Does Easy Distraction Mean ADHD?

Distraction is divided attention, reducing the focus and mental energy placed on an object, a task, or a conversation. "Easy" distraction is usually defined by the observer in terms of the goals of the observer, rather than the goals of the person who appears to be distracted.

And that is the primary reason that easy distraction does not mean ADHD. But let's take a closer look at what distraction is, and what ADHD is, for clues about the kinds of situations in which easy distractibility might require intervention.

What Is Distraction?

Distraction is the movement of attention from the object of attention to the source of distraction. This interruption of concentration may present greater novelty, rewards, or interest than the stated object of attention. Only when the distracted person cannot focus on the object or event on which he or she chooses to place attention, however, is easy distractibility a treatable problem.

What Is ADHD?

ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is more than a tendency to be distracted. It is a pervasive pattern of distraction that causes serious disruption to life activities. In Europe and the UK, ADHD is defined more strictly than it is in the US, and relatively few children and adults (only about 1/2 of 1%) get the diagnosis.

Under the American definition, the "easily distracted" form of ADHD requires six or more of the following symptoms observed or six or more months:

• Often easily distracted.
• Forgetful in daily activities.
• Often loses things needed for daily tasks (books, notes, briefcases, purses, backpacks, tools).
• Avoids tasks that require extended periods of focused attention, such as repair of mechanical devices  at home, difficult academic subjects, athletic and artistic participation and performance.
• Difficulty organizing daily activities.
• Fails to follow instructions and/or complete tasks at school or at work.
• Often seems not to pay attention when spoken to.
• Difficulty paying attention to work or play activities.

ADHD is more than mere distraction. It is a chronic disruption in daily life. Easy distraction may be annoying to people around the easily distracted individual, but it is not necessarily ADHD. Treating thiese kinds of distraction as if they were attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is not just counterproductive, it's potentially damaging to personal relationships and personal growth. Let's consider 10 examples of easy distraction that are not actually ADHD.

Ten Examples Of Easy Distraction That Aren't ADHD

Some of the most common examples of easy distraction that are not attention deficit hyperactivity disorder stem from cultural misunderstandings.

1. Culturally defined multitasking.

One of the the first things people from the northern United States and northern Europe notice when they travel is that in other parts of the world, things don't usually run "on time."

In many cultures where ADHD is almost never diagnosed, it is considered more important to respond to individuals than it is to respond to deadlines. If you are the visitor with keen expectations of punctuality, you may be disappointed, but that does not mean you have fallen into a society of people who have ADHD.

2. Habitual multitasking.

The advent of smart phones and wireless Internet has created a culture of constant information. "Wired" and electronically connected people may be afraid to disconnect from their electronics long enough to focus on people or tasks for fear of missing an important message. The teenagers who ignore your speaking directly to them while they press "like" on the Facebook news feed on their cell phones aren't necessarily suffering ADHD. They're just rude.

3. Physical pain.

People who experience chronic physical pain are often disconnected from their surroundings. Certain kinds of physical pain, such as bladder infections, even commonly cause syndromes that are misinterpreted as dementia. If pain relief enables focused attention, then the underlying issue is not ADHD.

4. Heightened response to displays of emotion.

People who suffer schizophrenia often are unable to anticipate "where a conversation is going" and become bogged down in reacting to relatively innocuous expressions of emotion. Someone who is not schizophrenic might react to the comment "Uh-oh, don't know about that" simply with attention to the next statement uttered. Someone who has schizophrenia might be genuinely terrified by the utterance "Uh-oh." This problem is not, however, ADHD.

5. Visual impairment.

If you have blurry vision, it takes you longer to sort out visual cues. What appears to be inattention may actually be difficulty seeing. The solution is vision correction, or reducing the amount of information conveying visually.

6. Hearing impairment.

No child should be diagnosed with ADHD before having hearing checked. The inability to hear instruction, conversation, or command precludes attention to it.

7. Dyslexia.

Children and adults who cannot interpret the contours of letters into words cannot pay attention to written information, although their ability to pay attention to other stimuli may be unimpaired or actually superior.

8. Language difficulties.

Someone who literally doesn't speak your language can't respond to you on the basis of verbal cues. Ignoring conversation or signage may be due to lack of vocabulary and embarrassment about lack of vocabulary.

9. Global bias.

People who live with Internet and smart phones receive information literally from all over the world. People who live without electronic connections have to focus on conversations, written word, and the events occurring in their physical presence. In a pre-Internet culture, "connected" people can appear to have ADHD because they interpret conversations and events in terms of the chatter in which they engage globally rather than in terms of their non-virtual experiences locally.

10. They don't like you.

Let's face it, not everybody likes us. If they are not confrontational, then maybe they simply ignore us. Failure to connect does not mean inability to focus. It can be purely a matter of not liking the forced object of attention.

But what if you are the person who is easily distracted? Chances are that you would identify yourself in an article published in the British academic journal P, "Easily Distracted People May Have Too Much Brain." Dr. Ryota Kanai of University College London contends that people who are easily distracted simply have too much gray matter in the portions of the brain to which attention is easily diverted. People who are easily distracted, Kanai and colleagues report, have a larger volume of brain matter in the left superior parietal lobe, making them "brainier" than people who find it easier to stay on task.