Is it common to be able to focus on using the computer? I think rather than ADD, I have ADHD b/c I can't (no matter how hard I try) sit still. I have to be moving. My fingers, toes, feet or legs have to be moving if I want to sit through a movie and even then I'll get up several times. I guess it does come in handy for chasing my 21 month old though LOL.

I can, however, use the computer. Is that because I'm busy with my hands constantly? I can't stand waiting for pages to load though. I have ancient dial-up and I will constantly jump from tab to tab b/c I'm so impatient. I can't relax. I can't rest. My dr prescribed Lunesta and that doesn't even help. More recently he prescribed trazodone and that has done nothing for me.

I know I've probably been hard to understand in this post but I mainly want to know, is it common to be able to focus on the computer? I've heard on the news that, for children with ADD/ADHD have great success with video games. Maybe that's sort of the same? I don't know.

I'm so glad to have found this site. For once, people know how I feel and I don't have to feel ashamed or less than b/c I have these issues. I don't have to give excuses here. I can be real. Thank you.

I could happily live my life on the computer. My body might be still, but my brain is completely busy and entertained. Even on this one single website, I can jump from conversation to conversation. Then I can jump to my email, a game, a news article, shopping, whatever.
I don't really consider it "focusing" on the computer. I'm still jumping from distraction to distraction, just faster and without the physical effort that it takes to do *off of the computer!

Even with DSL, I still get annoyed if a page takes more than 1.5 seconds to load!

Thanks so much! That's me!! Glad I'm not alone in that regard either. I guess that's why I "use" the computer as a type of therapy. (edited to take out the redundancy lol)

for some reason, the internet seems to be the "cure" for ADHD. what I mean by that is even the most active of us, can sit for hours, possessed by the internet.

I did read somewhere in my ADD research, computers, video games and similar engage the brain so much, therefore allowing our brain to do precisely what it likes to do. I'm paraphrasing, but hopefully get the gist.

I think a good portion could attest to being super multi taskers when on the internet, simultaneously focused on five or more tabs, Instant Messaging with a handful of friends, playing a game and reading the latest virus scan results.

It's really no wonder some get addicted to the internet (like I did). For me, it practically released me from the whirlwind in my head, and I felt at ease. It's hard to communicate the feeling effectively.

Anywho, yes, it's not at all surprising you focus when on the internet. My condolences on having dial up. :rolleyes:

Yes, the computer is strange.

I have ADHD (now AADD - adult ADD, so not hyperactive as such), but when I was a kid I would normally be jumping around screaming and climbing all over everything, but when I sat at the computer, I could concentrate for hours.

I guess I still fidget though. I am always changing my position on the chair, and I need sit normally. Also I get up like every 10 minutes to grab a drink of water or a snack or just stretch (unless I'm very stimulated, as in computer games).

I think that's the key, to it, too; stimulation. Computers can provide constant, consistent stimulation. They provide multitasking. Tabbed browsing in Firefox, multiple different applications open in the taskbar... it's like stimulation paradise.

Computers - The ADHDer's companion & curse:
Action: Now/Later, Process/Results, External/Internal
Communication: In/None/Out, Listen/Stop/Chat, Read/Stop/Write
Effort: Intense/Sustained, Long/Short
Excitement: Interesting/Uninteresting
Focus: Intense/Diffuse/Absent, Deep/Shallow
Independence: Go/No-Go, Multi-task/Single-Task, etc.
Memory: Access/Lock, Keep/Trash, Handy/Remote, Long/Short
Organization: Linear/Non-Linear, Defined/Random,
Sensory stimulating: Audio/Tactile/Visual (Smell & Taste?)
Time-Flexibile: Fast/Slow, Long/Shorthttp://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:d1Yl3gcL3S2JrM:http://www.naute.com/images/evolutionofman.jpg (http://www.naute.com/images/evolutionofman.jpg)
http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:-hBo6IPrp563jM:http://www.ohioboating.net/b2/media/computer2.jpg (http://www.ohioboating.net/b2/media/computer2.jpg)

in plain words.... good ole hyperfocus .... now if it would just work with other things, many of us would be happier.

I will stay on the computer surfing from one thing to another for hours. Problem is though I get nothing done....even on the computer. Perfect ex: I joined a geneology site to work on mine. Its free for 14 days, no problem I can get all the info they have in less than this time and then cancel. Sites like this bank on people like me. I obssesivly researched a couple days, burned out and now I have gone over my time and my credit card will be charged. I did this with music downloads too. So I will have another $35 in credit card charges for no reason except my procrastination. I also pay for a gym membership and personal trainer. Personal trainer is expensive and I'm I'm going to go past the time I can use the sessions.

I’m not ADHD but I always had to be doing something. Even sitting still I crochet while watching a movie (I don’t watch TV) and find it relaxes me. Working, or playing, on the computer keeps my mind busy and I need to keep it busy. My sister used to joke that I was the only person she knew who could knit, read a book and watch TV at the same time. If I don’t get to sleep right off I end up getting up again. I cut out tea and coffee and fizzy drinks because I thought that was the cause. I took up relaxation and meditation for various reasons and that helps a lot.