This account was put forward to address concerns that individuals diagnosed with ADHD were showing focused attention in a variety of situations and circumstances. Since this was true, ADHD could not be an “inability to maintain focus”. ADHD then became an inability to “regulate attention.”
The problem is that "inability to regulate attention" is assessed when people show inefficiencies in response to work. It is interesting that hyperfocus occurs during pleasurable activities, while failures to maintain focus occur in response to assigned activity (i.e., what others want them to do).
A learning paradigm (as compared to neurological delay) may be a more reasonable way to account for ADHD data. Individuals may hyperfocus to maintain involvement with activities they like and they show distractibility (i.e., escape, avoidance) and other inefficiencies (e.g., rushing, carelessness, desperation) when dealing with stipulations, evaluations, and other adversities.
Why introduce a neurological account when a psychological account has not been ruled out???
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