I'm sodding Batman

"ADHD is your superpower!"

No. It really fucking isn't. 

Unless of course, I missed the The Incredible Adventures of Self-loathing Man, or perhaps my local comic book store never stocked the graphic novel Sieve Head - he forgets EVERYTHING.

I don't profess to be any kind of expert on ADHD - or neurodiversity more broadly - but from what I can gather, some studies (or limited scope and sample size) might point to certain areas where some people with ADHD appear to display an aptitude for certain skills around problem solving and creativity, perhaps a few other things. Hardly conclusive, even to a science dolt like me. 

Let's not call a spade a carbon-based deposit relocation device. More often than not, ADHD sucks. It's an impairment...a disorder. We all know it. For every area in which it might help, there are half a dozen where it blows. Being half-decent at the guitar is kinda nice, but I'd swap it for not being a binge eater...for not having a childhood beset by suicide ideation...for not experiencing decades of isolation.

And what kind of message does the super power BS send to those who don't feel like they have one? Do we really want to give them any more reasons to feel badly about themselves...especially based on the flimsiest of evidence? 

Yes, I see patterns, I'm good a solving puzzles, yes, I'm creative*. But I'm also good at masking, good at thinking about 100 things are once and these aren't good things, more often than not. And how do we separate the learned behaviours from the innate? Do we need to? 

If I've got a super power, I think it's as likely to be because I've had years and years of finding ways to cope with everyday life. Every day is a puzzle. Every day is a workaround...a coping mechanism. 

If I'm a super hero, I'm Batman - trained by the monks in the mountains - not Superman, with innate advantage.

And let's not forget, that inside...Batman was raging. 



*as are lots of people without ADHD.

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