The study found that even those that "outgrew" ADHD still had one thing in common with those that still do have ADHD, and that's impairment in executive function.
The thing is, ADHD seems to be a catch-all diagnosis for people having attention problems, and yet there might be multiple conditions that give rise to symptoms similar to classic ADHD.
Consider SCT[0] for example. I know that Russell A. Barkley, who is a leading ADHD researcher tends to believe that "real" ADHD is the one that begins with hyperactivity symptoms in childhood (children diagnosed with the hyperactive-impulsive subtype), and those that don't have those symptoms (diagnosed with the primarily-inattentive subtype) have a condition called SCT, which is separate from ADHD.
Clinically speaking, one cannot "develop" ADHD in adulthood. It is a diagnostic requirement that symptoms be present before the age of 12. I dislike how the article uses the terms "outgrows" and "recovered" when referring to adults who no longer exhibit problematic symptomatology. This group no longer has a clinical level of disordered behaviour (as in, the last "D" in ADHD) and has not necessarily "recovered" nor "outgrown" a disorder.
The second part of your question is complex. I will say that brain chemistry changes throughout ones development and neuroscience has a much better understanding of how that works. Though, we are far from a succinct explanation of how it all fits together.
I think that ADHD is a spektrum, from "Phineas Gage" all the way to seasoned zen monks.
Also, all sorts of activities, meditation and neurofeedback, have been shown to alleviate some of the symptoms and problems of ADHD, even without medication. That means there should be a solid chance for someone with ADHD training their attention capabilities more or less "accidentally" over the years.
But still, treatment, even medication, is a much better proposition than waiting 10-20 years for a cure that might or might not come.
There has been research into mindfulness-based approaches to ADHD, but it's still quite preliminary and in small groups. In the meantime, many people respond well to pharmaceutical treatment.
I don't think you really "cure" a particular brain configuration. You work with it and around it.
Disclaimer: I suffered from severe "ADHD" as a child and my parents refused to drug me with ritalin. They taught me to force my attention and a huge part of that was via martial arts. As an adult in my early 30s, I still consider myself super ADD and tend to have problems concentrating at times.
Japanese Goju Ryu Karate practitioners train under freezing waterfalls to hone their focus. I did very similar training and went into a meditative state. It is very extreme and you can go into shock if you're not careful, but it allows you to reach ultimate concentration when done properly.
I'm still super ADD, but use it as a strength and not a weakness. Why? Because I can multitask better than just about any of my coworkers as I am forced to.
As I said, a "functional cure" might arrive after 10-20 years of training.
In the meantime, most children with ADD will develop depressions, suffer social problems, beat up on their peers and achieve much lower, academically, than necessary...
Yes agreed. I went from a "special needs" class to the super gifted class within 2 years. Depression and being "bored" in class really makes a difference.
Brain connections are constantly changing. This is learning.
We'd expect the brain scan of someone who had never played piano to look different from a later scan after they learned to play piano.
So, a problem I have with this kind of article is that by concentrating on words like "disorder" and "remission", they kind of imply a passive response.
Learning to control yourself is an active process, and once you're at the level of the median person, do you have a disorder, at all?
Self control? Next you'll be talking crazy things like discipline & personal responsibility. There are no pills to auto-magically make those traits a reality, they are earned by action, introspection & habit formation.
Turn off the idiot boxes(TV, Internet, video games) and go do something tangible that requires action instead of passive observation. It's amazing what can be achieved when you're not dulled by sensory input overload. Be warned, this is not the path of least resistance, it will take EFFORT!
There are no pills to auto-magically make those traits a reality
it will take EFFORT
In some ways, that's like telling a person suffering from a growth problem to just make the effort to be taller rather than taking growth hormones. Maybe someone with a spinal injury should just make an effort to heal. Maybe someone with Parkinson's should make more of an effort not to stutter and twitch.
The reality is that many of the behaviors you'd like to believe are strictly efforts of will are composed of complex chemical interactions in the brain that can be hampered or helped with the addition of other chemicals.
Some things can be altered through effort, but completely dismissing the proven medical condition some people suffer from is inappropriate when discussing matters of the brain.
"ALL of the behaviors you'd like to believe are strictly efforts of will are composed of complex chemical interactions in the brain that can be hampered or helped with the addition of other chemicals."
FTFY
As for chemical imbalances, yup, many suffer from extreme divergence and undoubtedly need therapy and meds. There are, however, a lot of 1st World hypochondriacs and lazy folk, as well.
People who sit sedentary for large blocks of their daily life consuming input that requires little effort and yet gives them a sensation of drama/humor/fear/lust is absolutely consequential to how their brains develop over time. I'm yet to meet an ADHD person who cannot muster the will power to never miss their "shows" or spend countless hours with a game controller in their hand...
Spoken like someone who has never really had to deal with severe focus problems.
That's a lot like telling someone who is learning to walk again after an injury that they don't need those fancy "crutches" or "slings" that pansies use - people with real gumption just hop out of bed. If they break their noses a few times along the way, they just need to remember that they aren't taking the path of least resistance, and that it's a sign that they aren't weak people.
I'll probably be starting medication management in about a month, after 31 years worth of trying to make it work for myself. It was manageable previously because I had lots of structure provided to me to lean on - from school, from bosses, whatever. Now that I'm the one providing structure for myself and others, I've found that I simply can't function. I've tried for three years to self structure with all the self-help you can think of. I don't want to be medicated forever, but I really need something to help me focus just a little bit so that I can develop good habits.
An important factor is that differences are objective, but disorders are to an extent subjective and socially relative.
I.e. 20 years ago I was a guy with ADHD who was having trouble concentrating on school. Now I'm a successful creative with hit products on the market. Yes, I've definitely developed new skills and damped down bad habits, but part of my success has been to choose a playing field where I have the advantage.
Finally, I should say that there's no silver bullet (not even turning off the "idiot box", etc.). For me, it's been a slow accumulation of skills, weeding out of bad habits, picking my battles, and fixing sleep problems.
An ADHD diagnosis can be helpful initially in that it connects you with a body of things to try out. I think it's important to move beyond that label, eventually, but it's a gradual process.
(I was only diagnosed with ADD at 40)