When Childhood Trauma Might Look Like ADHD

Recently there was an article by Strait Times talking about ADHD and answers some questions about it

Which honestly is quite in depth so I thought it will be good to add on additional information regarding ADHD

The article started off with how some people get disappointed when they realize their traits resemble ADHD but truthfully, they are within the norm

Which is true, if you don’t know this yet, this is pretty important

We are human

And that means that there is no perfect fit

In fact, all of our traits fall within a scale or a range

Any trait can go either extreme end, and also have a range in the middle which is considered normal

And I want to highlight this for a moment before sharing how childhood trauma can make someone develop ADHD traits

I did Child Psychology and Early Education in Ngee Ann Polytechnic and there were modules on special needs

So during my internships, I looked out for kids for special needs, and see how to do early intervention

Although of course, since I was just an intern I cannot do much early intervention

Rather I highlight if there are any to the teachers or parents so they can do their due diligence

And I have a framework for how to spot whether someone has special needs or not

How I spot ADHD in a person

So what I do is observe someone in various settings, work, play, social etc

And see how their motivations and interests align or misalign with their behaviour

For example, someone who has hyperactivity subtype of ADHD might be really mobile and active

Let’s use an extreme variation so that its easier to imagine

Now if they truly have this ADHD subtype, you will see this hyperactivity throughout the day, regardless of what they are doing

Even if they are super interested in playing a mobile game, they might be walking to and fro while playing!

I believe you can imagine that, whatever they are doing, regardless of their interest, they need to move

I simplify of course

Now, even if they have a lesser degree of hyperactivity, again, you will see signs across the board

However, if they do not have true ADHD, but just traits that resemble ADHD (and why I want to talk about childhood trauma later on), you will see those traits suddenly disappear during certain moments

So for example, because they don’t like to work they might get hyperactive, but during play, they become hyperfocused and can sit and play without moving around at all

This will be a trait that resembles yet not truly ADHD

Or they are using the excuse just to get what they want, which is to play

Now of course, for such an instance it is possible the parents or grandparents might be pampering type and didn’t reprimand when the child acts out during work and appease the child with play

So the child learns to act out when he doesn’t want to do something, just to get what he wants

Which might be seen as either inattentive, hyperactive, or impulsive isn’t it?

How childhood trauma can cause someone to show signs of ADHD

In fact childhood trauma of abuse or neglect might cause similar tendencies, although I see more of abuse as a cause

Rarely, yet possible, childhood neglect might cause the child to act out in an attempt to get attention

Which can be seen as hyperactivity or impulsivity

Unfortunately, negative attention is still attention

Now imagine this possible abusive childhood where the parents are arguing, scolding the child, even beating the child too

Of course the child can develop all sorts of possible issues, from anxiety, to depression etc

To understand how ADHD traits might arise from this, we got to understand what the child is going through and how they cope

3 things to consider

1. Generally speaking, the child probably won’t want to go home so early
2. The child might also want to keep busy thinking of other things instead of thinking of home
3. The child might also retreat into their inner safe space as and when they need to

It is possible to have more but we focus on these 3 for now

The first point might not relate to ADHD so clearly since they just don’t want to go home, although it can link with the second point to keep themselves busy so as not to go home early too

And this might also contribute to impulsiveness, suddenly feel like doing something else to delay going home

Both the first and second might also contribute to hyperactivity, to keep busy doing this and that

In fact it is also possible that one might pick up many skills and learn many things because once one has learned about a topic enough, the mind is no longer busy and might start to think about the stuff happening at home again

And the third point can contribute to inattention, because the child appears to zone out when parents are arguing, or talking with raised voices

So with this understanding, how I might analyze an adult as to whether they have true ADHD or traits that resemble one

Simple

One with ADHD might find it challenging to learn a skill to the end when they are undiagnosed whereas one with trauma can learn to the end before they go pick up another skill as a distraction

The one with ADHD might zone out throughout the day regardless of tasks, while the trauma-induced ADHD might zone out only during moments they feel unsafe, like there is an argument or fight happening around

So what do I do now?

Honestly if I see the possibility of trauma-induced ADHD, I will suggest for the person to resolve their childhood trauma because if I am right, their overall life will see a marked improvement

And if I am wrong, after resolving their trauma, they can consider to go for an ADHD diagnosis

That will be better if you ask me compared to the other way around because you may or may not get a diagnosis and may or may not be on medication

I had a friend who insist they had ADHD, claim their two counsellors told them they had ADHD and even the group with ADHD that they joined resonate

To me, their ADHD was trauma-induced, but they didn’t want to believe it

End up went to see a psychiatrist for a diagnosis and its within normal range or borderline

Pretty much inconclusive to me

I think my friend got more confused because there wasn’t a diagnosis of ADHD and later thought perhaps they had autism and ADHD

Sigh…

Anyway, for yourself, if you are wondering whether you or someone you know have ADHD

I will suggest to have an internal screening of yourself first

Such as whether there is at least one of the traits across the board regardless of interest

Or whether there was any potential childhood stuff that might be considered traumatic

But if you are truly concerned and believe a diagnosis will help you understand and cope better, that’s fine too

As long as you improve in some way at the end of the day