Interrupting

[kkonzen15]

I’ve noticed and my parents have noticed that, over the past 11 or so years, I have a problem with interrupting people and also relating everything back to myself. I’m just wondering if anyone else has this kind of problem?

[pippapeach]

Absolutely! So small warning here, I both have ADHD and research ADHD and social stuff with ADHD is my area so I might rant/nerd out a little. Basically, social relationships and especially conversations can be difficult for someone with ADHD, and I've had my share of problems socially.

Personally, I'm always 4 steps away in a conversation. As an example, someone will be talking about their uncle, my thoughts zap from "uncle" to my uncle "Bob" to "bobbing for apples" to "halloween" and then I'll interrupt with a seemingly random question like "what are halloween plans" or say something like "I'm planning to dress up as an artist." I've done this since I was a little one, and it's taken years of work and self-awareness to improve. You're aware of your interrupting, which is great! That's a big step if improving conversation skills is a goal for you.

On the research side of things, ADHD and social behavior is pretty under-researched compared to things like school and work problems (which is part of why I'm able to focus on it). The most common research with social stuff and ADHD is that there is a connection between poor relationships and ADHD - not a whole lot about why, or how, or what we can do about that. This is true for all types of ADHD - the way it presents may be slightly different according to type though. It's something like 70% of kids (my research age focus) with ADHD have had poor social relationships.

Like I said before - we don't know a whole lot about why or how this is a thing. Some people think it's due to externalizing behavior (so being overly hyper, or aggressive, or loud), some think it's because of no social skills (an older theory), some think it's that people with ADHD have the social skills but have a harder time knowing context/when to use them, and there are tons of other ideas out there. As far as your specific example of interrupting a lot, that's most likely due to the impulse control factor of ADHD. Higher impulsivity = blurting out whatever thought pops into your head. I personally also think memory is part of it (although I don't know of research that supports this). In my own life, I know that interrupting isn't great, but sometimes I just gotta say what I want to before I lose the thought forever.

This is a huge reply - sorry for the nerd paragraphs, but this is so absolutely in my wheelhouse that I got excited. CHADD has a fact sheet somewhere on their website talking about social difficulties and ADHD, if you want to look for some basic info. I'm also completely fine with replying on this thread or private messages - I always like to talk about my research, and hearing others' social experiences outside of my own help me figure out what makes most sense to research next.

[sortofoutdoorsman]

Interrupting can be a sign of ADHD. Do you feel worried that you'll forget what you're going to say if you don't say it immediately?

[Mark_in_Wales_CVA]

All the time, but what I feel when I'm doing it, is it's not because I want to be noticed/clever, but because I want to share the information. I'm sure people just think I'm self-centred, but to me I want to share knowledge, to help....