In current society, people with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) tend to struggle if not suffer. Despite this, rather than a disorder, ADHD should be thought of as a particular neuro-cognitive profile; that is, a characteristic brain format that results in a different way of literally thinking. With so many people diagnosed with ADHD – and so many more undiagnosed — we must ask, where does ADHD come from and is it truly a problem in and of itself?

Salif shares a current hypothesis about ADHD’s root and an alternative perspective – including several benefits of the condition – regarding how we engage with it in our schools, homes and selves.

Eisenberg, D. T. A., Campbell, B., Gray, P. B., & Sorenson, M. D. (2008). Dopmaine receptor genetic polymorphisms and body composition in undernourished pastoralists: An exploration of nutrition indices among nomadic and recently settled Ariaal men of northern Kenya. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 8, 173-184.

Salif is currently a doctoral student in the Experimental and Applied Psychological Program at USU. On a day-to-day basis he manages Dr. Kerry Jordan’s Multisensory Cognition Lab. His research investigates cognitive and neurophysiological outcomes of exposure to, and immersion in, natural environments. Salif loves long walks in the mountains, hunting, fishing, camping, gardening, and planning his future homestead. Most of all, he loves having no idea whatsoever as to how to parent his two-year-old son, but trying anyway.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx