Psychiatrist argues ADHD is more about sustained engagement than attention

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  Psychiatrist Awais Aftab argues that ADHD may be better understood as difficulty sustaining engagement than as a deficit in attention.

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  He says people with ADHD can often focus on things that interest them but may struggle to keep working on tasks they do not find meaningful.

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  Aftab argues that stimulant medication may help by making routine activities seem more significant, rather than by directly improving attention.

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  He stresses that ADHD is genuine and that effective treatments exist.

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  Clinical psychologist Thomas Brown has also described ADHD as involving difficulties with executive functions, including starting tasks and sustaining effort.

Who

Psychiatrist Awais Aftab is questioning how ADHD is understood. Clinical psychologist Thomas Brown has expressed a similar view of ADHD as involving executive-function difficulties.

What

Aftab argues that ADHD may involve difficulty sustaining engagement with tasks more than a basic inability to pay attention.

When

Aftab’s article was published on October 10, 2026. Brown’s comments cited in the article were made in June.

Where

Aftab made his argument in an article for The New York Times. Brown spoke to ADDitude Magazine.

Why

Aftab says people with ADHD may struggle to assign enough value to a task to keep working on it, even though they can focus on things that interest them.

This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.