And there you have it, the lead-in to my thoughts on ADD. Why? Because I'm probably the poster child for un-diagnosed ADHD as both a child and an adult.
An interesting article appeared in the Washington Post recently. Written by Valerie Strauss: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/02/07/adhd-in-kids-what-many-parents-and-teachers-dont-understand-but-need-to-know/
Reading through the article dredged up some painful memories of my school days and reminded me of issues that haunted me through much my adult life, but at the same time the article offered up some positive thoughts on the subject. From Dr. Ned Hallowell, one of the country’s foremost experts on ADHD: "Too often, teachers and parents (and bosses) jump to what I call “the moral diagnosis,” and ascribe the underachievement to lack of effort or laziness, which leads to lectures, punishments, and a gradual infection of the spirit with the viruses of shame and diminished sense of self. In fact, the correct diagnosis is of a brain difference, not a brain deficit, and certainly not a moral failing." I can't even begin to count the number of times teachers wrote on my report card "not working up to potential", implying of course that I was a smart kid who could do a lot better but who instead was goofing off, not working hard enough. None of that was said because they wanted to be unkind. On the contrary. My teachers wanted me to succeed. My parents loved me and wanted the best for me. As an adult, as a parent and grandparent that much is very clear to me now...it wasn't quite so clear 50 years ago.
My failing to "work up to potential" was probably especially difficult for my father to deal with or to understand. Dad was what I might call a "natural scholar", he had excelled in school both as a student and athlete. Success in school or athletics evaded me. Failure was foreign to him and clearly there was a difference between what he expected of his children, based on his own experiences, and how I was performing. I really feel bad that he had to suffer through that without understanding the problem. I wish we had learned all this years ago, it would have been so much better for both of us.
I'm not going to go into the symptoms or treatment of ADHA in children but I thought some of the information on Adult ADD was worth talking about.
Some of the often cited symptoms of Adult ADD or ADHA are:
Trouble concentrating and staying focused.
Hyper Focus....oddly the opposite of the first but can also be problematic.
Disorganization
Subcategories of Disorganization are:
- poor organizational skills (home, office, desk, or car is extremely messy and cluttered)
- tendency to procrastinate
- trouble starting and finishing projects
- chronic lateness
- frequently forgetting appointments, commitments, and deadlines
- constantly losing or misplacing things (keys, wallet, phone, documents, bills)
- underestimating the time it will take you to complete tasks
These things have haunted me my entire adult life. My chronic lateness at work became a department joke. My desk, is just about a picture perfect example of poor organizaional skill.
There are several other typical and often cited symptoms and they are pretty easy to find online if you are interested. The article in the Post did include a bit of good news. First the problem is much better understood now than it was when I was a child and many studies have been done. Treatments are for the most part successful, books have been written and children suffering this diagnosis are much more likely to be treated today than children were 50 years ago.
In my case, which is the norm for most people, I learned to compensate for many of the symptoms so that in many ways you probably would never suspect I ever had such a problem. Oddly it seemed to me, I mentioned this to my sister today and she seemed truly surprised that I thought I had ADD, but my wife said she had suspected such a thing for a long time, of course she's lived with me for almost 50 years and has experienced much of this. My case remains "un-diagnosed" or only self-diagnosed but I may talk my my physician about this on my next visit.
Dr. Hallowell noted in the article "In fact, what we call ADD (a terrible term, as it is not a deficit of attention but rather a wandering of attention, and it is not a disorder in my opinion but rather a trait; if you manage it properly it can turn you into a phenomenal success, but if you don’t it can ruin your life, which makes it unique and fascinating) is really a type of mind, genetically transmitted, and composed of a wide array of complex and often contradictory tendencies."
"On the positive side, which people rarely discuss, people with ADD are the people who founded this country. They tend to be visionaries, dreamers, explorers, inventors (Edison was a classic), path-finders, discoverers, entrepreneurs (almost all entrepreneurs have ADD), creative types, original thinkers, paradigm breakers, trend-setters, free thinkers, as well as being big-hearted, trusting, generous, and fun."
It is a relief to know I am in good company and I'm thankful that I escaped any great lasting harm. Still it did create issues and some pain along the way. On the other hand it is part of what made me who I am. It is interesting to know this was genetically transmitted...I wonder where that came from? I have no doubt believing dad would have thought it didn't come from his side of the family.
1 comment:
Amen brother, I feel your pain.
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