ADD/ADHD can be a big advantage

Philynn94 I am in the processing of doing foster-to-adopt with a child who has been diagnosed and treated for ADHD. Your post has provided me so far with the most positive image regarding a child with ADHD. It helps to remind me that this child is unique and that I will not let ADHD limit her as a person. :D

Good points here. It is just important to remember that ADHD is not and either or condition. While it may be true that a person with some of the characteristics of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder may have more energy and be more creative, it is very important to remember that true ADHD (diagnosed by a specialist and not just an arm-chair opinion) is a disorder characterized by an inability to attend to stimuli, distractability, inability to concentrate and sit still and a pervasive sense of restlesness...it is a neurological disorder that responds to medications in a "paradoxical" manner because it is a true brain disorder. I've treated may adults with ADHD and some of the common red flags are: frequent fender-benders and minor traffic violations, spotty job histories with frequent moves and few long-held jobs, under achievement when compared with the person's potential, etc. Regards

After reading Dr. Arts post, it was interesting to pull the DSM IV up from the floor next to my armchair (grin) and take a look at the criteria for ADD/ADHD. C and D note that there must be "some impairment from the symptoms in two or more settings" and "clear evidence of clinically significant impairment in social, academic or occupational functioning." So an individual with all the characteristics of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity that is succeeding in school/at work is by definition not ADD. Interesting! Also amusing, as my son is now doing great in school on Concerta, and at home/extracurriculars without meds. I guess we can "unlabel" him! Sharon, your story is very sad. I can only say that my experience was different, and that I have learned to finish most tasks and keep my attention focused by having multiple things going on at the same time. I hope things improve for you and your son!

I totally agree! My oldest son is ADHD. Yes he cant' sit still and fidgits but you know all of his teachers love him because he is so energetic and smart. He can fix anything-easily learns something and will practice for hours to be the best at everything he trys. For the past two weeks daddy has been teaching him how to play pool and this kid will go to the gameroom every day,line up the balls and practice practice practice for hours. After practicing for two days he kicked my butt in the game already. LOL This is true with every activity-his mind is like a computer and as long as its a hands on activity he keeps at it for hours. Homework is another story, but the kid is so smart that he is board with homework and passes each test with an A without ever picking up a book to study. When I taught him how to fish he would go out in the yard and practice casting, He is great! Wears me out but really a fun energetic kid to be around. Anythime I need something fixed in the house Ie: a picture hung on the wall, whatever it is he is there to help and is my best little maintence man. LOL A dear child to be around! We are blessed with our ADHD Kids. :)

i think the term "disorder" itself is misleading - the reality is that different people are wired in different ways. my adhd went undiagnosed for almost 20 years. why? i never found school remotely challenging and as a result, my grades never suffered (there goes "red flag" #1). i also had the sense to see it was more trouble than it was worth to act up, so i would find other ways to keep my mind occupied that weren't disruptive (so much for "red flag" #2). consequently i was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and put on medications that did nothing but leave me feeling vacant - despite my flattened affect, my racing thoughts did not cease. after several years of trying this and that, i have come off of almost all of my medications, with the exception of amphetamine salt combinations (rx name "adderall") that i use on an as needed basis only [i'm about to move overseas, which is chaotic enough itself so the fact i've been using it less without feeling like my head is about to explode surprises even me!]. i find that without the meds, i have become much more self-aware and disciplined. i may be a compulsive "note-to-self" writer, but i find funnelling my extra energy into being more organized as opposed to scattered and overwhelmed to be quite rewarding. :)

I myself also have ADD but never in my life have I thought of it as a disorder, matter of fact i think it as an added bonus, true enough it can be hard to deal w/ as far as young children go, but the imaginaton and brilliance that it gives us when given the chance is amazing. I make jokes about it all the time, oh it's my ADD that's why I forget to do things, but truthfully it has helped me when it comes to stress, my brain doesn't have enough time to focus on the bad things, I can never stay angry for to long because I am off doing another project......Just to know there are parents out there that want to help their kids w/ this is great, my amom was horrible and always blamed it on sugar, ummm ok...find thins for them to do hobbies, sports something that they find interesting, I still have certina things that i do that make me feel as if i have accomplished something, they maybe small but I do feel better about myself..... I clean my house like mad too, funny in a way but not in others I get nervous when there is nothing to do, so I have learned to go to the local 2nd hand stores and make old thing into new....I have been told I have a few disorders, anxiety, stress related, depression, and have been put on all sorts of meds....but you know what i take myself off them, I hate how they make me feel...All it is is my ADD, I know this and if there are parents that question please be sure to go to a few Docs.; don't just settle, find out all options, and remember you are paying them don't let them tell you what you have to do, ask as many questions as possible many parents don't do that, but you are the parent you are the one that lives w/ your child not that Doc that is doing a 1 hr eval.... you have that chld 24 hrs. The way he acts w/ you can/will be different then w/ the Doc, and you need to make that clear to them....I hope I have helped in someway @ least for 1 person....have a good day and remember ADD is not a disorder is just one more thing for our imaginations to dream w/......Besides maybe what were not paying attention to isn't worth it we are busy people you know...... :)

You are soo right! We have a bio child with adhd and an adopted child with add. They actually bounce off each other and are great together! Where add creates a bit of immaturity in the thirteen year old it helps him relate to the seven year old. The activity level of the seven year old is distracting enough to occupy the elder. It has been a blessing so far.

I am glad the two are fortunate to have each other!!!!

I wasn't diagnosed until age 26! And thanks to ADD-ADHD I am working with a coach, who has become my friend. My parents are not the most helpful, eventhough they mean well. Anyway, thanks to the coaching, I am following my passions, that's really what it's all about. I am darn near sick of hearing about the negative side of ADD!!!!! and people are always relating it to adoption too. I realize they are intertwined. But there are 3 of us, in my family who are adopted. And people know that we are all ADD also. so I know they are thinking "screwed up", "adopted". "ADD" but guess what, I am happy that I have an ADD brain, because I am really creative and I can sing, and play the piano and I am going to open my own business some day! :)

I now know why I do the things I do, supposed "screw up's" according to society. but I don't feel ashamed, that I lose my wallet, or misplace my keys. I used to make my friends laugh, and they bought me the key chain "KEYS I HAVEN"T LOST YET" and I laughed with them, but really it hurt so bad inside. But I am not ashamed anymore, and I can now admitt my mistakes to people. I just surround myself around people who accept me for who I am. Shortcoming and achievements all in one. And through ADD-ADHD coaching, I have also learned how to set boundaries with people. Thanks to coaching, my life is beginning to change. so let's not freak out about ADD it's NOT a disorder, it's just the way I think. I think in my own way, and I have a lot of fine traits also. but sometimes i still get angry or embarrassed about it. but for the most part, it's ok now My friend and my coach has basically pulled my talents out of me, and I am beginning to go after them

I thought I was the only one that looked at it as a positive thing. I am totally against medicating my child. I figure, let kids be kids and they will eventually grow up to be normal adults. My son (although has never been tested) definately has adhd. One day we were down at the pool and this lady came up to me and said, "I don't know what your son is going to be when he grows up, but whatever it is, he's going to own it!" I totally agree. I think it gives them an awesome extra advantage!

i love this post ..thanks so much .. i believe for school purposes only.. a small amount of medication is ok ...but not to make a perfect little child when they get home from school sometime parents think because their kids are not well behaved that it must be because they need MORE medication i wish they would educate themselves on how to deal with add or adhd child and learn their way of thinking.. for instance ... do they know when an add child looks at a messy room that they are almost frozen because they dont know how to begin to clean it? if the parent took the time to say ok..lets pick up all the red articles first or all the dolls second and all the pants third... this is how you teach a child to deal with stressful situations ..lots of homework etc. and in older children...getting a notebook and writing everything down each day...what a difference this makes in an add child's life ...organization is just the hardest part of having add ... anyway thanks again for posting about the wonderful minds of add children and adults ... amy

LOL I always thought I was the only one who could see the silver lining of ADD! I'm glad to see this post. My 13 y.o. daughter has ADD and is very smart and artistic. I told her that she might be that way because she sees everything, hears everything, feels everything - everything goes into that mind of hers. I read a book a while back that (in a nutshell) said that ADD/ADHD kids are hunters in a farmer's world and schools were geared to farmers. Wouldn't it be nice if more schools were geared to hunters? My daughter, before starting her on meds, had low self-esteem (in trouble with the teacher all the time) and had few friends (who wants to be friends with someone who's in trouble all the time?). Once we started Concerta on school days, she was able to focus in school more and was able to make quite a few friends. Her self-confidence is much much better now and she made straight-A's last quarter! And...she's still just as smart and artistic, meds or no meds. :)

I am happy to finally see somebody post a positive about this subject. When I was little I used to be like that and my parents used to punish me all the time for it, years later my mom had a daughter that acted like I used to and she encouraged her to use her creativity and hyper activity to her advantage. She recently told me she wish she new then what she new now so she could've delt with a hyper child better. FYI, no meds were given to either of us as children for our behavior. I adopted a 7 yr old with adhd and after a month of him being doped up I quit giving him the meds and he is doing great in school and at home, wasn't easy but he and I learned how to help him control his actions to keep him out of trouble. He's been with us for over a year and everything is going great.

Hopefully he won't get the wrong idea by you rewarding him fro rule breaking becuase then he will see rule breaking as okay but your ideas seem good as long as the child doesnt think that rule breaking is okay.