Calm saving lives, paralyzed by a pasta recipe: ADHD and executive function (Jim Leitch’s story)

Jim Leitch could intubate a patient in the middle of the night — alone, short-staffed, smiling — and feel completely calm. Ask him to follow a pasta recipe? That’s where things got hard: Everyday tasks and executive function challenges.

Jim is a former critical care respiratory therapist and current VP who was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. In this episode, he talks about the exhausting gap between knowing where you want to go and not being able to get started, growing up with perfectionism and a fear of mistakes, and how he quietly created pressure-cooker situations just to get things done. Also: a Christmas pageant in second grade that left a mark he’s never forgotten.

For more on this topic

Listen: ADHD and the fear of failureRead: ADHD and perfectionismWatch: Executive dysfunction explained: Why ADHD makes everything so hard

For a transcript and more resources, visit ADHD Aha! on Understood.org. You can also email us at adhdaha@understood.org.

As kids head back to school, it's a good time to remember: not every student experiences the classroom the same way. Through My Eyes, a free interactive experience from Understood, lets you step into a day in the life of a kid with ADHD, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. See their strengths and challenges in a whole new way. Try it out here.

Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

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