People with ADHD can hyperfocus -- if they're motivated

We're thinking about ADHD wrong, argues Ross Grossman, a veteran therapist. To start with, new research suggests that People with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder "don't have an attention deficit," he writes. They allocate attention differently.

Among the strengths of adults with ADHD, according to a 2025 study, is the ability to hyperfocus, that is to concentrate intensely on things they're interested in. "It’s selective attention cranked to eleven," he writes. It can be very useful in the right circumstances.

People with ADHD "struggle to focus on tasks that don’t interest them (quarterly budget reviews, mandatory training videos, literally anything involving spreadsheets) while demonstrating laser-like concentration on tasks that do," Grossman writes. In "high-urgency" jobs -- emergency rooms, trading floors, kitchens during dinner rush -- "ADHD brains often outperform neurotypical brains. . . . The same person who can’t file an expense report can run a trauma code flawlessly." If the job's the same every idea and requires attention to detail, the person with ADHD will do poorly.

A separate study of children's brain-imaging data shows ADHD medications, such as Ritalin and Adderal, don't improve symptoms by enhancing attention networks, Grossman writes. Instead, the meds "primarily affect arousal and reward centers," making "the brain more alert and more motivated — not more focused."

Finally, he writes, most claims in the most popular ADHD TikTok videos are inaccurate, Harvard researchers say. "The videos pathologize normal human experiences as ADHD symptoms, leading to a situation where roughly 1 in 4 adults now suspect they have ADHD when only about 6% actually do," he writes. People lose their keys and think they need medication -- but also that "ADHD is your entire personality and probably the reason you’re creative and special."

"ADHD is a neurodevelopmental difference with genuine challenges AND genuine strengths," he concludes. It depends on the environment. "It’s a different operating system running on the same hardware as everyone else."

Many of his ADHD patients think their brain is "broken," Grossman writes. Others have watched the videos and think ADHD is their "superpower." Neither is true. It depends.