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Relax; this post is not dealing with theology about those that receive eternal life and live it, in eternal conscience torment. I spell hell differently than most, I spell it ADHD. For those of you that have never experienced
it, I feel both pity and jealousy. It is
a two edged sword. Everyday I find
myself walking somewhere, and then realize I have no idea what I am looking
for, but I end up enjoying the scenery anyway.
If you could spend one day inside my brain, you might experience unspeakable
joy like you have never known, or you may want to commit suicide because you
have failed at every important juncture in life and disappointed those you love.
Have you ever forgotten to go to work, to attend the most
important presentation of the year? I
have. I was distracted by a homeless,
starving hitchhiker with a mangy dog and stopped to pick them up.
The kind that hasn’t bathed or brushed his teeth in six months. He told me his tragic life story in fifteen minutes.
I cried with him when he shared about getting fired, missing his family,
and longed for how life used to be. I
spent all the change out in my ashtray (the last money I had) to buy him lunch,
give him a much-needed hug and a prayer before I dropped him back off on the
road. Was this because I am such a great person? No, I did not understand it then, but he probably had ADHD and I could see some part of me in his eyes. Wanna' talk about a priceless
emotion? Those of you without ADHD
do not experience this, but I do.
I did not believe in ADHD two years ago. I thought it was just a cop-out for people
that had no structure in life. Though
there is some truth to lacking structure it is not purposeful or easily
corrected. After doing extensive research
I found that though it is often misdiagnosed and co-morbid, it is very real and
scientifically documentable.
Unfortunately, we still don’t understand all of the complications
surrounding this condition.
Common misconceptions
about people with ADHD
- They are just lazy
- They just need to change their diet
- Medication fixes everything
- They are not intelligent
- They just need to learn discipline
- They are purposefully rude and defiant
- They cannot learn
- They cannot be dependable
There are valid reasons for this perception, but that does
not make it true. If we could go back in
history and fix the people who exhibited ADHD symptoms what would the world be
like?
Mozart, Edison, Ford, The Wright brothers, Einstein, Michael
Jordan and many more fit the bill. (See
a pattern?) People with ADHD do not process information like “normal”
people. That does not make it right or
wrong, it is just different. Instead of
shaking your head in disgust at the annoying knucklehead in your office that is
always late to meetings, ask him if he has any cool ideas. If he can think of one, it might just make
you both rich, or put you in jail.
1 comment:
Very well done, a telling, personalized article on the subject. I have several in my family who have suffered from forms of Attention Deficit Disorder, with or without hyperactivity, and I know how frustrating it can be. While working at my college in Developmental Studies, years ago we heard a presentation by Barbara Cordoni (I believe that's the name) from Southern Illinois University, who talked about that institution's program dealing with students who are so afflicted. One of the things I took away from her comments (and her book) was the huge benefits from using a computer for individuals who want to control their attention span without medication. This has proved to be true for those in my family, so I can recommend that as much work as possible be performed on the computer. It works!
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