The ADHD Effort Paradox: Lagun’s Law Models Structural Effort Regulation

Objective: Individuals with ADHD often report wanting to act but stalling, producing brief bursts of effort, and disengaging when novelty fades. Symptom and executive models describe impairments but not the real-time mechanics of these effort swings. We evaluated a structural effort framework, Lagunian Dynamics, within the Cognitive Drive Architecture (CDA). Method: Six variables were derived: Primode (initiation), CAP (burst mobilization), Anchory (sustain span), Grain (transition cost), Flexion (novelty/decay), and Slip (variability). Minute-level wearable actigraphy from the HYPERAKTIV archive (n=86; 51 ADHD, 35 comparison) and condition-level reaction times from the chil_reac2 dataset (n=30; 20 ADHD, 10 comparison) were processed with preregistered rules. Group contrasts used Welch tests and Hedges g; sensitivity and cross-dataset convergence were examined. Findings informed a Therapist Prompt Toolkit. Results: ADHD showed lower burst energy density (CAP; g = -0.53), larger post-context decline (Grain; g = -0.76), and steeper novelty/decay (Flexion; g = -0.85) in HYPERAKTIV. Primode delays were heavy-tailed but nonsignificant on average (g = 0.27). Slip differences reflected unequal wear and attenuated after normalization. Anchory (gross sustainment) was similar overall but shorter in task-bound subsets. chil_reac2 effects for Grain and Flexion paralleled HYPERAKTIV; Slip trended higher in ADHD. Conclusions: ADHD can be viewed as structural effort dysregulation. Lagunian variables provide measurable levers linking intention, mobilization, sustainment, and variability. A brief toolkit (start cues, burst pacing, timed focus blocks, transition scaffolds, variability logs, novelty injectors) supports immediate clinical application.