Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny! - Television Tropes & Idioms

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alt title(s): Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny; ADHD

"Hi, Tick! I'm your mind! Sorry we don't talk much, but I'm easily distracted by shiny objects."
— The Tick

ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is a disorder which is characterized by inattention and/or hyperactivity, as well as forgetfulness, poor impulse control, forgetfulness, distraction and everything about children parents dislike dealing with. ADD, or Attention Deficit Disorder, is a subtype of ADHD, minus the overt hyperactivity, obviously enough. The current name for it in medical circles is actually "ADHD — Predominantly Inattentive", but you're not likely to hear that used in fiction.

In media, the symptoms of ADHD tend to be exaggerated to the point of absurdity. Sufferers usually seem to be on a constant caffeine high — ironic, considering how in Real Life stimulants tend to have the effect of calming them down. They are often unable to maintain focus on anything for more than a few minutes before getting distracted, often by a shiny object (hence the trope title) or a butterfly. No real-life sufferer has it that bad, but it's much funnier than a character who's just fidgety and occasionally spaces out and has to ask the person talking to them to repeat what they just said. Or, occasionally, what they themselves just said.

Standard treatments for ADD/ADHD include Ritalin and Adderall, which are both stimulants (Adderall, for instance, being composed of amphetamine salts, chemically similar to speed). They both work not by necessarily calming the patient, but by making them more able to focus. The main drawback is that while these drugs improve focus, they don't necessarily improve one's judgment in choosing what to focus on. One editor once took some Adderall so he could write his resume, but instead wrote the pages for Hollywood Psych, The Schizophrenia Conspiracy, and L Is For Dyslexia. Productive, but not necessarily in the right way.

See also — well — pretty much the last three links above. Contrast Cloudcuckoolander, who doesn't have a disorder (or at least isn't required to), but acts similarly. Do not confuse with Distracted By The Shiny. Sister Trope to Delicious Distraction. Often possessed by Genki Girls and Keet.

One symptom, descriptively referred to as Hyperfocus, is generally ignored in media for some reason. This is possibly because the symptom itself seems contrary to the general stereotype of the disorder. Hyperfocus is Exactly What It Says On The Tin: The ability to focus so intently on some activity that most outside stimuli is excluded, similar in some ways to high-functioning autism. As pointed out above though, with ADD more focus isn't necessarily a good thing. The media seems to avoid all other symptoms of ADHD and ADHD-I,specifically speaking out of turn and "hearing" problems. A common symptom of ADHD-I is that the person has trouble fully understanding what another person says if other people are talking around them, or the TV is on, or music with words is playing, etc. That's why people with ADHD-I (and to an extent ADHD) miss things like homework assignments, they just didn't fully hear what was going on around them. The media also ignores all the other problems that tack onto ADHD, like OCD, depression, eating disorders, insomnia, learning disabilities, and delinquency problems.

This has led to ADHD (and other ADD diagnosis) as being disturbingly "trendy." Many parents, upset that their children are generally disobediant or having problems paying attention, label them as ADHD, ignoring that there's no actual disorder, they just haven't been taught to behave. Many people come to think that being casually ditzy, or good at thinking outside the box, are signs of ADHD and claim the diagnosis even though tehy don't have any real traits. This has gotten to the point where a fanfiction.net list of "top ten signs you are a writer" lists "You have ADHD, or wish you did." Ignoring the fact that - as stated above - ADHD is a concentration disorder and makes writing anything extremely difficult.

Because of this, there's also been a backlash among some groups of people towards assuming the opposite extreme; that ALL people who claim to suffer from ADHD are simply making an excuse to be inattentive and act out. This is also known as the "SIT DOWN AND STUDY!!!!" viewpoint. Some of these people even claim that the disorder has no actual on-the-books medical basis.

Compare Viewers Are Goldfish.

But by far, the most important thing you need to know about this trope is... oh wow! Look at all the examples!

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