Reverse engineering my ADHD test
35 points by hazebooth 5 days ago | 14 comments

flysand7 4 days ago
Opening up devtools during ADHD test is so ADHD, almost as if he didn't even need the psychiatrist to explain the results :D
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schlauerfox 27 minutes ago
That was my first thought. I only wish my type was to put in the work for a blog post instead of just thinking on it and getting overwhelmed with all I need to get done.
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nullpt_rs 51 minutes ago
I didn't think of this until after haha
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izzylan 4 days ago
I took a similar ADHD test. It seemed so easy and simple that I always wondered how it was actually supposed to catch me.

Good to know that neurotypical people mostly likely test differently than I did.

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_fw 4 days ago
I found myself trying to come up with a system that used the position of my hands to “solve” the problem for me.

But then I worried if my system worked, I would be misdiagnosed.

It didn’t work. I was 98th percentile.

Thanks for sharing this!

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nullpt_rs 49 minutes ago
this sounds interesting! would love to hear more about this
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doawoo 42 minutes ago
This is basically what I did to every online based quiz in school. Big respect lol.
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nullpt_rs 37 minutes ago
this method works more often than not :P
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pixel_popping 46 minutes ago
Great article!

ADHD is way more complex than just an attention issue, I mean just the amount of average daydreaming and "rumination" and the constant multi-threading of thoughts... is just next level, I believe it's not properly explained to outsiders that might just think that X guy just have a hard time going in the flow but in reality it's much more catastrophic than this and will create many more mental health issues if left unmanaged.

Most ADHD people that have jumped on some sort of strong treatment (stimulants in general) are discovering a new world in pretty much 1 hour, the first time the mind goes "quiet" is incredible. I advise everyone to read more on this website https://www.adxs.org/en - it's also friendly to scrape to be used with LLMs.

ADHD isn't a good thing to have imo, it's a serious dysfunction and it's sad to see that it's being romanticized lately in social media or plainly discredited by some people/media, and while treated ADHD can make you productive "all the time", you end up addicted and pretty much permanently require drugs to function well.

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LocalPCGuy 35 minutes ago
I agree that ADHD is a serious condition for many people, and that it's overly romanticized and that isn't good when it comes to getting help for those that do need it.

To that point, I'm going push back on this language just a bit:

> you end up addicted and pretty much permanently require drugs to function well

That is negatively framing medication, which if taken properly as prescribed is no different than any other medication someone might take to help with a chronic health condition. It slightly encourages and leans into the idea that ADHD is "fixable" without medication and so taking medication is a problem (or due to a weakness, etc).

I'm not discounting the value of other forms of non-medical treatment, but in many case medication IS appropriate as part of the overall treatment that a person requires to manage their ADHD. We should not use language that stigmatizes treatment that should be between a person and their doctor.

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nullpt_rs 16 minutes ago
Agree with original commenter but +1 to reframing the language. I was very afraid to begin medication because I would always hear about how addicting this medication can be. But like you say, you wouldn't tell someone with diabetes that they're addicted to insulin.
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schlauerfox 22 minutes ago
This Doctor's videos reframed the clinical work and actual research for me, very informative and helpful to me personally. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0tLWu7ljYVFPiZQfHjTMsA
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nullpt_rs 50 minutes ago
hi! author here, please let me know if you have any questions :-)
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BearOso 10 minutes ago
[delayed]
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sbiru93 45 minutes ago
Ahahah the end got me laughing
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