Hyperfocus
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Not to be confused with a hyperfixation.
I only figured out I'm autistic in 2022. I'm still learning. Writing these articles is how I learn things. They're all works in progress, to various extents. No-one can speak for an entire minority group. These are just my personal experiences, things I've found out from talking to my friends, and discussions I've seen on autistic forums. Please don't take me as authoritative. I'm not.
Hyperfocus is the state of concentrating on something to the point of ignoring your sensory inputs, including both the world around you and your own bodily needs.
It can be hard for autistic and ADHD people to focus on something, even when we really need to. Often, when we do finally manage to focus, we really focus. We can do so for hours at a time, forgetting to do things like eat.
It's difficult to both start and stop this intense concentration. It's especially difficult to focus on what we should be doing, rather than whatever our special interests or current hyperfixations happen to be.
Quotes
Hyperfocusing is actually perseveration. You are unable to interrupt what you're doing when you should have shifted to doing something else.
β Russell Barkley[1]
References
- "ADHD is a Disorder of Executive Functioning" Russell Barkley, CADDAC, May 2009
ADHD: Hyperfixation | Hyperfocus
Autism: Asperger syndrome | Hyperfocus | The autism spectrum
Traits: Arithmomania | Hyperfixation | Hyperfocus | Perfectionism
