Object Permanence: What it means
Object permanence is precisely defined as the ability to understand that objects still exist even after they are no longer being perceived.
It’s something that most humans develop by the time they’re eight months old. So, when people with ADHD talk about lacking object permanence, it’s often in the loosest sense of the term. Individuals with executive dysfunction can obviously set a book on a table, look away, and know that the book still exists. Instead, they struggle with maintaining an active representation of the item in their conscious awareness when it’s not in their direct sight. It’s basically “out of sight, out of mind.”
The effect poor object permanence has on a person’s life looks like forgetting to take medication if the medicine isn’t visible, the inability to recall where they put something if it’s not in the correct place, or having a hard time keeping up with a friend that’s moved away. Not everyone diagnosed with ADHD experiences this phenomenon, but it often goes hand in hand with other symptoms. For instance, someone could be doing dishes, hear the phone ring, and then come back two hours later to discover the sink full of dishes that they completely forgot about. This incident could be attributed to a lack of object permanence, inattentiveness, preoccupation, or a combination of the three. All of these behaviors work together to make the ADHD mind more forgetful than most.
Poor object permanence can also manifest itself in chaotic organization skills. What might seem messy and disorderly to a neurotypical eye, may seem carefully crafted to someone with ADHD. To a person who struggles to remember things unless they see them or can find them in a specific place, an organized room may just mean that everything is visible and in a memorable spot.
With all that being said, there is debate in the ADHD community over if object permanence is the responsible term to describe the “out of sight, out of mind” mentality associated with ADHD. This is because its true definition indicates a more extensive deficiency in cognitive abilities than is actually present. Some individuals find it offensive and disparaging, while others feel like the term conveys this common ADHD occurrence perfectly. Whatever side of the fence you’re on, it’s essential to understand that many people with ADHD struggle to maintain a conscious awareness of objects and sometimes people they don’t have visual contact with.
The higher understanding you have of the issue, the easier it is to manage and minimize it.
