Re: I don't get it - and it frustrates me
 

I'm 61 - and I have a granddaughter with ADHD and another with Autism+Anxiety
(possibly Bipolar).

I also have Anxiety and Depression so the "if's" have never looked like much
fun for me.

Novelty seeking behavior is where kids with ADHD get hurt.

Breaking the law is no fun at all if you get caught. Research is being done
into how many people in prison have undiagnosed and untreated ADHD.

Talking out of turn drives my daughter CRAZY and there are three of us
who do it to her. Then everyone is upset. No fun there.

My ex loved taking spur-of-the-moment road trips. No place special or expensive.

Re: I don't get it - and it frustrates me
 

The thing is, it's very hard for me to see what would and wouldn't be me without ADHD, especially now that I see what I'm like medicated. Medication seems to almost eliminate novelty seeking behavior for me. And I'm less nutty; I actually like being nutty.

I am sure that I would be a different person without it, whether that's a good or bad thing is impossible to say. I do know that the end of the day my ADHD does get in my way far more often than not.

Re: I don't get it - and it frustrates me
 

The only "benefit" that I get from ADHD is as stated in the quote in my signature. Here's the full clip from the article, and I tend to agree (for my specific life circumstances).

I've also referenced before an article on genius & creativity from the HowStuffWorks.com website. They talk about creative geniuses lacking 'latent inhibition' --- the mind's capacity to tell itself "that thought is irrelevant" and block it out.

Personally, I find my ADHD to be a large contributor to my lack of latent inhibition. And the tangent thoughts that comes from these random ideas and unrelated sources have become the backbone of a book I'm writing.

Is there a net benefit from ADHD?

As I said earlier, no. My productivity is hampered by always having to clean up after my own writing and pull it back on track.

But I also recognize that the base material has only been possible due to the random "distracting" thoughts that in these cases have actually given me some good ideas.

My brain should have been focused on my day job, or whatever chores I'm doing at home. But instead, because of ADHD, it interjected a thought that a normal brain would've been blocked out, and brought to my attention a pattern that a normal person would not have seen.

I recognize that its only beneficial because of what I'm working on, and otherwise is only detrimental to some of us who are just trying to concentrate. But in my case, directing my thought tangents have helped me. Even if only slightly, I can't say the benefit doesn't exist.

Re: I don't get it - and it frustrates me
 

People without ADHD do these things as well so they can't really be seen as positive traits that this 'gift' of ADHD has given us.

How blessed we are:rolleyes:

I'm with Barkley 100% when he says ADHD is NOT a gift.

Re: I don't get it - and it frustrates me
 

I agree.

To cap off my previous post, I'd say I have 1 benefit, but 5-6 strong drawbacks.

And I doubt my ability to capitalize on that 'benefit' if I weren't on medication. In that case it'd be 10+ drawbacks, all destroying my life. :\

Re: I don't get it - and it frustrates me
 

I don't think it's a gift either, but I also don't think non-ADHD me would do those things. Other people might, but I don't think I would.

It's like I am compelled. A lot of the time I can be a boring uptight goody goody, and I often think that without ADHD that might be all the time. I have done so many crazy stupid things, and they have all contributed greatly to who I am. Again, it's not good or bad, it just is.

Re: I don't get it - and it frustrates me
 

I can accept that low impulse control may sometimes lead to good things but in my case its been mostly bad. I feel like I can't trust myself not to do or say something stupid that I'll regret later.

Re: I don't get it - and it frustrates me
 

I'm confused as to why some are offended by the video. What he said is nothing new. My interpretation is that he said when adhd is left untreated it can develop into ODD. I first read something to that effect in 2000 in Christopher Green's book called understanding adhd. Barkley's correct in that you don't have ODD without having ADHD first. Much the same as in you don't just get pnumonia - you usually have to have some sort of flu like infection first. As to whether adhd is a gift - the way I see it is that it is what it is. Thanks for the info about the twin KC. Now it makes sense where his drive comes from and why he sees adhd in such a negative way.

Re: I don't get it - and it frustrates me
 

Did someone way nuts?

Re: I don't get it - and it frustrates me
 

I kind of see things like this: I did not devote years of my life to adhd research. I did not receive the education or the grants to fund such research. I never lost a loved one to adhd. Barkley does have the education and grants. He did lose someone because of adhd. Until I can fund my own research that earns props for its accuracy world wide, I'll just stick to trying to live up to that elusive potential I'm supposed to have. Even though his words are not warm and fuzzy doesn't make them less valid. When my uncle was told he had cancer the doctor was not warm and fuzzy and it didn't make what the doctor said any less important just because he wasn't ready to cuddle with me. I just figure that he probably knows more than me about adhd because the odds are definatly stacked in his favor.

Re: I don't get it - and it frustrates me
 

I can see that many of you have a deep respect for the work Barkley has done within the area of ADHD. :) I think that is really fine, but I also think it is okay to remain critical to some of the things he says. Of course I am aware of the fact that he can't come around everything about ADHD in his lectures, but I still hear what I hear and in my opinion he could be quite more nuanced in order not to stigmatize people with ADHD.

I know that he has devoted himself to the education but I feel the ADHD from inside and at least I know myself well enough to know what is right and wrong about me. Of course I can't talk on the behalf of other people with ADHD, but I can refer to people who feel the same way like me. I don't like that one generalize too much about diagnosis in generel. I think that people tend to loose their identities and try to find into small boxes. At least that is a problem I experience with myself. I don't say that I am against everything Barkley has to say. I acknowledge his huge knowledge within ADHD, but to me it is always acceptable and even positive also to question his allegations.

Re: I don't get it - and it frustrates me
 

Hmm, interesting. I don't know why I don't do this more. I guess since I've moved out I've been medicated. I live in the big smoke. Time to live a little.

I think the problem here (with the start of this thread) is that people are taking what Barkley is saying as a personal insult. A single individual doesn't represent all of what ADHD is so why be offended when a man that they never met talks about ADHD in a way we can't relate? He's trying to convince people that ADHD is a serious disorder and he targets parents mostly.

In that documentary that was just posted today the behaviour in those children was extreme. At first I thought I was nothing like that, then I got all these flashbacks to my childhood days. I wasn't exactly the same but had similarities. Being loud to annoy people. Deliberately disobeying. Running off.

I'm with Sarahsweets on this one. However, I don't think Russell Barkley knows much about autism. I don't even think Simon Baron Cohen does and I'm losing respect for Tony Attwood. There's always Temple Grandin.

Re: I don't get it - and it frustrates me
 

EVERYONE should respect Temple Grandin! She's awesome!! And you are too. You've made autism relateable and understandable. This has helped me so much with understanding my son. If you wrote books on this I reckon everyone would buy them.

In relation to the OP, when it comes to experts in any field it's always best to exercise your own judgement. On this occasion I happen to agree with Barkley but there are lots of things I don't agree with that he says.

I think sometimes people are looking for a saviour and put all their faith blindly in someone, absorbing everything they say.

The important thing to remember here is that Barkley may not by adhd but he is human which means he's gonna get it wrong sometimes and he's going to be influenced by emotions. He must have gone through so much pain losing a twin. It really explains why he has such a negative view of adhd. I feel really sorry for him.

Re: I don't get it - and it frustrates me
 

Well thank you for that unexpected showering of praise. No really I am grateful.

I do write about it but within a science fiction plot. If you don't like sci-fi the first book isn't heavy on it, but as I progress through the series I want to. It's kind of like Harry Potter in that any one from any background can read it and enjoy it. It is terribly Australian though. Not out west - out east...well Central Coast, sometimes Sydney.
I read a lot of Orson Scott Card who is heavy on emotions. Speaking of he doesn't have OCD or even a physical disability but he sure can write about it in such a way that gets you to understand. I suppose that's what authors aim for.

And I'm aiming for something similar, to get people to understand autism by being the first fiction author (to my knowledge - maybe the first science fiction author) to really explain why the symptoms are happening and getting the readers to understand my character's feelings, particularly his fears and anxieties. I believe that's something I picked up from Orson too. I want to have two other characters too, one with ADHD and one with Bipolar. Both play important roles. I was struggling with the Bipolar character but I stumbled across someone close to me who said they had Bipolar. My friend does too but she takes medication. So I have seen two very different types of the disorder. The ADHD character is hard to write about. I should probably take closer notice of my symptoms on the weekend. Or visit my nephew.
There's also a severely autistic child but he is merely mentioned in the first book. I may write about him more in the second. You know you have ADHD when you have planned the three books already. When Orson wrote books he never intended to write sequels.

Anyway, what I meant to say was (and post it in another thread) that even people without experiencing a disorder can still explain to others what it's like.