Some ADHD symptoms can make it difficult to watch a long film. In particular, being easily distracted can increase the time you need to finish a movie. The difficulty in paying attention to details can also pose some problems.
Picture your family snuggled up on the couch with popcorn, ready for a movie night. As a parent of a child with ADHD, you might wonder, “Can kids with ADHD watch a full movie?” The good news is, yes they can! But since every child is unique, what works for one may not work for another.
Here are some possibilities, none of which involved a messed-up brain: Movies are complicated. There are fancy graphics and attractive people right before your very eyes to distract you from the plot. There may not really be a plot in the first place, or maybe the plot is very complicated.
You catch yourself zoning out: When you start to zone out, it's difficult to regain your focus and finish your daily tasks. Things like cutting the lawn, doing dishes, or even watching a whole movie from start to finish can become difficult if you can't stay present.
My therapist told me: “Many people with ADHD can predict movie/tv show plots early due to faster processing and pattern recognition in their brains. This tendency can be highly frustrating for the partners or friends they are watching it with!” Now read that again.
What Don't You Understand? - A Short Film about ADHD
What are ADHD adults good at?
Here are some of the ADHD benefits that someone may experience:
Hyperfocus. Hyperfocusing is a state where an individual with ADHD can focus on a task for hours on end, essentially tuning out everything around them. ...
In one study , researchers showed that there is no connection between ADHD and lower IQ. In fact, the study showed that there is no correlation between IQ and ADHD at all.
Kids with the inattentive kind of ADHD have a hard time concentrating and following instructions. They often forget and lose things; they can't seem to get organized or complete assignments or chores. Most kids with ADHD have a combination of the hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive types.
Some people use the term ADHD casually for any child who has trouble focusing on a task for long or one who can sustain high levels of activity for a long time. But it's helpful to recognize that most healthy people are occasionally inattentive, hyperactive or impulsive.
When we watch a TV show or movie, we empathize with fictional characters as we would with another “real” person right in front of us. We experience psychological effects such as identification, self-other taking, and the proximity effect.
It turns out that symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder such as fidgeting, foot-tapping and chair-swiveling are triggered by cognitively demanding tasks -- like school and homework. But movies and video games don't typically require brain strain, so the excessive movement doesn't manifest.
Why do people with anxiety watch the same movies over and over?
If you struggle with anxiety, you may find yourself watching the same TV shows over again. The enjoyment of this repetition comes from the mere-exposure effect, the decreased cognitive load, and the sense of control.
Unless the old memory is recalled again, it might eventually fade. “You have seen many other movies since that [particular] movie. All of these other movies have the potential to interfere with your memory of that original event,” says Sean Kang, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Melbourne.
Hyperfocus is a state of intense concentration where you lose track of time, you really enjoy what you're doing and you seem to be better at that than whatever it is you're doing. Now if you're playing a video game, you're really good at playing that video game.
It's when you become fully engaged in a challenging activity you enjoy. You shut out the rest of the world and even lose track of time. People with ADHD have trouble breaking out of it and switching their attention to something else. Screen time seems to be a particularly easy way for someone to slip into hyperfocus.
So what exactly is overfocused ADD (more properly known as overfocused ADHD)? Overfocused ADHD is a form of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder where someone has an extremely hard time pulling themselves away from a specific task. In fact, it almost feels like a compulsion.
Often has trouble holding attention on tasks or play activities. Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly. Often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (e.g., loses focus, side-tracked). Often has trouble organizing tasks and activities.
It can be described as feeling like your mind is all over the place, accompanied by symptoms like forgetfulness, difficulty focusing on one task, and time blindness. People diagnosed with ADHD often experience 'brain fog'. It can quite literally feel like a barrier or fog is coming between you and your thoughts.
ADHD is considered a developmental disability, not a learning disability. Accommodations can often be made in the classroom or work environment to help people with ADHD be more successful. If symptoms are severe, a person with ADHD might qualify for federal benefits, but this is determined on a case-by-case basis.
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition with three main categories of symptoms: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Parents, caregivers, or teachers may notice the symptoms mentioned below.
ADHD, also called attention-deficit disorder, is a behavior disorder, usually first diagnosed in childhood, that is characterized by inattention, impulsivity, and, in some cases, hyperactivity.
One of the consequences of untreated ADHD in adults is disorganization, which can show up in the following ways: Struggling to divide big tasks into structured, smaller steps. Talking in an incoherent and non-sequential way. Jumping haphazardly from one task to another.
They keep their things fairly organized and try to avoid making a mess. But many kids and adults with ADHD are the opposite — they're messy most of the time. And it can cause problems at home, school, and work. For example, kids might miss a field trip because the permission slip got lost in their overflowing backpack.
In addition, research has linked adult ADHD with hospital admission from accidents, and many of these individuals were referred to as “clumsy.” While the reasons for these accidents are unknown, poor balance control combined with ADHD impulsivity and inattention could potentially play a role.
