Postulate
 |
Sample Exhibit
(click image to see full size) |
Excerpt
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1. THE
DEBATE ABOUT WHAT IS "ADD" AND NOT CAN BE DISTILLED INTO DIFFERENCES IN TWO
CENTRAL VARIABLES: ATTENTION AND AROUSAL |
Bell of Attentional Stability
|
What sets them apart is the amount of arousal it takes for attentions to remain
engaged..
|
2. EXTREMES
OF AROUSAL AND ATTENTION COMBINE TO CREATE "ATTENTIONAL INCONSISTENCY" WHICH CAN
BE SEEN ALONG A SPECTRUM OF INCREASING FOCAL INTENSITY |
Spectrum of Inattention
|
For a convenient piece
of shorthand, think of all three types as variations on the theme of an "All-or-None
Attention Span." |
3.
WHAT WE ARE CALLING "ADD" INCLUDES BOTH UNDER AND OVERFOCUSING, i.e. BOTH
POLES OF THE ATTENTIONAL SPECTRUM |
Bell 2: Pictorial view
|
Everyone with an
attention deficiency (AD) mixes bouts of
distractible inattention with bursts of "hyperfocusing" |
4.
BOTH EXTREMES CAN EVOKE THE SAME ENDS |
"Trait Threads"
|
Opposite causes can
and do evoke the same effects; for example, feeling under or overwhelmed may lead to
depressiveness... |
5.
THREE FOCUSING STYLES AT THREE LEVELS OF AROUSAL YIELD NINE "DEGREES" OF
ATTENTION DIFFICULTY IN THREE TYPES |
Matrix of AD Types |
If attention and
arousal are plotted as axes on a chart, a more vivid image takes shape, one in which focal
strength can shift over time in response to stimuli... |
6.
"HYPERACTIVITY" IS NOT ONLY PHYSICAL |
Matrix of AD States |
Across the whole population of people
who have been diagnosed it is clear that we see hypermentation as well as hyperkinesis... |
7.
ATTENTION DEFICITS (ADs) ARE SHIFTING STATES THAT WAX AND WANE OVER TIME IN RESPONSE TO
STIMULI, CREATING CONTEXT DEPENDENCY |
"Spectrum Sandwich" |
Context becomes key once you grant
that attention is intrinsically tied to arousability... |
8.
WHAT SEPARATES ONE AD FROM THE NEXT IS HOW MUCH TIME IS SPENT IN EACH STATE |
Matrix of AD Archetypes |
Types 1 and 3 tend to be
"stickers" who bounce in place, while a Type 2 may be a "slipper" who
can segue from being overfocused one moment to being underfocused the next... |
9.
TIME IS ALSO KEY IN THE DISTINCTIONS WE MAKE BETWEEN BEHAVIORAL TRAITS SUCH AS
COMPULSIONS, OBSESSIONS AND IMPULSIVITY |
Matrix/Spectrum Compared |
When time becomes the frame of
reference, the distinctions we make between "separate" traits can often be seen
to shade from one to the next... |
10. WHAT WE ARE CALLING
"ADD" BENDS BOUNDARIES OF STATE AND TRAIT, FORCING US TO FACE HOW WE DRAW
DIVIDING LINES BETWEEN BEHAVIOR vs. BIOLOGY AND 'DIFFERENT' vs. 'DISORDERED' |
|
See discussion in closing chapter of
Book 1 in the series Surviving Sane with a Bouncing Brain. Details at (the new) bouncingbrains.com |
| RECAP: Summary of the postulates
presented |
"The 3/3/3/9 AD
Paradigm" |
|
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