Danielle Elliott

All this positive talk around ADHD had started to lift some of the stigma, which likely led to more people getting a diagnosis who needed it. And that's great, but I had concerns. This rosy reframing in the last few years, it seemed like it appealed to everyone I know. That's what worried me.

All this positive talk around ADHD had started to lift some of the stigma, which likely led to more people getting a diagnosis who needed it. And that's great, but I had concerns. This rosy reframing in the last few years, it seemed like it appealed to everyone I know. That's what worried me.

Is there any chance some people are hearing that creative people have ADHD and they want to be considered creative? That they hear career women have ADHD and they identify with that? Where is the line between having ADHD... attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and being a person who struggles to focus, or being a person who is extremely creative.

Is there any chance some people are hearing that creative people have ADHD and they want to be considered creative? That they hear career women have ADHD and they identify with that? Where is the line between having ADHD... attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and being a person who struggles to focus, or being a person who is extremely creative.

Ned told me I'm getting caught up in the diagnostic criteria. He doesn't want to throw out the accepted diagnostic criteria for ADHD. He just thinks it's flawed. He prefers what he calls a descriptive model, in which you describe the experience of ADHD and ask someone if this description feels familiar.

Ned told me I'm getting caught up in the diagnostic criteria. He doesn't want to throw out the accepted diagnostic criteria for ADHD. He just thinks it's flawed. He prefers what he calls a descriptive model, in which you describe the experience of ADHD and ask someone if this description feels familiar.

I have a hard time with this because the description seems all-encompassing. I don't know many people who wouldn't relate to at least some of this description. Everyone gets distracted sometimes. Everyone feels low sometimes. And if anyone who relates to it should consider ADHD, would that not lead to overdiagnosis? Reporters and experts debate over diagnosis whenever diagnosis rates rise.

I have a hard time with this because the description seems all-encompassing. I don't know many people who wouldn't relate to at least some of this description. Everyone gets distracted sometimes. Everyone feels low sometimes. And if anyone who relates to it should consider ADHD, would that not lead to overdiagnosis? Reporters and experts debate over diagnosis whenever diagnosis rates rise.

In the past, they focused on pharmaceutical marketing. They said it presented stimulants as a cure-all for basic human behaviors, that it stretched the definition of a mental health condition in pursuit of profits. Now, I wonder if some ADHD coaches, authors, speakers, and doctors have expanded the definition to the point that descriptions feel relatable to everyone. Ned has books to sell.

In the past, they focused on pharmaceutical marketing. They said it presented stimulants as a cure-all for basic human behaviors, that it stretched the definition of a mental health condition in pursuit of profits. Now, I wonder if some ADHD coaches, authors, speakers, and doctors have expanded the definition to the point that descriptions feel relatable to everyone. Ned has books to sell.

ADHD coaches need clients. Is it possible that, in an effort to sell these books and services, some experts are triggering overdiagnosis? And on the flip side of that, that they have painted such a rosy picture of ADHD that some people are led to believe it's not all that bad, or maybe not worth pursuing treatment. Ned told me he's not worried about overdiagnosis.

ADHD coaches need clients. Is it possible that, in an effort to sell these books and services, some experts are triggering overdiagnosis? And on the flip side of that, that they have painted such a rosy picture of ADHD that some people are led to believe it's not all that bad, or maybe not worth pursuing treatment. Ned told me he's not worried about overdiagnosis.

He maintains that, if anything, ADHD is still wildly underdiagnosed.

He maintains that, if anything, ADHD is still wildly underdiagnosed.

I asked Ned to clarify his suggestion that 30 to 40 percent of the population has ADHD. And he reiterated that he does not think 30 to 40 percent meet the diagnostic criteria. Rather, he was talking about two distinct things. He was talking about ADHD, a serious disorder. And ADHD, a trait.

I asked Ned to clarify his suggestion that 30 to 40 percent of the population has ADHD. And he reiterated that he does not think 30 to 40 percent meet the diagnostic criteria. Rather, he was talking about two distinct things. He was talking about ADHD, a serious disorder. And ADHD, a trait.

As in, there are people whose lives are truly disordered by ADHD who fit into the statistics on increased rates of incarceration, divorce, substance abuse, credit card debt, premature death, and the many other negative consequences associated with ADHD. And then there are people who have some of the elements of ADHD, even if not the full disorder.

As in, there are people whose lives are truly disordered by ADHD who fit into the statistics on increased rates of incarceration, divorce, substance abuse, credit card debt, premature death, and the many other negative consequences associated with ADHD. And then there are people who have some of the elements of ADHD, even if not the full disorder.

Regardless of whether they have severe ADHD or mild symptoms that might not qualify as a disorder, Ned believes they would benefit from ADHD coaching or reading his books. What Ned was doing here, insisting on a distinction between the disorder and a trait, it helped me understand why so many people tell me they have a little bit of ADHD.

Regardless of whether they have severe ADHD or mild symptoms that might not qualify as a disorder, Ned believes they would benefit from ADHD coaching or reading his books. What Ned was doing here, insisting on a distinction between the disorder and a trait, it helped me understand why so many people tell me they have a little bit of ADHD.