I have ADHD, and it’s so much more complicated than that. I could write an entire dissertation on just my personal experience, but I’ll try to keep it short and sweet for Reddit.

My focus and ability to sit still does not directly correlate with my interest level; it directly correlates with my stress/anxiety and level of physical engagement + comprehension. When I am stressed and/or do not feel as though I immediately understand something— I get tremendously fidgety, and my brain starts racing for answers to fill the gaps in my knowledge. Unfortunately; this usually leads my mind down an entirely separate and unrelated train of thought. I don’t realize that it’s happening until I’m snapped back into reality. I also hardly ever notice when my foot or fingers are tapping incessantly.

If I feel competent in a subject/activity; this can lead to the opposite problem of hyper focus. This is multiplied when it involves a hands-on activity (making something, typing, etc). I cannot stop myself from going into insane detail, and will often never even complete the original task at all. I’ll jump from one to another to another at random intervals (i.e. I start to hang up my clothes, I decide to hyper focus into organizing my entire closet by color, about 35% through I’ll love the color of a specific blouse and decide I want to try and recreate it in a paint color, etc). If I engage in a show, movie, or book; I’ll often get lost in it, and will not even hear someone calling my name right next to me.

Both situations are caused by my hyperactive brain running a million miles per minute. They present differently (one fidgety with little memory retention, and the other calm while seemingly on a life-or-death mission), but they’re really just two sides of the same coin. Property therapy and medication has helped me beyond belief, so it’s incredibly important to recognize the signs in your own children before they’re too far behind or become locked in with their manner of dealing with it improperly. Hopefully this isn’t the case with your child, but if it is— don’t be afraid to find out.