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Three Traits Across Three Ages Explorer

Run the Three Traits Explorer Fullscreen

Place the following line in your website to include this MicroSim in your course:

<iframe src="https://arunbatchu.github.io/adhd/sims/three-traits-explorer/main.html" height="452px" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Description

The three trait words behind every ADHD diagnosis — inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity — never look the same at six, sixteen, and thirty-six. This explorer lays the nine combinations out as a grid. Click any cell to see concrete example behaviors, a first-person quote from inside that experience, and the misreading that presentation usually attracts.

The "Who gets noticed?" toggle re-shades the grid by how likely each presentation is to trigger a referral for evaluation. The pale cells — quiet inattention, adult restlessness turned inward — are where ADHD hides, and they explain most of the late-diagnosis stories in Chapter 4.

Lesson Plan

  1. Orient (2 min): Ask learners which single cell matches their mental image of "ADHD." (Most pick Hyperactivity/Child.)
  2. Explore (5 min): Click through all nine cells. Have each learner find the cell that best matches someone they know.
  3. Reveal (3 min): Turn on the "Who gets noticed?" toggle. Ask: which cells are dark, which are pale, and who do the pale cells describe?
  4. Connect (3 min): Discuss why girls and adults are diagnosed late using only the grid's shading as evidence.

References