Hyperactivity, and Impulsivity

People with ADHD have a hard time staying in the moment, predicting the outcomes of their current actions, and learning from past experiences. Their impulsive behavior often makes them risk without thinking. Their hyperactive minds keep switching from one task to another.

What are the quirks of the ADHD brain?

Inattentive ADHD brains are also masters of distraction. They can easily get lost in the sea of shiny objects, losing track of what they were supposed to do. Their ability to hyperfocus on something that interests them can also be a double-edged sword, as they may struggle to switch gears when needed.

What subjects are hardest for people with ADHD?

Struggles with reading, writing, and math are common among students with ADHD. Use these strategies and tools to help your child overcome these and other learning challenges in core school subjects.

What subjects are people with ADHD best at?

Those without ADHD were more likely to enjoy using or developing existing ideas. The students with ADHD also performed better in certain subject areas than those without ADHD. These included the arts, creative writing, science discovery, and architecture.

What is the best college major for ADHD students?

Chef / Culinary Arts – The high-pressure and fast-paced world of executive chefs, restaurants, and food teams can make this one of the best careers for people with ADHD. The work is often physical; it takes endurance and the ability to think about several things at a time.

Do people with ADHD have certain facial features?

These data suggest that ear length and nose wing width may be related to the neurodevelopmental disorder group. Similar to the literature, we found a strong relationship between the diagnosis of ADHD, a neurodevelopmental disorder, and nasal width and ear length.