“Inattentive” ADHD, or Hyperactive on the Inside?

A comparison of externalizing and internalizing ADHD symptoms

ADHD stereotypes

The DSM-5 criteria for ADHD is primarily based on external, behavioural symptoms observed in male-presenting white children. The stereotypical ADHD-kid is running around, unable to focus, loud, impulsive, messy, and easily distracted.

These are the children (usually little white boys) who are most often identified early, after they begin school, when the ways in which their behaviour differs from their peers become apparent.

This was my son. He was the adorable little white boy in kindergarten and first grade who struggled socially, was hyper and impulsive, had trouble waiting his turn, and sometimes acted out aggressively when he was frustrated.

When children’s behaviours are obvious (and inconvenient) to those around them, this increases the likelihood they will be referred for assessment.

Interestingly, this (mostly) describes me as a child too. I am female-presenting, so I was a cute little white girl, but otherwise all the behavioural signs fit.

Photo taken by author’s Grandmother — (image created by author)

My son was diagnosed at age 6, and I was diagnosed at age 36.

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Inattention stereotypes

When people think of someone who is inattentive, they may imagine a person staring off into space, their brain in “la-la land”. An inattentive brain is not merely a distractible brain, it’s often a very busy brain. The reason someone appears inattentive is actually because their brain struggles to filter out distractions and to organize thoughts in an orderly fashion.

Someone with predominately inattentive-type ADHD may have many different trains of thought bouncing around in their head at once. From the outside they look like their head is in the proverbial clouds, meanwhile they may actually be feeling completely overwhelmed by ideas ping-ponging around their brain faster than they can make sense of them.

Created by author — (The Simpsons created by Matt Groening)