Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder as delay aversion

Edmund Barke’s Inaugural Lecture: Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder as delay aversion: the curious evolution of an unlikely idea.

[@AdrianMagni]

Something I've noticed with my son is that if he has a new book or toy and I say "You can see it after lunch" he'll take two bites, announce that he's finished and throw the rest in the bin. If I instead say "I'll show it to you after I finish lunch" then he'll sit with me and eat his meal. It just struck me as being similar to the fixed-delay vs no-delay study.

[@grantbeerling4396]

Excellent communication. Humour and quirky observations work with memory as they are unique moments or even peculiar associations. Thus props. As for the delay issue, yep, this has answered a personal question about why I am impatient in queues or waiting for delayed trains ( all too common in the UK). I see people shrug these issues off, whereas I get frustrated to the point that, like loss aversion, it grids even hours after the event. Like most Adults with ADHD, I've trained myself to let go with logic and stoicism. Ok, enough distraction. I have to get on with a paper. I no longer take meds; I just work on my gatekeeper, a hard Victorian schoolmistress who often goes too far the other way.

[@skepticsquirrel7560]

This was fascinating. I wonder if that’s why ADHDers may find focusing on daily habits much easier than goals

[@fenegroni]

It is fascinating, unfortunately these studies seem to ignore 'long term' patterns. I have ADHD, and I am on medication: The biggest difference between being on medication and not being on medication comes in the long term. When I wasn't on medication, I could see longer term benefits to say exercise (used to compete), relationships (I was married), career, study (I am a computer programmer), etc. and would arrange my life, quite motivated, around it, using good daily habits. Those though would fall apart pretty quickly because of the other ADHD symptoms such as hyperfocus, distractibility, boredom, etc... and the compound problems of anxiety, low level depression, etc... so you see, in the short term this analysis about delay avoidance might work, but in the long term, impulsiveness and the sheer amount of thoughts racing in my brain would just remove even this little bit of 'control'. On medication, I can now direct my actions, reliably, towards the future, over a long span of time. And this allows me to avoid or embrace delay respectively of my ADHD, even in the long term.

[@rupertgreenlees9329]

I agree with the others here suggesting that there are several adhd aversion anxiety inducing components to this video - it seems to induce the effects it describes but is so pertinent and true I've sat through nearly the whole thing!

[@davidowen6781]

Fascinating and intricate, great story and important science.

[@annsan1722]

Thanks so much for this great overview and the humorous way to present it! To me Delay Aversion explains very well my own experiences with waiting or boring stuff e.g. in school or at work and esp. my daydreaming. Funnily I tend to answer the question „do you like waiting“ in an indifferent way, because I always have something to do with me, inside or outside (daydreaming, books, now my mobile…). Maybe it would be more precise by asking: „do you like waiting when there‘s nothing to keep your mind buisy?“ 😄

[@rsp7029]

I can't sit still and pay attention to this.

[@anne-katherine1169]

Here I am, spending the first 6 minutes of the talk feeling full delay aversion

[@edmundsonuga-barke526]

me too

[@csn583]

Or maybe all of this preamble is utterly unnecessary and there's something wrong with the people who are happy to sit through it?

[@csn583]

Substance begins at 16:30 (!!)

[@JonathanDavisKookaburra]

6mins in and I am experiencing serious aversion to the delay on starting the presentation.

[@csn583]

So, it sounds like the answer is meditation practice.

[@hanskraut2018]

More science on how to tiltrate and find the right adhd medication and Dosage needed!