Skipping Words When Typing--Brain Issue? ADHD?

Anonymous wrote:I do this too. I'm almost 50 and it started a few years ago. I was an English major in college and when I was younger this was never a problem. In general, I feel like I don't write, speak or think as well as I used to. I really hope these are perimenopausal issues that will eventually pass. My anxiety has also gotten worse.

I feel like I have access to half of the "words" I used to use... Maybe it's a use it or lose it situation, but probably stress, hormones and aging.

Signed,
Woman, age 52

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05/11/2025 19:41

Subject: Skipping Words When Typing--Brain Issue? ADHD?

quote

Anonymous

Doesn’t everybody do this?
I read and write medical notes all day long (I’m a physician) and they are all riddled with typos, skipped words, cut & paste errors, iand garbled prose. They are written by all sorts of people of all ages (nurses, PT/OT/SW, docs, med students, residents, fellows, attendings).

I thought that this just happened because we are busy and stressed and constantly interrupted (thanks to epic chat/teams/email/cell phone texting and calls/overhead pages all going off and competing for my attention - I mean, I get 150-200 emails/day!), our brains are running faster than we can type, our dictation system gets it wrong and we just don’t see it when we quickly proofread.

And it’s not like I’m a fancy lawyer or business person - I’m just a hospital-based doc.

Anyhow, I never chalked such errors up to actual pathology on the part of the author. IME these errors are pervasive - the 20-something med students’ notes have grammar/spelling errors, too. I think it’s just modern life.