Kaman reveals his ADHD misdiagnosis
Clippers center Chris Kaman revealed an intimate secret Sunday on the origins of his remarkably improved play this season.
Kaman, diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder at 2 1/2 , found out the classification was wrong this summer.
Instead, his brain was in overdrive, working too fast. Tim Royer, the neurosurgeon who discovered the misdiagnosis in July, worked on a daily training program with Kaman to slow down his thought process throughout the summer.
Kaman, often chastised for forgetting plays early in his career, was cautious about going forward with his story.
He wanted to make sure his improvement this season held up before he spoke about his condition.
He went on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” on Sunday, hoping to reach a broad audience and become a spokesman for children who go through the same struggles.
“A lot of the times the biggest thing was having to deal with it my whole life and having to think I had to take this pill to be a regular person,” Kaman, when reached on the phone Sunday, said after the piece ran.
“That’s why I want to be a spokesperson for it. There’s a lot of people with the same struggle who have it.”
The proof is in the numbers.
Kaman is averaging a season-high 17.9 points and 13.7 rebounds, compared with career averages of 10.1 and 8.1.
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