Living with ADHD: A Meta-Synthesis Review of Qualitative Research on Children’s Experiences and Understanding of Their ADHD

“My ADHD Hellbrain”: A Twitter Data Science Perspective on a Behavioural Disorder

“…Initial coding was informed by current literature on ADHD research (e.g. Frigerio & Montali, 2016;Ringer, 2020) and then guided by the tweets. In phase 3, the three researchers independently assigned one or more tentative themes to each tweet.…”

“…For Theme 3, Understanding, support, and awareness of ADHD, previous studies have found evidence of teens with ADHD feeling that family, friends, and professionals do not understand the disorder (Ringer, 2020) and that teachers do not understand ADHD or how to teach students with ADHD (Walker-Noack et al, 2013). Whilst teachers may have reasonable knowledge about ADHD symptoms, they can also have misconceptions about the causes and treatment of ADHD (Ohan…”

“…Embracing my ADHD (Theme 4) was the least common theme within the sample but overlapped with the positivity instances within Theme 1. Previous research has shown that whilst some young people with ADHD do not perceive their condition in a positive light (Walker-Noack et al, 2013), others see some features of ADHD as part of their self-identity and not as impairments (Charach et al, 2014;Ringer, 2020). Positive attributes of ADHD are three times more likely to be discussed on ADHD-related Facebook groups than negative attributes (Gajaria et al, 2011) so Facebook groups worked as supportive networks where people with ADHD share their personal experiences and establish a positive ADHD collective identity.…”

“…The need for people to understand the Brain does not seem to have been noticed in previous studies. For example, the brain is not mentioned in one recent meta-analysis of qualitative studies of children (Ringer, 2020). Nevertheless, the functioning (rather than perception) of the brain is the focus of much research into the disorder (Brown, 2019;Wehmeier, Schacht, & Barkley, 2010).…”

“…Journal of Data and Information Science "My ADHD Hellbrain": A Twitter Data Science Perspective on a Behavioural Disorder http://www.jdis.org https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/jdis having problems with understanding their own identity, given that their behaviour is partly controlled by the disorder (Grant, 2009;Leyland, 2016;O'Connor et al, 2018;Ringer, 2020). In this context, the phrases might introduce some distance between the tweeter and the action, also expressing that they do not have the choice to avoid it.…”