Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is often seen as a flaw, or a weakness. I think because we live in a world of ableism we see any difference as a shortcoming.
There are always those who say things like "ADHD is overdiagnosed", or that "it never existed in the past". Both of these statements are untrue as ADHD cases have been documented over more than 100 years. The real truth is ADHD is often misdiagnosed but most certainly not overdiagnosed.
My ADHD was never diagnosed until I was an adult. Had diagnosis happened earlier in life I might have been more likely to see my strengths instead of the deficits in my life. Once my ADHD was diagnosed and I learned how my brain worked it opened the door of
superherodom!!!
ADHD allows people to tap into creativity and imagination, and allows for flexible thinking and creating unique and interesting solutions to challenging problems. The ability to hyperfocus allows people with ADHD to achieve much more in a much shorter span of time when they are stimulated by what they are doing. This might sound counterintuitive as one wouldn't expect someone with an attention disorder to be able to hyperfocus. It's the truth though.
Often individuals with ADHD are more intuitive than others, I certainly believe this is true in my life. My ADHD allows me to take in more stimuli than others. Many would say this is distracting, however, I believe taking in more of the environment allows me to make a more informed response. Hence, being more intuitive as the non ADHD brain filters out a lot of what would be considered as "noise".
These thoughts are anecdotal, I do believe they are true for me in my life though. I'm not suggesting that ADHD has not caused challenges in life. What I am trying to shed light on is the fact that there are positives as well. Every group brings with them their own strengths. Focussing on positives and building strategies to manage the challenges can make ADHD a really useful tool in helping people find success in their life. A Maya Angelou said, "when you know better you do better".
I know that as a psychotherapist and with my experience working in forensic mental health ADHD has been my ally.