When ADHD/ADD Visits Storieopolis 🧠

Understanding Sensitivity, Attention, and Adaptation

ADHD/ADD are often misunderstood as problems of willpower, laziness, or poor discipline. In reality, I believe they are neurodevelopmental patterns shaped by both temperament and early environment. Modern science shows that ADHD/ADD involves differences in attention regulation, impulse control, and executive functioning, this is not because the person “won’t try,” but because their brain processes stimulation, reward, and regulation differently.

A key insight from physician and author Dr. Gabor Maté is that many people diagnosed with ADHD/ADD share a common trait: heightened sensitivity, emotionally, relationally, and physiologically. This sensitivity is inborn and completely normal. But when a highly sensitive child experiences chronic stress, emotional disconnection, or an environment that feels unpredictable, the child may develop coping strategies like mental drifting, hyper-focusing on specific interests, or tuning out overwhelming stimuli. Over time, these adaptations can become the patterns we later identify as ADHD/ADD.
Reference: Gabor Maté, “Scattered Minds” (2000); “When the Body Says No” (2003).

To be accurate, Dr. Maté does not claim that HSP (Highly Sensitive Person) is a cause or guaranteed “precursor” to ADHD/ADD. Instead, he explains that sensitivity increases vulnerability: a sensitive child is more deeply impacted by emotional environments, and therefore more likely to adapt through the attention-related mechanisms that characterize ADHD/ADD. In other words, sensitivity isn’t the problem, rather it’s what makes the emotional environment matter more.

When we view ADHD/ADD through this lens, the entire narrative changes. ADHD/ADD isn’t a defect; it’s a story of adaptation, survival, and a brain doing its best in response to internal and external overwhelm.

And in a place like Storieopolis, a city built on cooperation and inner communication, ADHD/ADD is not an intruder, but a messenger bringing important information about energy flow, unmet needs, and the pace of life.

One morning in Storieopolis, the usually steady rhythms of the city felt slightly… jittery. Lights flickered more quickly, messages zipped across towers at double speed, and some workers found themselves starting one task, jumping to another, and forgetting the first altogether.

A curious visitor had arrived a bright, fast-moving spark of energy known simply as “The Wanderer.” The Wanderer wasn’t a character like Karen or Paul, instead it was more like a pattern of movement, a breeze that changed direction quickly, chasing every shimmer of interest across the city.

Some citizens were annoyed at first.
“Nothing stays on track!” someone shouted from an office window.
“Why can’t we stick to one thing?” muttered another.

But Mayor Judy Cortex stepped forward and raised a hand for calm.

“The Wanderer is not here to disrupt us,” she said gently. “They’re here to remind us that our city is sensitive, we’re deeply tuned to stimulation, emotion, and curiosity. When energy moves too fast, or when we’re overwhelmed, the Wanderer appears. Not as an enemy, but as a signal.”

The city paused and observed. They noticed that the Wanderer’s rapid shifts came from excitement, creativity, and an overflowing desire to explore, and also from moments when the city felt stretched thin, unsupported, or emotionally overloaded.

Once the citizens understood this, the frustration softened. They gathered together to adjust the city’s pace, create smoother workflows, and ensure that emotional needs were met. As the environment became more grounded, the Wanderer slowed too, will still curious, still bright, just no longer chaotic.

And Storieopolis learned that what they had called “distraction” was often a request for gentleness,
what they had called “inconsistency” was sometimes a response to overwhelm,
and what they had labeled “a problem” was actually a pattern of adaptation, a call for patience and understanding.

Quick Summary:

ADHD/ADD isn’t a problem of willpower, it’s a pattern in how the brain manages attention, emotion, and stimulation. Dr. Gabor Maté explains that people with ADHD/ADD are often highly sensitive by temperament, meaning they feel emotions and stress more deeply. Sensitivity itself doesn’t cause ADHD/ADD, rather it makes children more susceptible to the effects of stressful or disconnected environments. When sensitive children feel overwhelmed, they may adapt through “tuning out,” restlessness, or rapid shifting of attention, patterns that later look like ADHD/ADD, perhaps it’s best understood as a developmental adaptation, not a flaw or failure.

In the Storieopolis parable, ADHD/ADD appears as “The Wanderer” a fast-moving force representing curiosity, creativity, and overwhelm. The city first feels scattered and frustrated, but learns that the Wanderer’s behavior is a signal, not a disruption. When the environment becomes calmer and more supportive, the Wanderer slows too, showing that ADHD/ADD shifts with context and emotional safety. The lesson: what looks like “distraction” may actually be a sign of sensitivity, stress, or emotional overload. Understanding ADHD/ADD begins with compassion, for the brain’s history, its adaptations, and its deeper needs.