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Braden Duffy
Mr. Benoit
December 14 2016
Racing Mind
An ADHD brain is a race car without brakes. Imagine how it would feel knowing there
are breaks but when the brake pedal is pushed it goes straight to the floor and the car is not
stopping. Squirrel! The brakes are working, but now the drivers headset is an issue, instead of
hearing just the drivers spotter the driver is hearing every racer and their spotters as well, how
does the driver focus? If you spend too much time in the pit, crossing the finish line first is out.
What then is needed to help this race car get to the finish line?
The racecar and its driver shows some of the issues that a person with Attention-Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) goes through daily. Some people think ADHD individuals are
lazy, daydreamers, fidgety, distractible, emotional, and the list goes on. It may appear that way
to an outsider, but the brain of a person with ADHD is different in a few ways.
Initially research has shown that the brain of a person with ADHD is actually smaller.
about three percent, although it is important to point out that intelligence is not affected by brain
size.” (Healthline). Some scientists thought that all of this was due to some kind of brain injury
or a birth defect. Due to more recent research and studies doctors have found a link between the
chemistry in the brain to the actions of the ADHD individual. “The cause of [ADHD] has been
linked with the brain's chemical system, not it's structure. Thus, [ADHD] is a problem with brain
There are two chemicals that are low in an individual with ADHD. They are Dopamine
and Norepinephrine (nôrepəˈnefrin). What happens when these chemicals are low? Lets look at
the racecar again. Think of Dopamine as the brake fluid. When the fluid is low, your brakes are
weak, and sometimes do not work at all and the car cannot stop. Dopamine is the chemical that
tells the brain what is appropriate to do: is it okay to poke the person next to you, or to pick up
the stapler and click it while someone is talking to you? Here is the notable part, the ADHD
brain does not realize they are doing this. Compare it to the brake fluid being low and the check
The spotter is the Norepinephrine, so “Low levels of Norepinephrine also make it very
difficult for ADHD Children/Adults to sustain their focus on a task, plan ahead, and understand
such concepts as sequence and time.” (Joseph M. Carver, Ph.D). The spotter is the one who tells
the driver who is where and what is happening ahead of the driver and any openings that the
driver should try to take. Norepinephrine helps guide a person in their daily tasks, helps get
them going, or with the planning of their projects along with their approding day.
Since both of these chemicals are low, the way an ADHD person deals with this is that
they seek something to replace the low chemicals. ADHD people can turn to addictions, not just
drug or alcohol; it could be video games, watching TV for hours on end, bowling, or adrenaline
producing activity. In regards to adrenaline some will do activities such as skydiving, driving
fast, starting into arguments, or procrastinating to do a project at the last minute. By doing this
they are put in a position of fight or flight. This allows them to focus a little better to finish the
project.
The driver is in the pit and the pit crew realizes that the brake fluid is low and the check
engine light is not going on. The spotter realizes that the drivers head set is on an open channel.
Duffy3
That is what is going on with the brain of a person with ADHD, they have low Dopamine which
causes distraction and the inability to stop doing random acts, and low Norepinephrine makes it
hard to figuring out what is important. Race cars are built with the same materials, but
Works Cited
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Joseph M. Carver Ph.D., 04 Mar. 1998. Web. 06 Dec.
2016. <http://www.drjoecarver.com/clients/49355/File/Attention-
Deficit%20Hyperactivity%20Disorder%20(ADHD).html>.
CHADD – The National Resource on ADHD. "The Science of ADHD." The Science of ADHD |
CHADD. CHADD The National Resource of ADHD, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2016.
<http://www.chadd.org/Understanding-ADHD/About-ADHD/The-Science-of-
ADHD.aspx>.
Cherney, Kristeen, and Isabel Spahn. "ADHD and Brain Structure and Function." Healthline.
<http://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/the-brains-structure-and-
function#BrainStructureandFunction3>.
adhd/home/ovc-20198864>.
<http://www.psychiatryadvisor.com/adhd/a-true-adhd-epidemic-or-an-epidemic-of-
overdiagnosis/article/429034/>.
Duffy5
Schweitzer, MD, Tim D. Ely, Russell B. Hanford, Clint Kilts, Ph.D, Scott T. Grafton, MD, and
John Hoffman, MD. "Different Parts of Brain Are Activated in People With ADHD."
parts-of-brain-are-activated-in-people-with-adhd>.
Spencer, Thomas J., Ariel Brown, Larry J. Seidman, Eve M. Valera, Nikos Makris, Alexandra
<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3801446/>.
News - White Matter Matters: UC Davis Neurology Researchers ..." UC Davis Department
<http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/neurology/newsroom/white_matter_feature.html>.