Are Adults With ADHD “Driven By A Motor”?
How to make sense of a diagnostic questionnaire designed for children
A questionnaire I completed as part of my assessment for ADHD last year asked: “Do you feel as though you’re driven by a motor?” Oh, I thought. That’s the question for hyperactive little boys. I quickly dismissed it as irrelevant and answered accordingly.
The Reddit crowd has had some fun with this question, coming up with their own personalised vehicular analogies — variations on the “Ferrari with bicycle brakes” idea favoured by paediatricians explaining their young patients’ brains to them.
Some said their issue wasn’t a motor that kept going but one that wouldn’t kick into gear. Personally, I’ve always felt as though I’m trying to merge onto the freeway with the handbrake on.
Some considered that they had a perfectly fine motor that was just not suited to the conditions they were required to drive it in.
Most had something to say about how ill-suited the question was to assessing adults for ADHD.
I’m sure I wasn’t the first voting age person to suggest to their assessing psychiatrist that the questionnaire seemed designed with children in mind. He assured me that I had been given the adult version.
