ADD, Part 1

ADD: Attention Deficit Disorder
Code Word: SQUIRREL!

At age 7 my oldest daughter lit up an qEEG brainscan and was dubbed the "posterchild" for a female with ADHD. She gets it honest. Since childhood I've been empathic, creative, anxious, and prone to getting lost in thought. Both parents share a lot of these traits beginning in their own childhoods. In our family, ADD/ADHD traits are "normal". We have a lot of fun with it, actually.

ADDer's of my generation grew up with report cards that said things like:

• Does Not Pay Attention in Class
• Disruptive in Class
• Does Not Turn In Assignments on Time
• Talks Too Much
• Does Not Read Directions
• Not Working Up to Potential
• Will Not Sit Still

The traditional classroom is not ADD/ADHD friendly.

At this time ADD has 3 classifications: Primarily Inattentive, Hyperactive/Impulsive, and Mixed. From what is understood now, it is genetic and there is a lot of overlap with symptoms on the Autism Spectrum and Anxiety Disorders. My diagnosis is Primarily Inattentive type (and paired with an above average IQ, which masks some symptoms and amplifies others).

First off, "Primarily Inattentive" is a misnomer. The issue is actually noticing everything. All at once. I call it "buckshot thinking". Picture the path of a regular bullet: straight, one hole in the target. Picture buckshot: straightish, yet resulting in multiple holes, a "spray" in the target.  It's not so much an issue of "paying attention" as it is a struggle to focus attention on one thing. And what that one thing ought to be. Following are some pros and cons of Primarily Inattentive type.

The Pros:

• Out of the Box Thinking: There's a saying: "When you hear hoof beats, think horses." (Obviously an American saying vs. an African one-lol-Squirrel!) Faced with a dilemma the ADD brain immediately thinks: "any hoofed animal". Then it goes to weeding them out through abstract deductive reasoning.
• Automatically seeing the "big picture". Literally. A lot of ADD "thinking" can best be described as impressions derived from micro processing vs. intentional thought.
• Creativity: artistic, dramatic, you name it
• Original ideas or solutions
• Curiosity: Finding nuances to explore
• Hyper focusing: the awesome power of "the zone".
• Empathy

The Cons:

• Linear thought is often painful. Excruciating. Frustrating. Organizing is highly challenging and takes a lot of concentration and persistence. It wears us out.
• Ditto for paperwork. Especially that with multiple steps.
• Multiple steps, period. Kids with ADD often struggle more once they begin changing classes in school and do better on a block schedule or in college where there are fewer classes at a time.
• Noticing everything can be overwhelming. Hence the overlap with anxiety issues.
• Out of sight, out of mind. What progress report? Car keys? Homework? Bills? Huh? (I create paper stacks with the theory of "If I can see it I will be more likely to do it".  Do NOT touch my paper stacks. I will have a panic attack.)
• A tendency to start several things at once, resulting in multiple half finished projects (i.e. more to notice and be overwhelmed about) OR...
• Procrastinating/inertia triggered by anxiety.
• Tendency to get lost in thought, i.e. "daydreaming"
• Trouble delegating. If prioritizing for oneself is a challenge imagine the added step of prioritizing for someone else.
• Shame.

Recently a client in group therapy said, "People outgrow ADD, right?". Uh, no. Ty Pennington hawking Adderall? Seen that? Course I did not say this in group. The appropriate answer is, "No. We just manage it better." Some essentials to managing ADD/ADHD: self acceptance, finding a profession that utilizes your strengths and minimally engages your weaknesses, good support, organizational tools, structure, and a sense of humor.