a squirrel!

(throat clearing) Anyway, like I was saying,

there's a lot of misconceptions about this topic.

For example, not everyone is like that

and gets distracted by squirrels, although,

squirrels are cute and distracting.

So with this video,

I'm going to take the seven most commonly

believed myths that you likely still

believe about ADD and ADHD

and explain the truth behind them.

So I say we get right into it.

This is Seven Myths You Still Believe About ADHD.

(light electronic music)

ADD and ADHD are not actually medical disorders.

Let's start with one that people

have been talking about since ADD and ADHD

were originally discovered.

That, of course, being that ADD is not

a legitimate medical disorder.

This myth basically says that ADD

is a crutch for parents, teachers and doctors

who want to use it to explain why

a person would rather do fun things than work,

but that is simply not true.

In addition to being the most commonly

studied psychiatric disorder in children

and adolescents, Attention Deficit Disorder

is biologically based, and scientists

have shown an imbalance in chemicals

that lead to significant problems

with the executive functions in the brain.

The inability to focus and impulsiveness

are just two symptoms of this 100%

accurately categorized medical disorder.

So if you get distracted easily you may

have it or you just may really like squirrels.

I really like squirrels.

ADD and ADHD can be cured by simply

learning to focus.

Now that we've established that ADHD

is in fact a medical disorder, we turn

our attention to the ridiculous cures

that people who don't have the disorder

have come up with.

The first is the idea that simply

willing yourself to focus whenever

possible is the fastest way to rid yourself of it.

However, it's simply not true,

and there is no cure for ADHD.

All a person can really do is deal

with the symptoms of the disorder.

Thus, by trying your hardest to focus,

you might actually be able to do so,

but without some sort of treatment plan,

such as academic help and behavior

modification treatment, the inability

to focus will more likely than not return soon.

So all you're going to do if you see someone

with this condition and you're like

hey man, why can't you just focus,

you're just gonna upset them, so don't do it.

Kids can grow out of having ADHD.

Many people who haven't read into ADHD

and have obviously never been to medical

school believe that not only is ADHD

not a medical condition, but that it's

simply a phase that a person can grow out of.

The reality is that this condition can

stick with you well into adulthood.

In fact, despite there being an abundance

of treatments like better structured

environments and medications such as Ritalin,

70% of kids who have the disorder

continue to have it when they reach adolescence,

and 50% have it through adulthood.

Many of those adults have even made

their ADHD a merit instead of a flaw.

As in many careers, having a lot of energy

is actually an asset, just as long as it

doesn't require you to focus on too many

things at once, that's just no bueno.

Only hyperactive kids have ADHD.

Let's tackle this myth on two fronts.

Firstly, it's possible for someone to have ADHD

and not seem hyperactive all the time,

even though hyperactivity is the most

common symptom of this disorder.

They may have trouble staying focused

on a task and act impulsively without

it seeming like they've got limitless energy.

Secondly, as we've touched on before,

ADHD can affect adults as well.

In fact, over 6% of adults have Attention

Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,

and many don't even know it.

Students with ADHD get an unfair advantage.

Many parents who find out that their

children's classmate gets academic help

or extra time during tests and assignments,

actually claim it's unfairly biased against the kid.

However, when you have a condition that

limits your ability to focus on a task,

of course you're going to get the help

that you need to complete it.

Both teachers and professors are doing

their best to provide a balanced education

to all the students and sometimes it

takes a little more focus to get that education.

Consider it just leveling the playing field,

as before that extra time was given,

the non-ADD children actually had the advantage.

Taking ADHD medication leads to drug abuse.

Hello, left field, it's me a jump to conclusion.

Despite the fact that people with ADHD

tend to take more risks and be more impulsive,

studies show that the opposite

of this myth is actually true.

Research done over the last 50 years

suggests that those who take mediction

for their diagnosed ADHD are actually

at a reduced risk of abusing other drugs

then those who have not had their

condition diagnosed or treated properly.

See, ADHD medications are stimulants

that don't cure the disorder but treat

the symptoms, so sadly, because of that,

people without the condition have been

known to abuse the drugs for various reasons.

People with ADHD never amount to anything.

Anyone who says that someone with ADHD

isn't going to amount to anything is extremely

misinformed and is borderline bullying.

The truth is, many famous people from inventors

to politicians even to celebrities on the cover

of your favorite magazine have had ADHD.

Like who?

Well for beginners, Robin Williams,

Benjamin Franklin, Elvis Presley, Bill Gates,

JFK, and the Wright brothers, Abraham Lincoln,

Mozart, and the list pretty much goes on and on.

ADHD is a common condition, but even if

there was a cure tomorrow, a great number

of people would likely not take it

as they've made it a part of who they are,

and they're actually better for it.

So hopefully you guys learned a little

something from this video.

I wanted to let you know that Amazon Fire

has launched a brand new series called

This Week on Fire, and it's hosted

by none other than my friend PhillyD,

aka Philip DeFranco.

The purpose of the series is to highlight

new movies, new TV series and new games

coming to Fire TV every week,

but it gets even better because Phil

had me on the show.

We had a lot of fun.

You guys are gonna love it.

If you wanna check it out, click the little

eye or click the annotation or click

the link in the description.

There's three different places you

can check it out, but be sure to check it out

'cause you're going to love it.

And as always, if you got something

out of this video, subscribe to this channel

so that you can catch my next video.

I love you guys.

Thanks for watching.

See you next time.

Bay!