Observations
Several factors indicate that JFK experienced problems with attention,
including inattention related to work-related activities (DSM-5
inattention criterion a), difficulty in sustaining attention to tasks
(criterion b), being dreamy or preoccupied (criterion c), not following
through on instructions in the workplace (criterion d), having
difficulty keeping belongings in order and poor time management
(criterion e), avoiding tasks requiring sustained mental effort
(criterion f), often losing things (criterion g), and frequent
forgetfulness (criterion i). Several examples can be quoted as follows:
JFK’s thesis had “many typographical errors and was English diction
defective” (a).3 “His lack of diligence in his
studies; or, let us say, lack of ‘fight’ in trying to do well in those
subjects that didn’t happen to interest
him….”(b).3 “He has the intellectual’s type
of absent-mindedness.” He “breaks off a conversation with a staff
aide, perhaps in the middle of his own sentence, to reflect for long
moments on a different subject” (c).15 “He did not
feel that he had to live by the ordinary rules governing everyone else.
He was always arriving late for meals and classes, setting his own pace,
taking the less-traveled path” (d).3 “Jack’s
sloppiness was seen as symbolic of his disorderliness in almost all of
his organization projects.” Jack keeps appointments late. “He was not
much for planning ahead” (e).3 “Jack studies at the
last minute” (f).3 “He showed early a trait that
baffles his office staff today—an almost photographic memory for
correspondence, conversations, and historical fact, but an almost total
absent-mindedness about where he has mislaid speeches, books, and
clothing” (g).15 “He has even overflowed the
bathtub, as was his boyhood custom”.3 “He forgets
the little things around him because he is preoccupied with what appear
to him bigger ones” (i).15
Other descriptions indicate that he also had characteristics of
hyperactivity and impulsivity, including often fidgeting with his hands
(a), often leaving his place or seeking fast-paced activity (b), often
running about or feeling restless (c), always “on the go” acting as if
“driven by a motor” (e), and difficulty in waiting patiently (h).
Specifically, as he talked with visitors in his office, Kennedy would
fidget with a pencil.15 “Kennedy sat tapping his
front teeth with his thumb and running his hand through his hair.”
“Averell Harriman thought Kennedy was ‘less tense than when I saw him
last, but his hands are still constantly in
motion”’(a).3 He liked madcap drives to get to an
airplane or dinner on time (b).15 “He hated to waste
time; in the morning he would read a magazine while taking a bath and at
the same time shave there, guiding his razor by glancing occasionally at
a mirror set up on a bathtub tray” (c).15 “He was
too much in a hurry, that he was going too far too fast, that he should
pace himself better, that he should learn to take a breather. But the
dynamo would not or could not slow down. He was always in the process of
going or coming” (e).15 The Congressman hated to be
late. “A stop for a train, an unnecessary delay, a buttonholing admirer
would tauten Kennedy’s face and send him into short tirades back in the
car” (h).15
Considering the above descriptions of JFK (some of which indicate his
mannerisms even before 12 years of age), we believe that JFK met several
diagnostic criteria for ADHD outlined in the DSM-5; these included 8/9
items (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, and i) from the subcategory “Inattention”
and 5/9 items (a, b, c, e, and h) from the subcategory
“Hyperactivity/impulsivity” in item A of the ADHD section in DSM-5.
This could be considered ADHD of the combined type.