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ADHD & Behavior: Conduct Unbecoming
A.B.O.U.T. Behavior #22 : Conduct Unbecoming
Last week, detractors of Mr. Trump circulated clips of a private Super Bowl party showing the president swinging his arms to The Star Spangled Banner, and then jabbing his finger emphatically at someone offscreen. Meanwhile, his wife and others respectfully stand at attention with their hands over their hearts. Some versions of the video highlighted Mr. Trump’s hypocrisy by including outtakes of him berating those he deemed disrespectful towards our flag or anthem.
However, the Super Bowl images do not depict a president acting with intent and contempt towards our national symbols, instead they capture inadvertent clowning. Mr. Trump conducts the national anthem, but is unable to conduct himself with decorum or restraint. The hyperactivity, inattentiveness, and impulsivity demonstrated by this incident all highlight the president’s ADHD.
Mr. Trump’s anthem-conducting embodies ones of the diagnostic criteria for ADHD: restless energy making one run, or climb, or otherwise move in a manner inappropriate for a given situation. A single isolated incident never qualifies one for an ADHD diagnosis. Rather, we require a pattern of repeated instances of such behavior, in multiple settings, over periods of time, not explained by other reasons, before we can determine that someone has ADHD.
