5 TED Talks About ADHD

If you are interested in learning about attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, it would be well worth your time to listen to one of the captivating TED Talks About ADHD.

TED is an organization with the single goal of disseminating information, about all kinds of things, to the public in general. The organization began as a conference in 1984 that sought to unite science and arts, exploring topics from all angles. Today, nothing is exempt from the TED lens. Even a topic such as ADHD can be viewed through many facets. Here are five of the best talks on ADHD.

ADHD as a Difference in Cognition, Not a Disorder.

One of the first TED Talks About ADHD you should hear is by Stephen Tonti. He is a filmmaker, photographer and public speaker who was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of eight. His talk, recalling his own experiences from childhood to adult life, is delivered in a humorous vein reminiscent of a stand-up comedian, but the information he gives is seriously engaging. Tonti maintains an informative website and also has a blog called “Caffeine, Nicotine and ADHD: a Guide to Maintaining Sanity." His TED Talk explores the idea that ADHD is not a lack of focus, but the inability to choose one target of focus.

Not Wrong Just Different: ADHD as Innovators.

In this TED Talk, Rebecca Hession looks at the way society boxes in people with ADHD, who are among the most creative and innovative people around. Hession is a consultant and organizational developer at FranklinCovey. Her experiences with ADHD come from living with an ADHD husband and son. There are more than 18 million people in the world who struggle with ADHD, she says, and they have two times the normal divorce rate as well as increased rates of addiction and crime. Still, they are among the most creative and innovative of people. If they were seen as such, society might develop strategies of education that would enable it to tap this resource.

ADHD—A Case of Over Diagnosis.

One of the more seriously-delivered TED Talks About ADHD, this talk by Dr. David Sousa asks whether society routinely labels children who do not pay attention in school, or who have behavioral issues, with ADHD. Sousa is an international consultant in educational neuroscience, which means he recognizes the legitimacy of a correct diagnosis of ADHD. He believes that incorrect diagnosis impedes research that could lead to strategies that could improve educational opportunities for students with true diagnoses of ADHD. Of the many people who deal with adult ADHD, Sousa says, many have a mild condition and don’t even realize it.

Adult ADHD

Alan Brown was diagnosed as a child and deals with the consequences of ADHD as an adult. His TED Talk, endorsed by ADDCA.com, explores the ramifications of adult ADHD. People with the condition, he says, are twice as likely to commit suicide as the general population. He asserts that most cases of adult ADHD go undiagnosed. Brown maintains a Facebook page as a support vehicle for adults who have the condition and also posts a self-diagnostic questionnaire. The goal of the test is to help people recognize ADHD in themselves and seek intervention.

Drugs, Dopamine and Drosophila: a Fly Model for ADHD.

This talk is by Dr. David Anderson, who is a Seymour Benzer professor of biology at Caltech. His approach to ADHD deals with the broader field of mental illness and how scientific experimentation and research can lead to medical interventions that target specific issues with fewer side effects and complications. Anderson uses humor to drive home his assertion that the brain is the “last frontier.”

TED talks are engaging and cover a plethora of subjects from religion to astronomy and beyond. If you are looking for insight into the condition or simply curious, TED Talks About ADHD will entertain you and pique your interest.

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